Non-Horse People -- Do They Just Not Get It?

[Flair]

Normally, I wouldn't have commented on it, but I just got this wonderfully stupid comment on my memorial video to Flair, and it got me thinking about the kinds of assumptions that non-horse people make when confronted with a situation that would normally have a horse-experienced person asking other kinds of questions rather than the "obvious" one.

It goes as such:

omg didn´t you feed her? :(
cus she looks like a stick!!

Hi.

Normally I don't reply to comments, but hey, y'know, yours kind of was begging to be answered.

You know, based off such a comment as above, I would wonder at your experience with senior horses; particularly Thoroughbreds. I've always maintained that senior horses should not be thin and have it brushed off as being "old" -- it's the owner's responsibility to find out why, and address the problem.



Which, naturally, I did. This was my 30-year-old Thoroughbred gelding here (yes, that means he is a HE, not a she) so he is elderly, but not in your description of "looking like a stick" He was, according to my vet, about a 3.5 on the scale in the last 6 months of his life. He'd had some major dental issues, and was no longer eating hay.

His diet consisted of soaked hay pellets, and beet pulp and senior feed along with special dietary supplements.

So therefore, yes, I was feeding my horse.

Here's the horse in question:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Flair/flairman1.jpg

Here he is, age 29. He could look pretty hollow-hipped depending how he was standing, and actually, he lost a fair bit of muscling in his hindquarters. Maybe it was just his age, but he never really looked ribby. Just kind of weak in the back. I did a lot of hand walking with him, but he never looked as well as he did when he was younger.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Flair/flair364l.jpg

Here's the old guy in April of 2007. So he was 30 years old. Totally on a pelleted/senior/beet pulp diet at this point. No hay, whatsoever. His teeth were pretty much gone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Flair/lei_flair8.jpg

And these pictures were taken in May, just a month before his death.

So hey, has anyone else ever experiences anything similar, where non-horse people jump to conclusions based off something they see, without knowing the entire story, and without asking any other kinds of questions that someone who is horse knowledgeable would have asked?

[WashingtonBay]

Some of that kind of behavior is fueled by the fobnoxious blog of the day, if you know who I mean.

Lots of leaping to conclusions without the facts.

I never would have said your horse looked unfed or uncared for from these pictures, quite the opposite :) Handsome old gent you had there. I'm sorry for your loss.

You were tactful and informative with your response. I hope they read it.

[rather-b-riding]

He was very handsome! n the last pic especially he looked absolutely fabulous, would've never guessed he was up there in age! You took wonderful care of him obviously :)

[Cat]

Unfortuntely its not just non-horse people who make such assumptions, and WB is most likely correct in where its getting most of its fuel from. It was made "cool" to "snark" on anything horse-related thats not perfect.

Sorry for your loss.

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

I agree, I think he looked pretty darn Handsome!!!

[TacheteTreasures]

Well at least they didnt find out that you "blindfolded" him too;) (Fly mask)

[natisha]

I think he was beautiful. Sorry for any hurtful comments you received

[oursarge]

I'm really sorry for your loss. I lost my boy when he was almost 28, just 3 days shy of 28. He still looked and acted fine, colic got him. The vet thinks there was more involved but I didn't have an autopsy so I can never be sure. It's never easy to loose someone you love and then to have people make mean comments really doesn't help.

There was a lady who was not an animal person who bought something from me on e-bay once and she kept writing. I really had nothing much in common with her since she wasn't an animal person but I would write to her now and then since she acted like she was desperate for a friend. I finally stopped writing because she got on my nerves. Anyway awhile later she wrote asking me for directions on how to make something and asked why I didn't write anymore and I told her I lost my horse and then my cat 5 days later so I was in a depression and wasn't in the mood to be chatty. She wrote back and said she just couldn't relate since she doesn't like animals. I wanted to say so much to her but ignored the e-mail and never wrote back and never plan on writing to her. She sent me a Christmas card begging me to write [I have no idea why it's not like I'm an interesting person!] I thought what she said about my babies was so ignorant. Everyone knew that horse was my life, my cat too. She couldn't offer a little more sympathy than "I can't relate?" I stopped being nice after that one, I didn't send her a Christmas card either, I think she finally got the hint. I wanted to rip into her but I just let it go since I figured she'd never get it.

No non horse people just do not get it and I have stopped trying to explain it.

I really am sorry for the loss of your horse. It's a traumatic thing that a person never gets over and I'm sorry people had to make it worse for you.

[Cat]

Well at least they didnt find out that you "blindfolded" him too;) (Fly mask)

LOL - I remember when Toby had to have a fly mask on due to a corneal ulcer that was being treated. The neighbors thought we had blindfolded him. :hysterical:

[GrungeEquestrian]

I am sorry you have to deal with people like that. It seems everyone knows everything and everyone has the right to tell anyone anything. Your guy looked great especially for being 30 years old and have dental problems. As WashingtonBay said it doesn't help that blogs such as Fugly Horse are feeding people who have no idea about horses stuff that isn't entirely true. Are blogs like that wrong on many of the horses they show? No, but to an untrained eye of a non-horse experienced person they have no clue whats healthy and whats not. Some people just lack common sense and being polite.

