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I’ve given up on caring about kids without helmets. They’re likely lost causes even if they survive their childhood – what with growing up with those parents as role models? Yup, their odds of actually becoming productive members of society are NOT good. However, who could walk past this saddling atrocity? Adding insult to injury, the horse is only 5 years old and he’s wearing that “fuck the world” expression? That hurts my heart – or at least what little of it is left and still beating.
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51 Comments
Gotta love that the person on the ground holding the horse is helmeted but the child id not. And the stirrups look to be set the for whoever is behind the horse, meaning that he had a full grown person sitting on his whithers.
How the hell do you even manage to do that?!?!?? i mean IF i make the mistake of leaving the saddle too high when i tighten the girth it slides back the inch or two that i missed. You have to be pretty special to accomplish this
Yeah. You rarely see a saddle too far forward. Too far back is far more common. I know one horse who’s saddle ALWAYS slips back if the girth isn’t tight…if you leave it on him in his stall for five minutes, it’s slipped back. (It’s not the saddle fit, this has happened with more than one saddle…) Too far forward takes talent.
It really depends on the horse. Mine had many more problems with saddles slipping forward, until I found the right saddle. She has a round back and round belly, and her shoulders are well laid back, but a bit narrow. Also her girth groove is way far forward.
sometimes, when the girth slides forward, it ends up so loose that the saddle creeps forward as well. And, did it occur to any of you, the horse was longed, causing the stirrups to fall, and “maybe” the helmet-wearer was on a different horse? Naw, there just can’t be another reason… Your assumptions are all 100% correct.
Besides all that, now,, you folks that frequent here all ride PERFECT horses that NEVER have any problems… So far, all we do know, is Snarky rides a sharkfin, so saddle slip back is more a problem…
As to my QH, just before saddle fit, we had a saddle slip forward problem… All because the girth was sliding forward. A fit adjustment in flocking, a different girth, and viola, problem solved.
And that kid couldn’t find a “used children’s helmet” after you all were teasing used equipment yesterday, so her mom tossed her up there without one.
the blog is SNARKY for a reason…………………….. don’t like it, don’t read it. it is for entertainment purposes, clearly.
that’s what’s great about free speech. You guys and gals can run amok and bitch about every single craigslist ad you have the free time to hunt up. I can call “bullshit” anytime I choose.
Please let me know when my “PERFECT” horse arrives…I have been waiting. In the meanwhile, I have been working with my less than perfect mare, who has had major saddle fit issues, including forward shifting . I did ride her with a crupper (sp?) for a while, but then I figured out, that a saddle that actually fit her did not impinge on her shoulders and withers. Three saddles later, we have saddles that do not ride up on her shoulders.
Now, the image shown here is not something that would just happen magically with a properly fit saddle…. This is something that can happen accidentally if you have a wide barreled horse, with a too wide saddle. Barrel pushes girth forward, saddle is wide enough to accommodate the push.
I am going to assume you don’t want to hear my diatribe on proper longeing technique, so I will leave it at that…It may be all Perfect and such.
I’m sure everyone always has a perfect fit saddle, and would NEVER ride in one that’s not a perfect fit …
especially folks who have decided to sell a horse for only $1000.
Only???? Thats a hell of a lot of money in this economy. I live in the midwest and hay is gonna be outrageous this fall and winter. They will be lucky if they are offered a couple hundred bucks. Of course they will be pissed that someone offered such a piddly amount. Horse prices are in the toilet and they want a grand for a sway-back pony. Not gonna happen.
Awwe.. expensive hay? Poor babies…
It was just as pricey in TX last year, while most of the rest of the US gouged us with high prices.
The saddle slipping forward theory would be plausible to some extent, but not to the extent shown in the picture. Since a saddle is supposed to fit behind the shoulder in the pocket created, the shoulder should stop complete forward slippage, unless the saddle is way too big to begin with, in which case you have other problems that should be dealt.
