h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Or rather, to what purpose would you ride a horse round and round an arena?

To me, it's quite simple. I want to be good enough at controlling a horse to take it out safely and have a good time riding around, in the same type of terrain I like for walking. So I take lessons, but they're not the ultimate purpose.

But last week, the uni equestrian club went out for a hack. And of the six people riding, only two had ever done so outside an arena of some sort, even though they all ride well enough to be on either the dressage or the show jumping team. One of them even owns a horse, and competes on it, but has never been *out* on it.

That confused me, and, to some extent, bothers me - because to my mind, it shows that they think of a horse as something like a tennis raquet, to be used for a competitive sport and then put away till the next time. It doesn't really take the horse's needs into account, and feels unnatural.

So, all you riders of h2g2 (and other opinionated people ), how do you see the matter? Why would you ride a horse?

(Be back in a little while - I'm soaking wet and muddy to the eyebrows from charging around in a forest on horseback, despite the snowy sleety stuff. An hour of that just feels so much more like living than an hour in the sand school!)

Oh.

I thought this was going to be a trick question, somewhat like "Why did the chicken cross the road," but slightly more serious.

The purpose of riding a horse used to be getting from one place to another without walking. The horse was pretty much the standard form of transportation for centuries. Some people seem to use horses for the purposes nowadays as well, but there are more options than there used to be.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed your ride.

I had an aunt who lived on a farm. I rode one of her horses once or twice. I rode a horse at a local fair somewhat later. Haven't been on a horse in about 40 or 50 years, though. I livei n a city, and we don't have too many horses here.

Beautiful, intelligent animals, though. "Warhorse" was wonderful!

I'm with you on this Mal. It's a bit confusing. Taking the horse outside would seem to be the entire point of the operation, to me. The other stuff - all the grooming, the lessons, the stuff in the sandy ring - it's all done as a means to an end.

For that matter, I don't understand anyone who owns a vintage sports car but just keeps it in a lock-up and never drives it. I don't see the point in that either, but with a horse it's even worse. Keeping a car that way, you can at least say it's the way to keep it in best condition. Not so with a living creature, though!

only riding a horse in a ring is a bit pointless
once you've learnt how to ride anyway...

I suppose the problem comes with seeing it as just another sport
or something like that,
you don't take the horse into consideration just your riding of it
which is a wholey selfish thing to do
and riding outside is more of a challenge in many ways

The more I think about it, the more I think I'd be bored out of my mind just riding around in circles in the ring...

The horse has a mind, too, and part of the warm-up, for me, was getting in sync with the creature, learning its 'tells' (how it signals a mood or an intention) and whether it has any physical weaknesses or holes in its training. I want to be sure that we have a full system of intercommunication. I want it to learn to pay attention to me. I want to learn how good the brakes are.

(posted too soon)

And we have to learn to trust each other. I'd rather do all of that in a structured environment before I take my new friend out on the road or into the woods.

One doesn't just ride in circles -- one is communicating every step of the way.

An analogy might be the figure skater. Everyone who skates loves to be in the rink together or maybe out on a frozen lake or river. But if you figure skate, then you go round and round in circles, perfecting complex movements and balletic jumps. You're concentrating full-time.

Apologies for flooding, but I thought of something else. The hose has been our main mode of transport for millennia, not just centuries. This past century is the very first one that we've mostly done without it, and we had better keep them around in case the oil situation goes pear-shaped!

"And we have to learn to trust each other. I'd rather do all of that in a structured environment before I take my new friend out on the road or into the woods."

I don't think anyone's disagreeing with that - but it's not an end in itself.

The purpose of horse riding is to help keep the meat lean, so it makes for better horse steaks.

I thought of that, but said nothing in the hope that no one else would think of it. There are places where eating horsemeat is illegal, I believe.

>>It doesn't really take the horse's needs into account, and feels unnatural.

Surely the act of climbing on top of an animal to make it carry you is inherently 'unnatural' ?

The point is, to win rosettes and trophies for the owner. Not to go out and get muddy, and have to deal with the plebs you might bump into when out in the real world.

Is it like with dog comps? Where you get your first horse, realise it hasn't got what it takes to get you the rosettes and so you get a second one specifically for competition?

Or, she's selling it, and has to have a wash between customers.

wrong thread. Move alone...

Riding a horse around a ring and never taking it outside is like learning a traditional martial art and only ever practicing it in lessons.

Taking it out on the road for a pleasant trot is like doing a bit of light sparring.

And riding at speed across the countryside is like entering a full-contact competition.

I think the real purpose of all of these activities (horse riding and martial arts), whether the participant realises it or not, is in part to keep alive obsolete traditions which, while fun to do, are of actual use to really very few people.

Ultimately, there are now few people left for whom riding a horse or fighting for real are necessary and central to their livelihood - cowboys and nightclub bouncers spring to mind.

In the last month I've seen two movies that made me realize (again) how beautiful and intelligent horses are. The horses that are alive today are mostly descended from wild horses who would rather have died than let humans ride on their backs. Genetic diversity provided that at least a few of these could be domesticated, and it is the descendants of these domesticated horses that are alive today, with maybe a few small populations of still-wild horses in remote areas.

Do today's domesticated horses have a genetically-based urge to be taken care of and used by humans?Just curious.

What's the purpose of horse riding....??

well if you have to ask, you'll never understand...

Man and beast in perfect harmony and understanding, feeling the wind in your hair and the rush in your heart...

Mala, I think that one of the things you've just come across is fear. I know a lot of people who don't generally ride out for pleasure because of some fairly reasonable fears: Road users if you have to use a road, fear of the unknown and what the horse will do, fear of loss of control. People get ring-bound. Often as they get older.

What happens in the arena is controlled. It can't go too far wrong, the horse can't disappear across three counties, can't bolt with you on it's back towards the nearest cliff-edge(who said fear was rational? ), can't get much speed up. It's a 'safe' environment. Very little of the unknown will happen there.

I get nervous when I'm out, although I dream of riding across wild lands untouched by human hand I lost my nerve as a young teenager and it's hard to override that even now. I really have to trust my horse and control.


But even more than all of those things, I think that most people don't have the imagination. Sadly. Some stables will have an attitude that you have to *do* something with your horse or you're 'wasting' her talents. 'Look at her, eating her head off and nothing to show for it' is not uncommon. I remember with a chat room I used to go in years agon, one woman was constantly getting stick from other riders at her livery stable for not being competitive and just enjoying her horse's company and riding out, exploring the local area together... We like to formalise our activities these days. Just look at the gym culture. If I go for a three hour cycle ride to a local pub and back on a sunday, that's not considered exercise because I wasn't wearing lycra or sweating in a gym. I think that if one likes to hack out, one ought really to be *doing* something. You know, training for a long-distance ride, or trying out my new 'schooling on bridle paths' technique I read about recently in a magazine...

Going for wander on your horse isn't done so much any more. It's lessons and improvement and structure. And a little fear.

I like what you've written, Robyn.

Liking your horse and enjoying its company sounds like a valid reason for riding, in my opinion.