i officially hate The Bates family.

[LilMissMetaphor]

I know that at the very least the younger ones should be wearing helmets. I don't know a single horse owner that would allow young, inexperienced riders on a horse without a helmet on.

Not to sound like a broken record, but...once again...

http://www.thepioneerwomansux.com/2011/ ... re-idiots/

Maybe I’m in the minority of normal people but I can’t for the life of me wrap my brain around thinking it’s perfectly safe to put a four year old on horseback in the middle of a herd of 700 steers. Picture that for a moment people – SEVEN HUNDRED LARGE STEERS moving around being herded in a huge several hundred acre pasture and a horse carrying a small FOUR YEAR OLD without any adults around, the mother is 50 yards away and the others are concentrating on, you know, the 700 FUCKING STEERS! Do YA THINK it might not be the best idea?

..with no helmet.

[CanadianHippie]

Not to sound like a broken record, but...once again...

http://www.thepioneerwomansux.com/2011/ ... re-idiots/

..with no helmet.

*shudder*

I've been in the middle of heard of steer, but I was older, wearing an helmet and they were younger and more socialized to people.

[NurseNell]

THis is why flip flops and hooves don't mix. Heh.

Yikes, that is an impressive injury!

[Stacie]

^ absolutely! i didn't want to bombard possibly non-horsey people with too much info all at once.

It's good information to have. There's probably a lot of people in general with no idea of what's acceptible and what's not & the more education about animal welfare out there, the better.

Although this sounds like anyone on the planet should see everything wrong with the horses....haven't watched yet but will.

[CanadianHippie]

It's good information to have. There's probably a lot of people in general with no idea of what's acceptible and what's not & the more education about animal welfare out there, the better.

Although this sounds like anyone on the planet should see everything wrong with the horses....haven't watched yet but will.

Some might be hard to pick out the problems unless you know what to look for. Others, it's like looking at a super skinny supermodel and thinking "I should not be able to see those bones!" That might be just me though, it's been a while since I've been around horses, and I've (thankfully) never been around starving horses.

[TennesseeWaltz]

There are definitely horse rescue groups nearby.

http://horsehaventn.org/

I know the Bates live outside of Knoxville, but are they in Knox or Anderson County? Someone needs to make a call and have them investigated.

I have zero tolerance for anyone who abuses an animal. My rescue kitties are sitting on my lap as I type this (they're a little awkward to type around LOL).

[Austin]

When we lived in Kansas, my daughter was in a Mounted Girl Scout Troop. I bought her a horse for $300 that had been abandoned by his owner and was going to go to the glue factory if someone didn't buy him. He turned out to be a real sweety, a good old horse for pleasure riding. But the farrier who checked out his feet told me, "The cheapest thing you'll ever pay for a horse is the purchase price." And boy was he right. If you aren't prepared for the day to day expenses, no horse is a bargain. And a cheap horse needs feed and vet care the same as an expensive one.

That's exactly how we came by my first horse, which was quarterhorse gelding, and then the second, which was actually a Welsh pony (big pony). The gelding was something like $100 bucks because the owner just didn't want it any more, and the pony was actually just given to us. My folks later bought me a morgan mare and I think that was the only horse they paid any serious money to acquire. But your farrier was right about the purchase being the cheapest thing.

When I married and moved away, we sold Sapphire (the mare), but Fury (the gelding) was too old to ride and we were afraid someone else would not take care of him. Smog (the pony) had already died, because he was pretty old when he was given to us.

I still miss them all, but I don't delude myself for a second that I am in any position to own a horse now.

[Deleted03]

Not to sound like a broken record, but...once again...

http://www.thepioneerwomansux.com/2011/ ... re-idiots/

..with no helmet.

O_o just right there, why would you put a 4 year old on a horse with no helmet? Horses are so huge and a 4 year old is so tiny! he'd fall more than one time his own height!

and just the rest, horrible. I have no knowledge of horses but I accept all the explanations.

[Stacie]

Not trying to defend them because I was absolutely shocked at the hips jutting out, too, but maybe their horse is just old? If I recall, the younger horse looked like it was in good shape, but I wasn't watching super closely so please correct me if I'm wrong!

The only reason I mention this is because I knew someone who had a couple of horses that were elderly and looked equally emaciated. A neighbor called animal control due to how "obviously neglected" the horses were, but when animal control came out to investigate she showed them vet records, feed receipts, the stables, etc. and they said everything was dandy. Still didn't stop the neighbor from complaining repeatedly, but the story has always made me think twice about judging a horse only by how it looks without knowing anything about it.