I could see a saddle being forced up over the shoulders in a fall, perhaps, if the horse fell forward and the weight of a rider pushed the saddle up over the shoulders. In this case, the rider should either have been thrown, or should get off to adjust the saddle back to it’s proper place.
How can anyone look at this picture, and NOT see a horse in pain/serious discomfort.
Exactly, and if it did slip, why not fix it before putting a child up there, taking a photo, and then using that photo to try to sell the horse.
Just to add a note about used equipment since others already covered the saddle-fit issue…
Generally, used equipment was not the problem. A lot of equipment can be bought used for a good price and, if checked out and fitted properly, be perfectly safe and comfortable. I ride in a used saddle and a used bridle, both of which fit and are in safe condition.
The problem was a used helmet. Helmets are made so that they protect your head from ONE fall. Once they bounce on the ground one time, they are compromised and should be discarded and replaced because they are not designed to protect your brain a second time. Additionally, if they are, say, left in someones car on a hot day, they can be compromised. If you buy a used helmet , you have no way of knowing if that helmet has been damaged in some way. You could be getting something to protect your (or your child’s) head that simply won’t do anything.
I buy cheap, approved helmets for myself, so no one was saying “Don’t save money on equipment! You must have the highest priced thing available!!” The issue was that when you buy a used helmet, you have no way of knowing what kind of condition it’s in and there is no way to find out it won’t work until you concussed.
It’s a 13.3hh pony, with an adult saddle and pad on its’ back. Its’ SHORT back. Lordy, I hope the adult wasn’t riding this poor pony!!!
Hey, a lot of ponies that size can, and do, carry smaller adults perfectly fine. Many people forget (especially in America, where ponies are rather less common than in Europe) that ponies are, for the most part, stronger than horses in proportion to their size.
I’m 5’5 and quite willing to hop on my trainer’s 13.2-13.3-ish pony and she keeps on bouncing along (Her nicknames include ‘Go Go Pony’ and ‘Energizer Bunny’. because that pony can do three hours carrying adults and STILL act like she has springs in her fetlocks). Now, it does depend on the pony, and believe me, if I think I’m too heavy for an animal, I won’t keep riding it, but I’d say that stocky little guy could carry an adult fine.
Or SHOULD be able to, because that post made me look at the pic again. Should not be seeing the beginnings of sway back with a 5 year old gelding. Any bets he was broken in at two or even younger?
I would edit that statement to “could carry a NORMAL WEIGHT adult just fine.” I doubt he could carry the average American adult these days.
I have a 14.1-14.2 hand paint mare. She’s stocky and can carry people a bit larger than me with no problem. I’m 125 pounds (150, if you add the saddle) and about 5’5″ and she’s fine. This guy has good substance and he looks like he’d easily be able to carry someone my size… if the tack were on correctly, at least.
I specified smaller. Obviously, you couldn’t expect a pony to carry somebody who is overweight…or 6’6, for that matter. I’m half an inch shorter than you and usually weigh 130-135 (most of it muscle) and would feel perfectly comfortable getting on that pony with correctly fitted tack if it wasn’t for that nasty dip in front of his hips.
Optical illusion, I’m thinking, on that “sway” that you’re seeing…
One of the problems with white, tbh… it can trick the eye. The way the saddle is sitting is only making it worse and the pony is certainly not standing level in any way or form.
Rather certain this pony has an average “normal” pony-back.
I actually do think the animal has lordosis (sway back) it looks pretty typical to me, the way the saddle is sort of scrunched up on the horse and you’ll notice the rump sort of hitches up behind the saddle? take that ill fitting saddle off and I am pretty sure you have a train wreck of a spine under it- now, that is no reason why this pony could not be a useful kids pony- with limited weight he could live a useful life. But we all know that is not going to happen- they aren’t going to get a single “bite” at that price, and then they’ll end up selling for a song to the nice man who stops by with a trailer and says he has a field full of buttercups and daisies where the pony can play with his children for the rest of it’s life……
There is a reason they often put croupers on pony saddles. Show me the same pony with tight tucked knees and a cute child rider going over correctly ridden fences and I might be more impressed with his child-packing skills and price tag, than a tiny tot who has to be held in the saddle so he can stay on and an annoyed look on pony’s face. Since the handler is in breeches and the stirrups are more correctly set for her, I assume that’s who’s been riding the pony. Hope she’s not been trying to jump in that “shoulder perched” saddle.
