[drivingpairs] Re: Gail's story
- From: Gail Smith <gail.smith@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 19:33:42 +0000
Well, JLO...perhaps my story was a little much for the list...there was
so much more to say about it...so much huniliation. I am still
embarrassed about it and it kinda makes me cry sometimes.
U know I learnt a valuable lesson in the US working at a vet hospital in
Illinois
1) Ask questioons if u do not know, else accidents happen
2) everyone believes different things about handling horses. Don't make
assumptions about your handling abilities. Horses sometimes prove
otherwise sometime
I tried my best to remember those things at that show. Yes, I can
groom...I know how to feed. I can tack horses up, lead them
out.............my weakness was I was 1) unfit and 2) not used to team
the harness. My inexperience with team rigging and my unfitness fuelled
the opion that i was incompetent. :o(
Yes, I with I'd seen the turn-over. The groom was 'put-out' and it was
talk on the circuit for weeks after. when I tell friends about my
experience the comments is 'oh, yes, thas the team whose groom
over-turned the vehicle in the water in Scotland and shags everything
that moves' .....LOL
The horses were fine.....far more deserving a better driver thas for
sure. The horses stood dead still......the shalft was snapped in half
and the spring on the shaft (not sure of it's name) was completely mangled.
The injured horse.....his owner was greatful to me and noticed I knew a
lot about vet science. He asked me to give the horse his shots the next
morning and approched my patron with a request for me to hold the horse
while he took his team to compete in the cones. All I did was hold the
horse and graze him..............upon his return he gave me £40 for my
troubles. I never expected that but took it as the man told me he felt i
had got a raw deal on this one. He was apologetic and said he already
had grooms for the season else he'd have helped me.
When my team returned the groom and the man's wife made snidey comments
about 'it's tough in horses, having to stand around holding them'
What really irked me was the assumption i knew nothing and continual
digs at my lack of knowledge. When I said i wanted to backstepI have a
Equine Science degree and i worked for a vet in the US for over a year.
It has put me off quite a lot. I really wanna get some exposure to
driving, My riding is crap. I had some back accidents showjumping and
want to drive instead. I feel better behind reins then on a horse's back
Afterward i found out that show organisers had paid for unhappy grooms
to be shipped home because the man i was a guest of had upset them and
treated them badly
I did not mind helping out. That was why i went but it became
unreasonable. Expecting to do everything classed as dirty work while the
actual groom got to do the good stuff.
As far as knowledge, yes I have an opinion but I certainly do not
inflict it on people. People treat their horses differently and i
respect that. for example those poeple allowed the horses to drink 2
buckets of water after the marathon. I do not believe that is what i
would do with my own horses but i guess it works for some. To me that is
an opinion, not throwing knowledge around. The right way is not always
right for everyone. I would never treat people's horses in a way they
did not believe was correct, I might state my opinion and discuss
it...but i would never expect people to change their values because of me.
Essentially i do not think those people are very nice. They may succeed
in team driving......but if they do....it'd be the horses. Money
sometimes does make a difference. #
Gail
JLO wrote:
>This "finding help" thread is fascinating. I am one of the help-less
>out there with many ponies and no money. I realize when we start
>driving multiples again we will really need some help (see keeping it
>multiple related).
>
>My definition of good help would be someone who did what I wanted
>even if they thought they knew better. Everyone does things
>differently and it takes a special person to do something in a way
>that is against what they would do with their own horses. Obviously I
>don't mean anyone should do anything they felt was dangerous, however
>the little differences in horse handling and care should be respected
>by employees and not argued. I have a friend who's help will stand
>there and argue with her about the way something should get done.
>
>I'm usually too lenient with "help". I have trouble pushing folks to
>work. I find it easier to do it myself than to keep asking for it to
>be done over. I have had kids come out here with the idea of trading
>time with horses for work. It NEVER works out. They all say they can
>ride and of course they cannot. It would take me a million times as
>longer to teach them to ride as it would to clean out my entire barn
>myself. They never clean stalls correctly and I end up stripping
>stalls by the end of the week. They never want to go through a lesson
>program, they mostly want me to wave a magic wand that will allow
>them to gallop down a trail into the sunset. They rarely want to do
>carriage stuff. I don't have beginner safe equines out here anyhow
>and sure don't have the extra time to make them that way. In the end
>it's a bigger pain in the tail than it's worth.
>
>I will say, firing those girls Laura has coming out would be a piece
>of cake. In fact, I would rather enjoy it. I will NEVER stand for
>kids that defy me. My own must obey the first time and so must those
>that belong to others if they are on my property. I have a teenager
>(I can't believe it, but I do) and she would 1)Never smoke, she's far
>too bright 2) Never defy me, again she's far too bright <LOL> 3)NEVER
>be disrespectful to an adult who's care she was in. I would kick her
>butt into next week if she was ever disrespectful to an adult she was
>"working" for.
>
>Any kid that took my ponies out and did what they pleased rather than
>what was allowed would really regret it. In fact, it would probably
>be quite some time before the bodies were ever found <VBG>
>
>If I had someone who just wanted to help on my carriage with NO other
>work I would do cartwheels!!! Just to find someone that would come
>out three times a week and run a brush over some of my stock would be
>simply devine. If they did any actual barn work, well that would be
>better than ......... CHOCOLATE!!!
>
>I much prefer guests to help. You can simply stop inviting a bad
>guest out, help you have to fire and you almost ALWAYS end up firing
>them. Or in our case, handing them $1000 in cash, a bus ticket,
>directions where to find hotels and apartments and how to conduct
>normal life, taking their dog away to keep both the dog and the human
>from becoming homeless and then sending them away wheeping. Long
>story, but let's just say I endured 5 mos of live in help that was a
>nightmare and in the end I still felt awful turning the old man out
>onto the street. NEVER AGAIN!
>
>I've got an idea, Gail should go on a tour of the USA. She could be
>everyone's guest for a couple of weeks at a time. Free food and room
>in exchange for help with carriage driving and light barn work. Gail,
>can ya handle a feed scoop?? Lead in a horse or 2,3,4,5?? If so, you
>can make a reservation here. I won't even make you muck. Just pack
>light, a lot of suit cases make me nervous <LOL>
>
>Jodi in Morriston FL
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