Bates Horses Discussed On Horse City

[Deleted03]

I ride my bike in the city, sans-helmet, but in more than 20 years of riding and competing show horses, I can count on one hand the number of times I've hopped on a horse helmetless. There's a big difference between a bike and a 1,200 lb. creature with a mind of its own, so as a bike commuter and an equestrian, I hate that comparison.

Regardless, the biggest issue here is the welfare of these poor horses. :(

[donks]

Yeah, she tried some damage control, "oh we rescued them. They were far worse when we found them! B;ah blah blah."

BULLSHIT. You're riding them, HARD. They stood saddled at the porch so they could be ridden off and on all day long.

I rescue animals. To do it properly takes time and money-plenty of it. It also takes working with a vet and a farrier closely to do it right-both of whom need to be paid. Just because you 'rescued' a horse doesn't mean the professional care it needs should be comped.

The Bates are lowlifes. They sponge off the government by using the emergency room as their primary care. They sponge off their son by 'borrowing' money to feed the horde they have created.

These people should not even own a mouse for crying out loud-they can't afford to feed themselves much less rehab horses in need.

[BoomerLynn]

It's with horses as with dogs. The same behaviour a very small dog exhibits is considered "cute", but in a big dog, it would be considered (and would be!) dangerous.

A small horse as well as a small dog can do considerable damage, if they hit/bite the right spot. This is irresponsible.

And in my opinion, miniature horses are not always the most gentle ponies. They can be, as shetland ponies, quite mischievous. I'd much prefer to teach young children with a Welsh Mountain or similar, who are, only judging from the horses I've worked with, more gentle, the few inches added in height don't matter that much. Things and animals are not per se suited for children due to their size.

And never-ever wear anything but closed and stable shoes when working with horses! :shock:

Horses do not "know" that humans have no ard hooves as themselves, so they are not able to "take care" of their humans and their feet, no matter how gentle the horse is.

[Swamptribe]

My Aunt had a beautiful pony stallion. He was used for stud, had him for years. His big problem was you couldn't catch him. We didn't even realize the little guy was broke. One day, we caught the little bugger, and next thing you know my son (about 12 at the time) was riding this pony around in nothing but a halter. He was a perfect gentleman, once caught. It does depend on the pony (son had a helmet on, and there were several horse savvy adults standing by).

You don't let kids who aren't used to horses 'play' with them, you don't let anybody not wearing shoes that cover their whole foot near a horse. You don't ride a sickly animal. If you can't afford to properly feed the animal, then you rehome them with somebody who can.

[emmiedahl]

I did not always wear a helmet, but when I was a kid helmets were not worn on bikes either. If I was casually riding Missy, who was a gentle older female, I just climbed on, usually bareback. If I was riding one of the male Arabian show horses, then helmets were totally necessary because they could get really bad tempered really quickly. And of course when you are learning jumping and dressage, you might fall occasionally. I always wore good riding boots, though! Yikes, one of the horses stepped on my foot while I was wearing the boots and it hurt like a bitch!

I have let my kids ride a friend's POAs but there must be supervision, decent shoes and helmets.

[Jenesis Jexodus]

I feel so sorry for the Bates horses. Maybe they think the older horses are supposed to take care of the younger horses and that's why this whole horse thing isn't working out?

[debrand]

Didn't the Bates borrow money from their son to pay for necessities? How can they afford to care for horses when they need to take money from one of their kids.

[emmiedahl]

I feel so sorry for the Bates horses. Maybe they think the older horses are supposed to take care of the younger horses and that's why this whole horse thing isn't working out?

[Witsec7]

My niece is a world class polo coach, for private and olympic teams. She transitioned from barrel racing to polo. In the course of her career she's broken vertebrae, her pelvis,collar bone and a few ribs. She claims she is lucky that she hadn't suffered 'serious' injuries because she never rode without a helmet. Now a days she wears a body armor similar to what bull riders wear. When we kept horses, no one was allowed into a stall, barn or paddock without proper foot coverings. We never handled cattle without foot coverings nor would I attempt to handle my yak without foot coverings.

These folks all think accidents happen to other people and god protects them from their own stupidity.

[Constance Vigilance]

I ride my bike in the city, sans-helmet, but in more than 20 years of riding and competing show horses, I can count on one hand the number of times I've hopped on a horse helmetless. There's a big difference between a bike and a 1,200 lb. creature with a mind of its own, so as a bike commuter and an equestrian, I hate that comparison.

[Black Aliss]

These folks all think accidents happen to other people and god protects them from their own stupidity.

[PennySycamore]

I read through all the comments in the Horse City thread. Someone mentioned that the Bateses' maltreatment of these horse had been reported to an animal welfare group in Tennessee. I sure hope that they'll be able to do something. From what I've read and heard, the animal welfare laws in Tennesee are pretty weak though so what the animal welfare group might be able to do fo the horses might depend on their powers of persuasion with the Bateses.

I'll have to see if I can send a link to the video to my cop friend who is a real animal lover and used to raise horses years ago.

Btw, if anyone else read through the entire thread, much of it devolved into a debate about creationism.

[donks]

Didn't the Bates borrow money from their son to pay for necessities? How can they afford to care for horses when they need to take money from one of their kids.