The saddle slipped during the helmeted person’s ride. Afterward she quickly threw the tot on board for a cute photo op, not a 100 mile endurance ride or a steeple chase. The pony looks cute, calm and well taken care of. The tack looks appropriate for the job and clean. Chillax people, this one garners no need for outrage. If all horses were treated this well the world would be a fine place.
but outrage is MUCH easier…. like, duh …
Complete fail. LOVE that someone is trying to defend this. The saddle just slipped, so of COURSE its okay. What???? If the people posting this picture had ANY idea of how wrong it was, they would have fixed it before they took the picture. They didn’t, which means they are ignorant and should not own a horse in the first place, so it is good that the poor thing is up for sale.
Tack is “appropriate for the job”?? Uh, here’s a clue, if your saddle SLIPS LIKE THAT WHEN YOU RIDE, it is not appropriate for the job. Sorry to have to capitalize that but its seems like a challenging concept.
I will refrain from commenting on the stupidity of “tossing a tot up for a quick photo op”–if parents want to risk their child’s lives/brains for a cute photo, I’m not going to stop them.
It must be hard being perfect. Compared to some of the frights I have seen on CL, seriously underweight, filthy, sick look horses in dirty stalls being treat inhumanly this photo is a dream. Yah, so the saddle doesn’t fit perfectly, but it looks like a saddle that might be used on several horses at the barn. The pony is groomed, fed and looks cared for. Harping this much on a slipped saddle and labeling people not fit for horse ownership because they put their child on a horse that they likely know is bomb proof is just self righteous bullshit.
If the saddle slipped back during the helmeted person’s ride, like you say, that is seriously the wrong saddle for him. The first time that happened she should have found a better-fitting saddle, and not ridden the pony until that better saddle was being used. A saddle that fits does not need to be expensive, it just requires some knowledge and some time on the part of the rider to find it. And the pony does not have a listening face: his eye shows a negative expression and there is the beginning of a wrinkle at his nostril. The wrinkle does not show relaxation and interest, it shows pain or anger.
Seriously…all that from the beginning of a creased nostril? The pony’s eyes are so shaded the only thing I can see is that he isn’t showing the whites of his eyes. He is standing there with his tail down and his head is up because someone is pulling the reins back…his ears are pointed back, most likely listening to the shrieking child in his back. All this anthropomorphosizing is hysterical. Let’s see, but the expression on his face I surmise that his mother never really loved him and didn’t accept his desire to work for Ringling Brothers…he ate a sour apple that morning and someone commented that he had a fat ass which completely ruined the rest of his day. He suffers from low self esteem and like to gamble.
This! I honestly think people really do read too much of a “human emotion” in a horse’s expression.
I also think that the rider’s leg with the red chap is giving off the illusion that the pony is bracing more than he actually is.
I think people fancy themselves horse whisper ers. The pony isn’t braced at all. He is standing squared up as it looks to me. But then again, I am only a mere mortal, not a horse psychic!
Are you serious? If you can’t tell that’s a pissed off expression on that pony’s face, I sure hope you don’t own horse. If you can’t tell the difference between listening ears and pinned ears, you are in for a world of hurt. The reins are loose, but he’s tense in his lips and nose. That is not a happy horse in any way. It’s not horse whispering, it’s equine body language and SAFETY 101.
