Drinking and trail riding=dead horse.

I wrote a while back about saddle club I was VP of.

One of the members, NOT the one with the demon spawn, but the father of one of the other kids, went on a trail ride sponsored by a bar in town about 70 miles from us. It was the 26th.

From couple of pictures of past events there, basically a drunken brouhaha I imagine.

The man apparently decided to run his horse, whether racing another, (heard that) OR just decided to run full out, (ex wife said that) his horse hit hole/boggy spot/tripped, and went over, breaking its neck and killing it right there, mercifully.

Man knocked unconscious, refused ambulance when it showed up, (friends drug horse away so wouldn't upset him!) and then later decided he was in pain, and went to hospital.

He has 2 crushed vertebrae in neck and 2 in back apparently? Ex says "he broke his neck" but others said cracked things. Off work 6 months is what doctors said.

EVERY picture he has on FB he has Busch in hand, squatting on his horse's rump, or standing up full out. Every single one.

Horse was maybe 4, if that. Horse is dead because owner is a drunk and a fool.

Seems to be a family trait though, as on his dad's FB page, it says "beer, beer and more beer" which really looks good for a 60 year old man to have on there.

THIS is exactly why I refuse to trail ride with most people, and never will ride with someone who is drinking.

Omg... that's insane.

I will never understand why people think drinking and horses mix........poor horse

Yup. There are idiots in the horse world. Idiots outside of it too. Naught to do but ignore them. There's a saying I like: it's never wise to fight with an idiot- they drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. It's a shame a horse died because of it.

That is horrible, sad and insane.
I'm glad that where I board drinking&trail riding (or riding as such) is just unimaginable - nobody has prohibited it, because nobody has ever had a single thought of trying it.

In defense of beer, I know quite a few people who will go out on group rides that involve a few cases, never has a horse died or been injured because the rider/other riders were drunk. Albeit, most of them can't even possibly stand on their horse without falling, I doubt anyone who is experienced with horses and knows how much they can drink before they're just plain 3-yr old stupid wouldn't do that to their horse.
A lady I know, who also has a trail horse I would die for (that has been ridden drunk/wasted/hungover multiple times at 7yrs old), goes on a lot of weekend camping trips with the horses. From what I understand, about every-other-weekend she has off work and she goes camping every weekend that she has off. I feel that if there was a huge risk of someone doing something stupid enough to get their horse killed because they were drunk, more than just that horse of hers would be dead, because others on the rides use her horses. Many normal people that understand things have very little risk of doing something that puts their horse at extreme risk. I know people that are sober that want to run as fast as they can through the trails I use to ride; right after it rained, after it snowed, while the ground was frosted over, etc. I'd much rather go for a trail ride with this woman who drinks that I know than the 27-29yr old woman who runs her horse through the trails that are rather risky (IMO, but the horses are use to it) at a walk in quite a few places.

When we had the more experienced riders together for a trail ride, we'd always go up around the hay field and race back to the other end where the gate back to the barn was. We were all sober, but that same exact thing that happened to that drunk man could've happened to any of us. A new groundhog hole that was never there for 10yrs could've popped up, there could've been something discarded from one of the houses that border the field the horses could've slipped on, etc.

Now, don't get me wrong in the least, this is an absolutely horrible incident and I'm sorry that it happened. I'm devastated for the poor horse, it sounds like it was very well trained for it's age if this guy wasn't bucked off, or the such before the ACCIDENT happened. While I can't speak for this man personally, I know a few people who wouldve done the same thing, without having any alcohol in their system. People make lapses in judgement, regardless ifthey've been drinking or not, but no one can say that this isn't exactly one of those situations as well.

But like I said, it's a damn shame..but without knowing the man personally, and well, no one can blame it all on the alcohol and not just a devastating accident, or the act of an everyday idiot.
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WoW, all I can say is Sad! I feel bad for the poor horse that did nothing but do what he was told. I hope the man is getting better, it will be hard enough for him that he finds out he killed his horse. Maybe he will think before he drinks and rides

Not saying that what the guy did was right, but the same could have happened if the guy was sober. Accidents are accidents. They happen.

I drink sometimes while riding. Not to the point of being drunk but still drinking. It's called being responsible and being an adult. Some can't mix the two. Some can't stop drinking until they're smashed. I don't see a problem with having a couple drinks while riding or then go riding.
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I have to agree, the same could have happened if the guy WASN'T drinking. It's one of my biggest nightmares when trotting/cantering or galloping along a nice field. There are ground hogs around and you can't always see the holes.

I like to have a beer or two when I'm trail riding. I know some people have more, but as usandpets said it's about being responsible, and knowing when enough is enough.

Had a mare that had no tolerance for drinkers. Her normal sweet self would get rather nasty.