Bokt.nl

**Geplaatst door de TopicStarter** : 24-03-02 11:56

So much difference!

Geplaatst door de TopicStarter : 24-03-02 11:56

Since 1996 I have been in the States and the horse world is so much different.
I remember going horse back riding when I was nine. It was a little manege where 80% of the kids came. Right away my sister and me didn't fit in. We didn't have a lot of money, didn't own a horse, didn't own horse equipment, didn't own nice clothes etc... So, our coming there was hell! We kept coming hoping that one day it would all pass and people would accept us for who we were. It never changed!
Over the course of years I went to different maneges, all with thesame problem. I didn't fit in! I was always ready to help everyone, especially do to the dirty work, but I was never appriciated. The last manege I went to was just thesame. The reason I didn't fit in was because I didn't own a horse and I didn't do any competitions. All by all, I was a nobody! Very sad!
Anyway, now things are different. Where I live we don't have maneges. Everyone own his own place or you board your horse at someone elses place. I have a appaloosa that I board by people. Here you be able to be yourself without anyone telling you what to do and how to do it. This is freedom! And everyone respect one and another!
I hope I haven't offended anyone with this, I call it "Freedom of speech". It is just my opinion and I do believe that not all maneges are this way.

Diamond Checkers

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 12:07

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 12:07

You're right, but not all riding stables over here are the way you described. Some are, and some are not. I have encountered the same problem, but it is stable - related, and not to be generalised.
The truth is also that, if you do not own a horse, you tend not to come to the riding stable that often, so people who are there every day, do not know you that well. Or the talking they do is about experiences and issues they had with their own horse and how to resolve them on a long term base. So the issue somebody has with a schoolhorse he might be riding on for about one or two hours a week, and a lot of riders coming after him, and how he solves it might not be helpful or that interesting for others.

So, yes you are right, some stables are like that. But do not generalise (and the experience you have now whith boarding your horse at somebody elses place might also cause the same sentiment with other non-horse-owning but interesting people. The threshold in these cases might be very high as well.

**Geplaatst door de TopicStarter** : 24-03-02 12:14

I didn't say...

Geplaatst door de TopicStarter : 24-03-02 12:14

Let me tell you for sure that it is different here! I didn't say that all maneges are thesame. They are not! I have boarded horses here for quit a few years and they have always treated me with respect. Believe me, it is different here! And I talk from experience. I came everyday to the maneges that I was going to but I was never allowed in their group. Nobody should take this personaly, it is just the way I see things.

Diamond Checkers

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 12:21

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 12:21

Don't forget that you are seeing things from a different perpective now.
The time you have here was a time that you didn't have your horse. And if you would have had a horse here, things would have been different, and your experiences as well.

But now that you have a horse over there, you are experiencing things from a horse-owner point of view. How would thing be if you would be without horse? Could you and would you walk on to somebodies property just to be around horses? I know I wouldn't dare to...

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 12:21

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 12:21

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Laatst bijgewerkt door Bobo op 24-03-02 15:10, in het totaal 2 keer bewerkt

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 12:30

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 12:30

I know what you're talking about. The stable I was riding when I was little (read 7 years old) there was one girl, just one, 'more' than the others. She was allowed to do everything. And we (read all the other kids) weren't. Besides that I was very happy there, because all the others were te same.

After 5 years I went to a real manege, just to see what was the difference. That was almost the way you described. If you had a horse for yourself you'd fit in, but did you have to ride on the horses owned by the manege, you were nothing at all.

After two years 'hell' I went back to the stables were I was before. Now there were a lot of changes, no, not in the first few months that was just the same but then came the foot and mouth disease. After that horrible period everything was different. we went to another stable (read, the owner of the stables, she fel in love withe the neighbor. So we went from one building to another, and that changed everything. Everyone was the same and we were all happy.

Now I have a Shetland pony and I am still the same as all the others. It's not like:' you don't own a hose so you're nothing' it's not like that at all. We are all The same. and I am very happy with that!!

So, I think that there's a difference between stables and maneges..

(sorry, I hope you can understand my story, because my English is not so good. I’m just 15 years old, so I haven't a large collection of words in my head)

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 14:38

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 14:38

It all depends on the stable, the environment, and how open you are to certain 'vibes' you get from your surroundings.

I've always just been there for the horses, to ride, to learn....to walk with sick horses or run besides pony/horse in lessons...
sometimes helping out with mucking out stables, or helping new people to saddle or groom their horses.

Never have I even wondered if people were looking down on me.
You could find me in the manege almost every day, with owning my own horse not much has changed, except that I don't like to stand at a manege because of the large amount of people.

With having my own horse the thing that did change however is the way I look at the way horses are kept....

**Geplaatst**: 24-03-02 15:23

Geplaatst: 24-03-02 15:23

I go to maneges since I was 6, and I never had the feeling I didn't fit in caus I dont had a own horse...
I didnt fit in caus I am different Tong uitsteken

My sister inlaw has a videotape from her lesson when she was little (from the first manege where I was riding also, age 6-11 or something) and you can here the kids in the backround on the tape making fun of her when she was riding, and that was quite typical for that manege, little girls with big ego's talking about each other behind each others back, very nasty I think...

Now i don't have no problems anymore fitting in, I just ride, have great love for horses and I even dont care anymore what others think about it...