He was a very handsome boy and I am sorry for your lost. I am happy that you let him go with dignity, too many times have I seen skin and bone 34 years that suffer through their last few years of life!

[outriding01]

Yeah, that's the comment I get the most from non-horsey people. Flymasks. Baffling right? Lol, so many people will tell me about their mean horse people down the street who blindfold their horses... Or about their weird horse people down the street who have a field full of blind horses :doh:

[Miracle Whip]

I do wonder why folks let horses live if they can no longer eat hay or grass. I don't plan on feeding my horse beet pulp and senior feed but maybe I will change my mind when she gets up there in years. Your horse certainly looks energetic and healthy but ... is it demeaning to feed them mush? And how long can they live on a non-hay diet?

[Cat]

Demeaning? No - the important thing is to make sure they are getting enough fiber for their gut, which the complete feeds do. In fact there are some people who feed complete feeds or hay pellets in place of hay even when the horses could eat hay. Some of it is preference (neater, the horses waste less, better control of what they get, gauranteed no weeds, etc) and other times its out of necessity - hard to get hay due to drought. As long as they are getting the fiber they need and the proper nutrition, they can live as long as a horse on a hay diet.

The main down fall is they don't have the satisifaction of "chewing" as much as if they had actual hay, so usually they need something else to entertain their mind.

[Palogal]

Nope, they don't get it. So sorry for that stupid comment.

[Ix3Morgans]

He looked like he was really well cared for.
Im sorry for your loss.

non horse people, especially on the internet are annoying.

[doc_western]

i'm sorry for your loss.....non-horse people just dont get it.:mad:

[cloedoll]

Well at least they didnt find out that you "blindfolded" him too;) (Fly mask)

I get that one all the time!!

Your horse looks fine to me and that was a good response. :D

[Flair]

I do wonder why folks let horses live if they can no longer eat hay or grass. I don't plan on feeding my horse beet pulp and senior feed but maybe I will change my mind when she gets up there in years. Your horse certainly looks energetic and healthy but ... is it demeaning to feed them mush? And how long can they live on a non-hay diet?

Cuz that horse had plenty of fire, he just couldn't chew. That's all. No reason not to let him live. ;) He could still get grass, especially when it was still green, but hay stems were just too much for him. So my vet took him off hay and we went to pellets and senior and beet pulp. Which was a job and a half, I'll tell you. Most people don't do it because it really takes a lot of dedication, and work (more so when you're in a board situation where the help is trained to "just throw the hay in the feeder" and nothing more.) But it can be done.

I don't think it was demeaning. Not for my old boy. He was happy. He'd see me coming with his senior feed and just start whinnying. He knew it was good stuff. Flair was on senior feed for 3 years while still eating hay, but had about 5 months of no hay (complete mush diet) before I had to put him down after a really bad colic. The vet said there was no reason why he couldn't have gone on longer, were it not for the colic. In a lot of cases, if not sudden deaths like colic or anything, the horse will let you know when they're ready to go.

If anything, I've definitely learned with Flair. I know what to expect now for that time when Mitch hits his golden years (he's only 9, so thankfully that's quite some time from now.)

Thanks all for all the kind words. It's been 14 months since I lost Flair, but I still think about him all the time.

[shewasmyshadow]

Your post made me tear up. My guy is 27 and doing fine, so far. I just hope he continues to be fine. I dread the day I may have to decide to put him down. My throat closes at the thought. Of all the horses I have ever met, my guy enjoys LIFE the most. He loves his treats, loves his friends and LOVES to go for rides. He actually enjoys going on a ride and leaving the barn yard. He's as interested in the scenery as you are. His head is moving around watching things the whole time. He's the best trail horse I have ever had the privilege of riding. Seeing that come to an end will break my heart...

I feel so sorry for your loss. I really do. I can't even imagine what you are feeling. :(

[Chavhorse]

You would never have guessed his age from that last pic....he looked great and obviously well cared for.

You gave a good reasoned response.....I take my hat off to you I would not have been so polite!

WB is right it has become cool to snark....I remember posting pics of my rescue TB on horse,com who I got when he was 100 kilos underweight.....some bright spark told me I was exagerating and he was merely had a winter rough coat and was slightly ribby....oh and his feet which were so infected he was lame were not neglected as they were not slippered!

[mandisue]

When we went to the fair couple years ago ( you have to leave the horse there all week) I had a magic erase board on his stall, some dumb girls wrote on there that I was cruel b/c my gelding had a brand...................... HE WAS
18 at the time like I had anything to do with it....................

so yeah I know what you mean...

[vicklynn]

LOL - I remember when Toby had to have a fly mask on due to a corneal ulcer that was being treated. The neighbors thought we had blindfolded him. :hysterical:
Ya, my neighbor, who used to have horses, asked me, can they see out of that.
So even horsey people can be nieve about stuff.
Sorry you got rude comments on him.
He was a sweet old man, he sure made his last days happy ones. ((HUGS))