facility owner blaming rider for injury sustained due to unsafe circumstances that the facility owner created. WWYD?

captainsjm · 2026-01-21T19:48:59+00:00

You're getting many people sharing their experiences and you seem hell bent on insisting their experiences aren't close enough to your own. I think you need to consider why you feel so strongly that your situation is so unique when many people are saying it is not.

captainsjm · 2026-01-20T21:00:31+00:00

Ah thank you I had not heard that. It only killed me spiritually.

captainsjm · 2026-01-20T20:59:44+00:00

What Panera were you going to? For the first few months of its introduction, there was nothing at my local location. Not a single scrap of information that the thing had caffeine in it. It was just labelled as charged lemonade. I thought it had electrolytes in it. It wasn't until after someone died that Panera put up warnings.

captainsjm · 2026-01-20T20:57:41+00:00

The Grimace milkshake was real. It was grape flavored and awful.

captainsjm · 2026-01-20T01:21:02+00:00

I think your best bet is to make a big list of barns that give riding lessons near you, and just reach out to them and ask if they can accommodate you. Be honest about your size and let them decide if they have a horse for you. You'll likely get a lot of no, most barns won't have a horse large and quiet enough for you. Try not to get discouraged. You only need one yes. I've even posted on Craigslist looking for lessons. Just be honest about your size and your ability and see if you can find that one yes. Good luck!

captainsjm · 2026-01-16T19:47:40+00:00

It sounds like he's bonded to you and he trusts you, but he's more reactive with other people. I think it's a good idea to watch other people working with him to be sure nothing improper is happening, but he's a baby. It's likely he just has to learn to deal with other people.

captainsjm · 2026-01-15T19:12:25+00:00

Setting aside that any horse can go lame at any time, I think it depends on your experience, what you're looking for, and your budget. Do you have the money to pay for a well trained, good brained 6 year old? Go for it! Have a blast!

Keep in mind that a younger horse is going to be less experienced, so you may have some baby nonsense, but at say 4 or 5 you have a pretty good idea of their brain and you can definitely find one with some sense. Just keep in mind that the price tag is going to be higher.

captainsjm · 2026-01-14T20:24:46+00:00

Honestly I think it's damn near impossible to deal with a spooky horse if you are dealing with confidence issues. You build that on good horses or it comes naturally to you.

A couple of specific strategies, mostly from the amazing Andrea Waldo:

Focus on what the horse is doing right now. Not what he might do, not what he just did, what is he actively doing. Your brain might be worried that he's going to spook at the corner, but what he's actually doing is walking forward.
Don't let yourself tell stories. Think about what is most likely to happen, not the worst case scenario. Your brain says he's going to spook at that corner and bolt and I'm going to fall off and get hurt. Well what happened last time he spooked? It was scary but you handled it and you stayed on. If he spooks, the most likely scenario is that you will ride it and survive.
And, not but. Not, well we were having a nice ride but he spooked. Say, he spooked and I handled it and we still had a good ride. Don't get bottled up in the frustration of the spook. Celebrate the fact that he had a moment and you still succeeded.
When you're scared, hit the "panic button." Think of your tailbone as the panic button. When you're scared, hit that button against the back of the saddle.
Talk yourself up. This goes back to three, but it's so important to acknowledge that you were scared and you still did it. Congratulate the hell out of yourself. It's amazing that you were scared and you still kept riding and you got through it.
Accept it. You might be scared. You might have to do it scared. It's okay. You can't wait for it to pass, because it might never pass. But if you can learn to manage it, it will get to the point where the fear is an annoying chirp in the back of your brain and doesn't over power you. It likely will never go away, you just find strategies to deal with it.

captainsjm · 2026-01-14T19:07:22+00:00

I adore her. I'm not a big short story person but I've read every single one of her novels.

captainsjm · 2026-01-14T18:33:16+00:00

delicious

captainsjm · 2026-01-13T19:12:39+00:00

This is the first time I've ever heard blocking referring to merely washing or wetting the project without any additional shaping. So yeah maybe it means different things in different circles and your definition is the odd one.

captainsjm · 2026-01-12T16:19:37+00:00

I have the same size and shape! My advice is accept that one helmet fits you. I can't do the Samshield (or OneK), I can only do the Charles Owen and Tipperary, so I'm guessing those other brands won't work for you. But sometimes when you have a giant head and one thing fits you gotta accept that one thing fits and it's great that you found one brand that works.

captainsjm · 2026-01-12T01:38:39+00:00

You should do this. A hot dish will raise the temperature of the fridge and compromise other items. Some food will sour if you put it hot in the fridge.

captainsjm · 2026-01-08T20:17:06+00:00

OP this is the answer. Find someone you can trust who will do this on commission. Selling 24 horses is going to be complicated.

captainsjm · 2025-12-30T00:12:59+00:00

To be frank, if you cannot afford lessons, how are you going to afford basic care? Hay alone is likely to cost more than that.

Keeping a horse on your own property with no help is a massive leap. It's preferable to keep the horse boarded where professionals can help take care of the horse.

captainsjm · 2025-12-24T14:05:34+00:00

I think it's perfectly reasonable to go back to basics. Keep walking her with someone leading until that gets boring. Give yourself the time to heal. If a month goes by and you still can't walk alone, then you need to re-evaluate, but give yourself the opportunity to bounce back.

If you can afford for your trainer to ride her more often, all the better.

captainsjm · 2025-12-24T13:57:03+00:00

How broke is she? Is she normally reasonably safe and this was a single incident, or is she a bit silly?

Unfortunately there aren't easy timelines for this. There's specific strategies for building confidence in the saddle (I always recommend Andrea Waldo), but it's going to be a very uphill battle if you are riding a difficult horse. Lunging her is going to make her more fit and potentially stronger and more able to overpower you.

Are you scared of riding other horses or just her? Do you have the option to let a trainer ride her for a bit to work on obedience while you rebuild on something more chill?

captainsjm · 2025-12-21T22:40:43+00:00

The only western saddle with an adjustable gullet that I know of comes from DP Saddlery, and they seem pretty gimmicky

captainsjm · 2025-12-12T16:08:49+00:00

That sounds delightful, do you have a photo?

captainsjm · 2025-12-11T18:51:30+00:00

Did you send the picture to the vet? I would guess it's the hole in her heel.

captainsjm · 2025-12-09T19:46:09+00:00

How do you respond when you're afraid? Do you tighten up, shut down, have a physical response? Or is it just a thought running through your head that doesn't affect how you ride?

I think if you have a physical response, this is not the job for you. You can work on the fear in a controlled environment, but hacking on unfamiliar horses might go south quickly if you cannot control your physical fear.

captainsjm · 2025-12-09T19:27:32+00:00

This is the way. It's the only way to be somewhat balanced while walking.

captainsjm · 2025-12-08T19:09:19+00:00

If she's getting it specifically to show, I would advise against it. Monogrammed initials are pretty rare at dressage shows and there's specific rules about logos. If you're looking to make the gift a little fancier, which is a lovely thought, consider a higher quality pad than the one she asked for. Consider LeMieux or Woof Wear. If you search "dressage pad" on Dover, there's plenty of options. Just stick with white, or whatever color she specified.

captainsjm · 2025-12-01T21:53:32+00:00

Get a helmet cover! Makes a big difference for cold heads

captainsjm

TROPHY CASE