# Makes me never want to hitch again



## Littleum (Mar 2, 2009)

You might have seen this floating around other internet boards today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha8E-lOuOYk

Scares the bejesus out of me.


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## Reble (Mar 2, 2009)

Oh my, I was holding my breath, that last horse sure hope it was OK.


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## StarRidgeAcres (Mar 2, 2009)

I'm supposed to have my first driving lesson this weekend. I was looking forward to it, but this is really scary. I know it can happen and nobody necessarily did anything wrong, but it's sure going to make me think twice. I've personally not seen anything like this before. Poor horses and poor people.


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## ~Dan (Mar 2, 2009)

Im with you on that Parmela, I dont think Ill ever show in a driving class, maybe just drive around at home, now thats scary, I imagine everyones greatest fear driving is to have that happen


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## Joanne (Mar 2, 2009)

Ohhhh my. Sure wish I knew if the horses were O.K.

My heart is pumping now.....


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## Reble (Mar 2, 2009)




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## eagles ring farm (Mar 2, 2009)

Oh man scary

hope to forget that next time I drive (or I hope I remember it) not sure which

You have to expect the unexpected with a horse for sure

Hope everyone is ok


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## jleonard (Mar 2, 2009)

That was handled very poorly.



IMO, if they had delt with the first horse better, and if all of the people in the ring had been paying attention and not running around like chickens with their heads cut off, they could have avoided the issue with the second horse.

I went through the comments, and they said that no one was seriously injured, just a few bumps and bruises. It really looked like they broke the second horse's leg when the yanked him down, I'm glad that was not the case. It is a miracle that everyone made it out of that.


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## countrycharm (Mar 2, 2009)

oh my goodness watching that makes me think how stupid some poeple are, the first thing i would have done is GOT OUT OF MY CART i couldnt believe that lady sitting right in till the end UNHITCHED and quickly and saflety got me and my horse out of that arena, half of that could have been avoidable. Doesnt make me not want to drive just makes me hope there are some people out there who have a clue when im in the ring.


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## luv2ridesaddleseat (Mar 2, 2009)

That was horrifying! I can't imagine that last horse was ok. He didn't look it.


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## ~Dan (Mar 2, 2009)

What I dont get is why it took so long to get everybody out of the ring once the first horse got loose, or at least unhitched their horses and set their carts in the ceter of the ring away form the first loose horse



Those poor horses, Im supprised that last one when he fell didint break his neck, or at leats a leg, I dont think they handled it very well over all


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## maplegum (Mar 2, 2009)

I think the video has taken down now...I can't access it.


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## midnight star stables (Mar 2, 2009)

I showed this video to my step-dad after I watched it in shock. I am somewhat new to driving (I have a clue, by I'll admit that I'm no master by any means.) My step-dad grew up with only driving horses and has seen more then his share of *other's* driving accident. Accidents happen but you need to know how to handle them. My step-dad pointed out a number of things/people that only made this particular case worse, which I did not notice on my own, scary stuff.





Did anyone see the runaway at Nationals this year? It was a young girl driving in a youth class. She was very brave and I wonder if anyone here seen it?


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 2, 2009)

That was a perfect example of an incredibly incompetent ring crew and announcer! Calling the horses to a walk right off the start rather than warning about the bolting horse and calling them into the center as briskly as possible was a stupid idea putting that first woman, in front of the bolting horse,in danger. I noticed quite a few major errors on their part myself



that only served to get more horses and persons in trouble. Obviously they were not driving people and some were not even HORSE people!!! With so many people in the ring they should have been able to put a stop to it much faster than they did. Roping and tripping the horse sure did stop him up quick though didn't it!