Yeah, I do own a horse. A seven year old Arab Baywatch V gelding who is a sweet heart who I ride endurance and show hunt seat. Ive had horses just about my whole life and i know what a really pissed off horse looks like…this isn’t it. Sorry to disappoint you. I bet you don’t ride much if you think this horse looks dangerous. What a joke.
To me the pony doesn’t have a “fuck the world”. His eyes look calm and he’s standing relaxed. The ears are just pointing backwards – most likely due to the fact that he’s wondering what that little person is doing on his back.
Taking into account that said little person is holding on to the saddle while the horse is stationary, I assume the horse nor the child are used to each other. They were probably quickly thrown on for the photo.
This time, you read too much into a single photo.
I actually don’t see a relaxed horse at all. His jaw is clenched, his head is up and his neck looks braced. In fact his whole body looks braced.
Yes, the head up and ears back could be him listening/watching to what’s going on on his back, but that is definitely not a relaxed horse.
It’s most likely because he isn’t used to the child sitting on him. I doubt any of our horses look 100% calm, 100% of the time.
He’s a good weight, with a good shine, and apart from the ill fitting saddle, he really doesn’t look badly off.
I agree – when my horse is wearing this expression, it’s his “bottle-rocket” face. I need to be careful because he doesn’t love whatever is going on and he is on the verge of launching. This horse’s eye is not relaxed – it’s wary. I understand that he may be worried about the little person on his back, but that probably means the little person shouldn’t be there because he’s not in the right frame of mind.
The horse’s lips are pinched, his ears are poised too far back to be relaxed and he’s beginning to brace his body. I bet the next picture frame would have been him turning to the rider while moving forward and a kid going off balance with the rider struggling to control both horse and kid from the ground.
It doesn’t look like the rider has gotten on yet either based on the positioning of all the tack. While the saddle is too forward at the moment- the rider isn’t on yet. It’s likely that she would adjust prior to hopping on. I’ve seen many riders do this- place the saddle forward but they ‘reset’ just before getting on. It’s a habit I notice going hand in hand with people struggling with proper saddle fitting issues. (Also noting the double saddle pad and fleece padded girth is confirming that theory.)
I’m a HUGE advocate of always putting a helmet on children- I have been guilty from time to time for plopping a kid up without it in the past. Kind of like- “I’ just going to hop in my car and go to that store on the other end of the parking lot without my seatbelt on.” Of course you feel weird and guilty after. A few more times of being even harder on yourself than any passer by and you end up not doing it anymore.
Above all snark and gripes notwithstanding… I think the biggest crime here is NOT MARKETING YOUR HORSE to the best of your ability to attract the RIGHT buyer. The owner is doing her horse NO favors trying to sell with that picture. Wouldn’t a better picture be of her horse, show groomed in show clean tack, going over a small cross rail OR moving on the flat in a nice frame? FB and CL are the epitome of lazy seller habits and we wonder why nice horses aren’t selling?
Total marketing fail. If the pony jumps and goes in a frame, why not show THAT? This is not better. This is just the usual case of using your tiny child as a guinea pig/marketing prop to sell a horse. It isn’t cute. It just makes you look like a bad parent and it doesn’t make the horse look as good as a picture of it jumping or a nice trotting pic would have made it look.
Definitely agree with you on the marketing topic – not doing the owner any favours towards finding potential good-home buyers. At least they’re showing the horse from the side eh? (On a side note, I find adverts with a photo of just the horse sticking its neck out of its stable the *most* frustrating, it screams “What are you hiding behind that door”…
…back on topic…
It does look like he’s clenching his lips – but I believe that it is most likely the first time that child’s sat on him, you know… to market him as a”great” child friendly pony as most adults find it more popular to over-horse rather than under-horse.
You’re wrong. That horse has a *FML* expression, not a fuck the world
I cringe to think how much pain he is in after being ridden like that.
I see the same thing. Pony is braced and has the eff-you expression on his face. The comments on this post show us how so many people don’t recognize it when they see it, hence the number of horses in the world who are pissed off but no one is noticing.
Look, here are the issues:
Saddle is way too far forward. This is probably some combination of (a) poor saddle fit and (b) lack of a crupper on a horse who needs one.
Pony is waaaaay swaybacked. I mean, “Guns and White Roses” swaybacked. Look at it. The saddle is on there to hide how swaybacked this young pony already is. So you are always going to have a hell of a time keeping a saddle put on this pony.
I am truly shocked that people can be so blind when reading horse’s body language and expressions… its like those dog owners who cant tell their dog is upset or wants something and just think the dog is being funny or playing.
This horse looks irritated and concerned, maybe it’s never had a kid on its back?
So just another ad out there advertising a ‘kid-friendly’ pony MAINLY because the pony is A PONY, not actually because it’s kid friendly.
I’m also concerned how sway-backed this horse is… and dear god if they ride it with the saddle like this it’s got to have back problems.
It so upsetting how uninformed SO MANY horse owners are… theres a man at the stable I board who bought a 6 month old appaloosa baby because (his words) “Appaloosas are majestic.” but he has never owned a horse before, has no experience with horses, hasn’t read a book or anything on them… just thought he’d wing it. He was wondering why we were brushing ours out and didnt know how to put on a halter.
It’s a year later, he still owns this baby horse but it’s now kicked his 5 year old (because the 5 year old child would run around the baby screaming on a near daily basis) hard enough to send it to the hospital, still doesnt know how to lead or be tied, has had ONE farrier visit and that was a disaster…
but yet I’m glad this appy has a home instead of being shipped to auction/slaughter
*end online rant now…* lol
“I am truly shocked that people can be so blind when reading horse’s body language and expressions… its like those dog owners who cant tell their dog is upset or wants something and just think the dog is being funny or playing.”
EXACTLY.
THIS! I would love a post and discussion solely on how one determines that a horse is happy. I see people all the time say “ooo look at how fast, he just loves to do x (run barrels, jump, gallop)” when the horse is not enjoying that thing at all, he’s just afraid or in pain and trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. I do the same thing driving fast on the way to the dentist’s office. These people would think that I LOVE the dentist, while I am actually giving myself an ulcer worrying over it.
That being said, my horse does have days where he wants to “go,” and he wants a good run, and I have had to learn the difference between this and the days when he is upset about something and fast because of it. I just get so frustrated when people confuse putting up with something and enjoying it. It seems to happen A LOT with horses. A soft eye, a pleasant, interested expression, and a relaxed body mean a horse is happy.
Can I ask what the heck is covering her girth? A sock monkey??? I also agree with another post on why people would use that photo to market this pony? Looks like a pretty nice guy other than strangely placed saddle etc…but with ears back and kid on board the ad lacks what is needed to attract a buyer for him. JMHO
Did no one notice that the horse’s knee is wrapped in a polo??
That’s the legs of the person holding the pony, who is standing behind it.
I agree with others that this pony looks significantly unhappy, and he has a pretty nasty sway for a five year old.
I agree that this pony does NOT look happy.
Not sure if anyone has pointed out to all the people talking about the saddle being in the wrong spot… The pony obviously has a swayed back, the saddle sits like this because there is nothing holding it up anymore, very sad to see still being ridden.
Well, the up side is that the saddle is so big that the kids ends up sitting in the right spot. Kinda. the problem is if the person – and i use the term loosely – standing next to the horse is planning to ride it then i foresee a very ouchie ride.
Horse does not look amused. Maybe he could buck off the kid and kick the adult in the head? …………………… What? I didn’t say anything… *walks away whistling*
Wow…
And another thing, those stirrups are set for an adult and adults should NOT be using peacock irons. The irons will actually break under the weight of an adult rider. Not the bands, no, the IRONS.
But that saddle is almost exactly like mine!
Not to mention the ill fitting bridle. And could that be a sway back I see under that saddle? Hard to tell, but hey.