I agree with everyone who said they shouldn't be riding a horse so ill/old that its bones are jutting out, but being bony doesn't necessarily mean that its otherwise being mistreated.

Some horses, thoroughbreds for example, can be harder keepers. But in addition to food and water horses need to have their teeth done annually, sometimes twice. And if after full exams and testing (& regular worming!) they're still unable to hold weight, maybe just leaving them on pasture grass or hay isn't the answer. Pellets, alfalfa cubes, etc, whatever it takes. My horse's paddock mate can not be on pasture, ever, because she drops weight too easily & quickly. And she's only a 9 year old TB mare.

[Stacie]

i had a 35+ year old gelding who wasn't anywhere near as thin as the brown Bates horse. they sicken me to my very core.

i posted on FHOTD about this, does anyone know if Cat is still in charge over there? i know she turned the free speech horse forum over to someone else years back....

I think she is. Cathy is on FB, too....saw her post on Grace's page.

[Jessica]

I don't know much about horses but there's a clip of them somewhere (maybe the TLC site) where the horse is kicking around right by a bunch of kids and it just looks a little scary. Feed and train the horse/"train" the kids to keep away from it when it's kicking or sell it to someone who will take good care of it... especially when, like another poster mentioned, you can't afford food for your kids already.

[EmmieJ]

When mine became too expensive for me to care for my horse I GAVE her away to someone who could afford to give her the time and care I could not. (I

Because that's what a responsible and decent animal owner should do. Heck, I only have one cat but I won't get another because I can't afford it. If they can't or won't properly feed their horses, I am sure there must be some family in their area who would love a free horse and would treat it right.

[Swamptribe]

I have owned a horse. Had to sell her because we didn't have the money to keep her anymore. She went barefoot, but we still had the farrier out to trim her hooves regularly. The stable cost money. It broke my heart to rehome her, but the lady who was running the stable part time knew we were having financial difficulties and paid me more than the horse was really worth. bought her for her granddaughter who liked to ride. I knew she was going to a good home.

My horse was not always an easy keeper, and we didn't have a lot of money, but she was never skin and bones. I remember putting her on beet pulp to help bulk her up one winter.

I have never been to a stable that wouldn't kick you out for wearing flip flops around a horse. Let alone anything that didn't completely cover your foot. That is just plain stupid. I don't give a fuck if the duggar girls can brag about how they do all sorts of things in skirts (billions of women throughout history have done lots of tougher stuff in skirts than the duggar girls) and flip flops, some things are just beyond stupid. Pride goeth before the fall.

[SimplyMe]

I didn't see the episode- now I'm both curious, yet afraid, to watch it. I'm a life long horse owner and get infuriated by the mistreatment or neglect of the beautiful creatures. Although our household income is surely significantly higher than the Bates' and we only have 4 kids, we only own ONE horse because of the high cost of properly caring for them. My horse is a hard keeper and I easily spend $200/month on supplemental (that doesn't include his normal feed costs) feed to help him maintain a healthy weight. I'll never understand why people own animals they can't afford to care for. In their case, I don't even get the feeling they care about the horses judging by the way I've seen them treated in previous episodes. I think it's just about maintaining their cowboy, country-folk image.

Don't even get me started on the idiocy of wearing flip-flops around horses. Truly, I think these people are some of the dumbest, most ignorant idiots on the planet. You know, it might do them some good to have one of them get injured (hopefully not badly) due to their dumb shoe choices. That might be the only thing that would change their whole, we-can-do-anything-in-flip-flops attitude.

[lilwriter85]

I have owned a horse. Had to sell her because we didn't have the money to keep her anymore. She went barefoot, but we still had the farrier out to trim her hooves regularly. The stable cost money. It broke my heart to rehome her, but the lady who was running the stable part time knew we were having financial difficulties and paid me more than the horse was really worth. bought her for her granddaughter who liked to ride. I knew she was going to a good home.

My horse was not always an easy keeper, and we didn't have a lot of money, but she was never skin and bones. I remember putting her on beet pulp to help bulk her up one winter.

I have never been to a stable that wouldn't kick you out for wearing flip flops around a horse. Let alone anything that didn't completely cover your foot. That is just plain stupid. I don't give a fuck if the duggar girls can brag about how they do all sorts of things in skirts (billions of women throughout history have done lots of tougher stuff in skirts than the duggar girls) and flip flops, some things are just beyond stupid. Pride goeth before the fall.

I hope the Duggars go to a stable one day and kicked out. The Duggar girls have annoyed quite a bit of people with their attitudes about always being able to do stuff in flip flops and skirts. It is annoying to hear them brag. I don't like to wish ill anyone, but I think a minor injury from wearing flip flops in inappropriate situations will happen to one of the girls.

