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[RC] questions to ask horse people - rides2far>>>I was wondering if you guys had any good ideas of questions to
ask horse people. or good ideas to talk to poeple who dont really know horses
about, because i need to give a speech about horses and i >>needf advice.
please let me know!
When my students start asking me about horses I discuss the difference
between reality and horses in the movie. Movies treat horses like big dogs
because people understand dogs...thus horses love them, and are loyal, defend
them, etc. Also we like to examine why it is that when a movie horse lays down
it is sick and you absolutely must pour whiskey in its mouth and beat it with a
whip at which time it jumps up and is now well. >g<
Did this yesterday...answer the question, "Do horses ever lay down?" These
guys think they're smart because they heard horses can sleep standing up (they
enjoy if you'll explain the mechanism for that though). However, they don't
understand that horses can and do sleep laying down at times thus not every
horse sunning in a field needs the whiskey and a whip cure.
Maybe you could ask horse people how real horses are different than movie
horses and discuss the difference in "Prey" animals vs. "Predators" which we and
dogs are...thus people understand a dog's motives.
Also, find a way to dispell all the stupid myths, like "You have to show a
horse who is boss". I explain to the kids that horses are great big scaredy
cats. I tell them, "A horse is like when you're a kid and going through the
woods at night. If you're with someone like your dad who is totally *not* scared
you're fine. If you're with another kid who is terrified *you* are terrified.
Then I tell them, "the horse is like a kid and needs somebody confident, then
he's confident. If *you're* scared, he acts up because he's even more
scared...just like you'd be horrified if your "brave dad" was scared. Most of
what they think of as a horse being out to get them is just a horse that's
getting terrified because his rider's terrified so he figures the wolves are
coming out of the woodwork any second!
Almost everyone who has ever been near a horse has a "I rode a horse once
and he ran away with me" story. I got put in the hospital once for a horse
related accident and honestly, everyone from the nurse who checked me in to the
doctors who usually don't have time to look at anything but your chart told me
their "I rode a horse once, he ran away with me" story. :-P Maybe you
could have someone tell their story, then explain what was probably going on
from the horse's point of view. For instance, they probably tightened the girth
with his hair twisted up in the cinch, separated him from his friends and made
him feel vulnerable, screamed, making the horse think the world was coming to an
end so he should reach the safety of the herd...etc.
A picture of a horse and telling them where he's ticklish, where his blind
spots are, etc. would be good. They love it when I make them hold their
hand above their eyes like the brim of a baseball cap and explain that a horse
can't look up without tilting his head back as if you had on a baseball cap.
Also, many never noticed the predators have their eyes on front of their heads
for hunting and prey have theirs on the sides and can see almost 360 degrees.
(that ticks off the vegetarians when you point out that their eyes are not on
the sides!) >g<
Good luck!
Angie
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