There isn’t anything worse than the horse owner for whom the animal is simply a strategy of entertainment. Some individuals are negligent about taking due and proper care of their animals, while others are criminally negligent in the sense that they have no care in the slightest. They turn up at the delegated time at the stable, saddle their horses and ride them all over the country before putting them back in their stalls and pushing off. The poor horses are left there with nobody to rub them down. They suffer through until the next day, when they are ridden hard again.

Frequently, owners will take off somewhere else for a few days or weeks. When they return, they begin to ride their horses without bothering to confirm that the animals were well looked after during their absence, that the animals were regularly exercised and therefore are fit and raring to go.

Equally disastrous is the sort of human-animal relationship where the owner treats the pony as a family member, to be coddled and spoilt. These owners fawn over their horses like they were their own babies. Almost all of the time, you get the clear feeling these folks are playing to the gallery. They get angry when the over indulged pony bites into their fingers when snatching at a treat, then chill and try without conviction to giggle away the matter. They try to provide an explanation for the entire thing as an innocent mistake: of course , their horses are absolute angels. They pretend to make light of even the most serious of misfortunes.

The most sad human-horse relationship is probably that of the show pony and his obsessed owner. I’m talking about the type of relationship where the horse is merely a means to an end for the owner. The owner figures he’s done his magnanimous duty by hiring staff to take care of his horse. He will be so disconnected he will not once bother to check the quality of care his horses are receiving from his staff. Rather like the 1st category of owner discussed above, this owner is only involved with riding the horse and winning trophies. If the horse disappoints the owner by failing to win a trophy, she or he sells it off and gets another one. This sort of owner is totally blind to the need for the right care and the right training and the right support that are required to convert the pony into a winner.

It is definitely unspeakable that so many folks subject animals to all sorts of neglect and pain while expecting the animals to repay them with entertainment, status or trophies. Like any pet, the horse also flourishes best if it is given due respect, nurtured and maintained in peak health and wellbeing. It is not a tool without feelings to be used heavily and when not in use, hidden away out of the way. It is not a two-wheeled auto, a lap dog sort of pet or a neverending trophy producer.

Every pet, including the pony, merits a fair deal.

Horses are HeatherTom’s passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’sof articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs