Thats where a sinister smile and a middle finger come in handy... ;-)



It very well could be jealousy...but oh well. Haters will hate. Ignore them.
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Howdy,
I find this a little odd, but I tend to face it a lot. I own an Arabian and I get a lot of remarks and negative comments about my horse because of his breed. In a field of QH's and TB's I always get dirty looks and I have even had someone tell me I should "give him some vitamin B" B as in bullet.
Its not just the Arabs that get it too! My best friend owns a stocky old style QH and her trainer told her to sell him if she ever wanted to go anywhere in the horse world.
It bugs me that people are that inconsiderate. Sure, they may just be voicing their opinion and some breeds are better at certain things than others, but sometimes its nice to keep those comments to yourself.
I don't know, maybe it's because I hear about the stigma surrounding Arabs, TB's and other 'picked on' breeds a lot, that I notice this sort of thing, but I just find it rediculas.
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Got to let it go in one ear and out the other. For many years all that I owned were Arabians or Arabian crosses. Here in my part of the world its all about Quarter Horses and TWH. I heard everything. I just told people that only "educated, intelligent" people could really understand and handle Arabians, that's why they aren't everywhere around here. Didn't make me too popular with the local rhinestone cowboys.

 

It's a horse.. just ignore them. They have nothing better to do than trash talk about anything. They're probably the type to gossip as well and be two faced.

 

That's people for you. I pick a horse For who I love on the ground and who I feel safe riding. I don't care what people say, you can train hard enough so that a horse can do a basic of anything.

 

All my horses have been Arabians, except one, and that was a Paso Fino. Everyone always picked on me. I was told to get a real horse, my horse isn't worth anything, they need vitamin B...I could go on. You know what though? Screw em. It irritated me, but I always had bragging moments and I never failed to make sure everyone knew. While everyone proclaimed how flighty Arabs are, I made sure everyone noticed how mine were always perfect ladies and gentleman when being handled. When they snooted their noses about how mine couldn't do anything, I pointed out how their *insert breed* was dripping sweat and dog tired yet mine looked as if he/she were fresh from the stall after doing whatever activity was being done. People will probably never respect your breed, but they should respect your horse as an individual.

My husband has a QH and that's all he's ever owned. He picks apart my horses every chance he gets, from how they priss around the pasture to how they snort and blow at nothing. At the end of the day, he knows my horses are good. They respect me and are trustworthy, they're just different.

 

I grew up on pinto arabs, and loved my boy - he was intelligent, beautiful, and loyal. He also was hot, prancy, and finer boned (though 15.1). When I left home he was sold - many years later when I was finally able to own horses, I got another little arab - and we faced that same discrimination - very hard to place in open shows and lots of negative comments.

I also had an appy and faced the same problems - along with getting to hear LOTS of Appaloosa jokes...

Hey, wanna know why Indians rode appaloosas into battle?
Why?
So they would be good and mad when they got to the fight!!

When my girls got old enough to show 4H, I bought paints - easier to be successful on a more accepted breed in our area, though rude people will always find something negative to say regardless of the breed you ride.

 

I also live in an area where the QH is a dominant breed. For a while I had my kid at a friends house. They weren't really experienced horse people and where all about the QH.. Blah, Blah.. BLAH. Anyway I have a Morgan.. and he is nothing like a QH let me tell you! There was one time where my friend made a comment that my horse had to much hair! WHAT?? Insane..

 

Just have to ignore small people like that. I am sure to be the laugh of any boarding facility with my oddball horses and me being old and just wanting to trail ride and enjoy my horses. My fear of having to move back to Virginia where it was all english barns...with my western saddle, percheron and little noodle-legged spotted draft/paint cross.

 

i had the same problem when i was still eventing my saddlebred cross, who is now retired. people would think he was cute until they found out he was half saddlebred and then call him stupid and crazy. they can say all they want about my horse, but it doesnt change the fact that he's amazing. i bet they all felt stupid at a show where he got an 8 for his gaits and i got an 8 for my rider score in our dressage test!

 

Haha, I get lot's of comments on my appy. I've been turned down by boarding facilities because of his breed. I get lot's of questions like "Why would you want an appy? they're stubborn and mean." Then they meet Chippy and their opinions change The way I see it is, the more people that are driven away by appy's, the more I have for myself.

 

Most of appys I've known have been friendly, no where near mean.

 

You know ... you have these types of folks no matter what you are in to. Be it horses, dogs, goats or bunnies! (Ever see a bunny yawn? Scary stuff I tell ya!")

We own a Rottweiler and an English Mastiff. We hear all the time the "scary" stories about our baby eating pups.

Best advice I can give is make your horse the VERY best representative of the breed you can (which sounds like you are doing). Then when they start yappin, you can just smile and nod as your Arab runs circles around their breed of choice. Most of the time these folks start yappin because they are jealous anyway ... make them even more. Yeah, I'm a snot like that.

I love me some Arab ... but I ALSO love QH's, Morgans, Appy's etc. ALL are good horses and I wouldn't kick any one of them out of my barn. Every single horse breed out there has a use and maybe a *couple* of them aren't my cup of tea but if someone else loves them then that's all that counts, right?

 

Another Arab owner here! I've had lots of inquiries about why I'd want such a "wild" horse. I actually spent several hundred dollars in vet visits at one point because my old trainer was adamant that my horse was lame. Pfft. Three vets and a chiropractor later, and X-rays, no one found the alleged lameness.
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My first and second horses were Arabians. And I boarded. I heard lots of crap but the last straw was when the barn owner's daughter got a bumper sticker that said "friends don't let friends ride Arabians." Well this was the person who was supposed to be trailering me to a show with my Arabians. I really got my feelings hurt and she removed the bumper sticker but I will never forget it.

It DID make me feel better that my Arabs were more trustworthy than her grade QH. Her QH would buck and dump her. I never quite got why people were into Quarter Horses until I moved away and met a friend with really GOOD Quarter Horses. They are all the positive things you always hear about QH's. Until then I really didn't know what the hype was about.

Anyway, back to the boarding situation. I finally reconciled in my mind that the proof was in the pudding, so to speak. I rode alone most of the time, had two different Arabians and they took wonderful care of me and we had a great time. That was more than any of the QH owners I boarded with were doing. They were intimidated of their horses. So that's when I decided they were all hot air and had nothing to back it up. Their horses were jiggy and bucky and my Arabians took me safely out trail riding alone.

I decided Arabians are just too sensitive for a lot of people. They don't have the patience for a sensitive horse, or maybe it intimidates them, I don't know. But it definitely takes a more sensitive person to bond with Arabians. You can't just force them to do things for you and expect a docile horse. Arabians are more like cats, they want a relationship with their owner.

 

I just nod my head and agree.

"Yep, she's insane! Has eyes of fire and a soul to match!"

Then I add, "Gotta really know your stuff to ride a she-devil like her! I'll let you know when I think you might be ready..." :twisted:

 

I have personally always loved Arabians but alas I have never met one IRL yet. I do have a TWH that I picked up for a song because I live in QH country but I don't care what others say. Besides if Arabians are SOOOO worthless why is the breed the one everyone goes to, to improve thier stock? Things that make you wonder?

 

I swear, if I hear one negative comment when I try showing my crossbred girl, I'll slap the mouthy jerk right off their own horse.

"OH, SORRY. Thought since your horse is SO much better than mine, he could keep you held up while I smacked the crap outta you."

The amount of discrimination to any animal is kinda stupid. I don't understand. Seriously - got anything better to do than to smack-talk a breed?

 

I try to never discriminate against the lesser breeds...:wink:

 

I just smile and ride 'em into the ground and then apologize for not realizing that their horse was so out of shape......

 

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I would not worry about them, they are probably just jealous because they do not have an Arabian.



.

 

people hate what they do not under stand so just tell them that they should learn more before they open there mouth :evil:

 

I knew a draft/standardbred/some sort of other gaited horse mix who looked like God spit into a martini glass, shook it around, and whatever fell out became Traveler.

Traveler was trained at the ripe old age of 15 years old. He was made fun of, picked on, snubbed at. He was an underdog and nobody believed in him. They said he was a waste of time.

But Traveler learned how to jump 3 feet. And Traveler could canter halfpass. And Traveler won at jumping shows. And Traveler gave austistic kids pony rides.

The breed of a horse is merely an over exagerated detail. Its the heart of a horse that makes it worth anything.

This is what Traveler looked like when he first came in for training:

You would have never known he could, but he did. Propper muscling, a good diet, and correct training made him as good as any other horse. His Martini Spit pedigree didn't mean squat to what he wanted to do and how far he wanted to go. It shouldn't mean squat to anyone else, either.

 

I LOVE that copperhead! There is hope for my spit horse too!!:lol:

 

I'm apparently a glutton for punishment, since my very first horse was an Arabian, and I've continued to own them for over 30 years. Not only that, but I now have a -GASP!- TB who came off the track! :lol:

Never mind that he's the sweetest, most laid back horse I've ever owned. He MUST be crazy 'cause all them ex-racin' Thurubreds is nutz! JJ obviously didn't get that memo.

 

My first horse spent time on the track. Now granted, I got him when he was 15 so it had been a long long time since he had raced.

In the time I owned him (7ish years before he passed RIP) he literally was bomb proof. Never spooked. At. Anything. Ever. And since I was green as green can be, well...20 years later I realize I was luckier than lucky to have such a perfect first horse.

So, to me, it's all about the individual animal. And those who make generalizations are simply not worth wasting your energy listening to.

 

Owned Arabians most all my life. They were the calmest horses on all the trail rides we went on, never spooked and always easy to handle, yet I still got crap from a few people. People like that are just sort of ignorant and hateful about a lot of things I think. When they started their stupid rant I would just smile at them and say, "In order to train an Arabian you have to be smarter than they are.". That almost always shut them up.

 

I love Arabians! We have ppone at camp her name is buttons and she is so sweet, tons of energy and very willing! Scared of a lot though, blocks of ice and wall for instance, but in all fairness the arena wall backs onto stalls so you can hear the horses on the other side but you can't SEE them. It's kinda funny she has to be tied with most of the lead rope given to her and stretches it all the way out and just stares at the wall like it might eat her.

 

I own a ex ridingschool horse,who's not mother's best and not the sort of Belgian Warmblood you would expect (big head,bad confo).

A lot of people call him names and laugh with him,but I know he's better than all the other horses. They don't laugh anymore when I beat them in jumping competitions,little children LOVE him and he's the only horse that doesn't move a muscle when lightning stroke last year on the roof of our barn and all the other horses broke out.

I lov ehim like he is and you always need to remind yourself that he's YOUR horse,not somebody else's and that for you he is the best horse in the world.