[Trynn]

They brag about this? Really? When? I saw one episode once where they were climbing a mountain, and one of the older Duggar girls (no idea which one) said that she had put on good shoes for the hike, but that (at least one of) her other sisters hadn't, and that said sister was probably regretting the choice right now.

I think that they wear flip flops a lot because flip flops are cheap, or at least, cheaper than a good pair of shoes. It's probably part of Singy Boob's financial plan.

[CanadianHippie]

It comes up occasionally, usually through Jim Bob. I admit the first time I heard him say "Duggar girls can do anything in a skirt" I was thoroughly defrauded though. And I couldn't stop laughing.

[marmalade]

It comes up occasionally, usually through Jim Bob. I admit the first time I heard him say "Duggar girls can do anything in a skirt" I was thoroughly defrauded though. And I couldn't stop laughing.

Jessa said that on a show recently, but added flip-flops to the quote. She was so smug about it I wanted to reach through the teevee screen and smack the smirk off her face.

[Lillian]

Kelly's responded to a question on their website:

Dear Lori,

Thank you for your concern… We, too, are horse lovers and have rescued several from bad situations. We have only had Cheyenne for a few months and are trying to fatten her up. We bought her from an auction, because she was too sweet to be so neglected. She was a mere skeleton at the time, but is progressing well. She has access to a round hay bale all day long. She is fed several flakes from fresh square bales twice daily. She receives grain mixed with oil and corn twice daily, along with alfalfa pellets. She is also on a regular worming program. It broke our heart to see her when she first arrived, but she gets plenty of love and attention now. We also rescued another horse that had been physically abused and was scared of all people. Although she is certainly not ready to be ridden by children, she has become much more gentle and trusting. Another small horse we rescued almost died as a baby. We contacted 3 vets that said she would not make it. We finally found a compassionate vet that prescribed the antiobiotics needed, but she also did not think the horse would survive. Our children slept in sleeping bags outside to feed and care for the horse until her health was strengthened. She is small, but very much alive and healthy to everyone’s amazement. Even the vet said she was a miracle! Recovery from problem pasts often takes time, but we think its well worth the effort! Love, Kelly

[Guest Anonymous]

They brag about this? Really? When? I saw one episode once where they were climbing a mountain, and one of the older Duggar girls (no idea which one) said that she had put on good shoes for the hike, but that (at least one of) her other sisters hadn't, and that said sister was probably regretting the choice right now.

I think that they wear flip flops a lot because flip flops are cheap, or at least, cheaper than a good pair of shoes. It's probably part of Singy Boob's financial plan.

Heck they could buy some frumpy Romulkas or at least some Ecco's on sale for what it costs to shoe a girl in flips for a year. Not to mention their feet might be getting pretty gnarly from not wearing real shoes. Heck. what about a few dozen pairs of Converse, they could mix and match depending on their size range??

Ugh I hate the idea of those girls feet and the fact that they probably share underwear too.

[SimplyMe]

Kelly's responded to a question on their website:

/quote]

I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. I have a friend who rescued a thoroughbred gelding who was grossly underweight. It took him a long time to gain enough weight to look healthy, and she did ride him when he was still very thin. The vet actually recommended it to help him gain condition and aid in weight gain. Her answer seemed legit, so as much as I want to stay mad, I believe she is telling the truth. I still haven't watched the episode, were all the horses underweight, or just the one?

[3 is enough]

Kelly's response sounds like some major damage control to me. Maybe this is the Bateses (Bates'es? help!) version of "gun gate".

Sounds like the horses are fed, but WTF? There's no money to insure their kids, Kelly gets pre-natal care from a free clinic, they borrow from their son, and yet they keep horses? Or are the vets providing pro bono services?

These people have such messed up priorities.

[gustava]

/quote]

I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. I have a friend who rescued a thoroughbred gelding who was grossly underweight. It took him a long time to gain enough weight to look healthy, and she did ride him when he was still very thin. The vet actually recommended it to help him gain condition and aid in weight gain. Her answer seemed legit, so as much as I want to stay mad, I believe she is telling the truth. I still haven't watched the episode, were all the horses underweight, or just the one?

Where do they get the money for expensive food and medicine??? Oh, yeah, Lawson.

[CanadianHippie]

Jessa said that on a show recently, but added flip-flops to the quote. She was so smug about it I wanted to reach through the teevee screen and smack the smirk off her face.

*snicker*

[Kitty]

Where do they get the money for expensive food and medicine??? Oh, yeah, Lawson.

I'm sure Lawson is *thrilled* that all of his money is going to horses his parents can't care for instead of the kids his parents can't care for.