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## StarRidgeAcres (Mar 3, 2009)

I'm really glad to read some of these responses from experienced driving people. I am as about as new as it gets when it comes to driving (first lesson is coming this saturday) but I watched that and thought it was handled very poorly. So to hear that I was right in that many things could have been handled differently makes me feel somewhat better. And the crowd! It seems to me that every time I've seen something go wrong at a mini show, the audience has been totally silent and not added to the bedlam. The only time I've seen mini crowds yell or anything is when a horse gets loose in halter class and everyone wants to make sure the gate person knows to secure the gate. And that poor woman that came down to a walk only to get crashed into.



Mark Bullington sure would have handled the mic much differently!


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## hobbyhorse23 (Mar 3, 2009)

Drat, I was waiting until I got to a YouTube compatible computer to watch this and now it's been taken down. What the heck did it show?? Were these fine harness horses, draft horse hitches, 4-H'ers, what?



countrycharm said:


> oh my goodness watching that makes me think how stupid some poeple are, the first thing i would have done is GOT OUT OF MY CART i couldnt believe that lady sitting right in till the end UNHITCHED and quickly and saflety got me and my horse out of that arena, half of that could have been avoidable. Doesnt make me not want to drive just makes me hope there are some people out there who have a clue when im in the ring.


Okay, keep in mind I couldn't see the video so I have no idea what the situation was in this particular case. But generally speaking, both getting out of the cart and trying to open the arena gate when there's a runaway are VERY bad ideas.



Sure, let's give the panicked horse an opportunity to bolt for the hills and spread his damage to innocent bystanders and maybe onto a roadway or something!



First rule: close any open gates to contain the runaway. Second rule: get all other horses and vehicles into the center of the arena and hopefully out of harm's way. A good announcer will calmly state that there is a runaway horse and ask exhibitors to pull to the middle and for the audience to be quiet. If you're driving a big horse and have a groom, put them down as a header to help your horse stay calm. The driver should absolutely remain in the vehicle at all times because otherwise who is supposed to control the horse if HE panics and bolts? I know with minis you can often man-handle them from the ground but that is not the case with any other driving horse and it is the driver's responsibility to stay where they can do the most good. Consider also that attempting to unhitch your nervous horse in the center of the ring by yourself while trying to hold him AND keep an eye on the situation is probably not wise. Sure with a show harness you can simply undo the traces and wraps and boom- you're free, but most other types of harness are a bit more involved and would take far too long to undo, leaving you exposed to great danger in the meantime. And what if that runaway ran into your horse and vehicle while you were unhitching?



Then you've got a loose, unmanned, partially-hitched horse galloping around with the original runaway.



Oooh, not good. You also could not move the rig out of the way of a sudden direction change if you're partially unhitched when the loose horse comes charging through.

Okay, sorry, I went a little overboard there



but I wanted to give another side of what to do in an accident and why. My "Do and Do Nots" come from big horse carriage driving safety guidelines.

Leia


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## StarRidgeAcres (Mar 3, 2009)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> A good announcer will calmly state that there is a runaway horse and ask exhibitors to pull to the middle and for the audience to be quiet.



Leia,

That's what I mean about Mark Bullington. I've always seen him calmly say something like "all drivers come down to a walk and move to the center of the arena as soon as it's safe." Then they all know to look around them, unlike the poor lady who got creamed when she slowed down, before they move one way or another.


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## stormo41 (Mar 3, 2009)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> Drat, I was waiting until I got to a YouTube compatible computer to watch this and now it's been taken down. What the heck did it show?? Were these fine harness horses, draft horse hitches, 4-H'ers, what?Leia


Leia, the Video was at an Arabian horse show, the horses were in fine harness. One man lost control of his horse (galloping, bucking, bolting). The announcer said when it all started "slow to a walk and come into the center" One lady did get "rear ended" before she knew what the heck was happening. The runaway horse, soon lost it's cart and was running around the ring with it's harness still on,I believe the binders where still on as well. The horse was cutting across the middle often, People in the stands were screaming when ever it did so, there was also people trying to get in the loose horse's way making it cut across the center. At this point the announcer said "Be quit and keep the horse running on the outside, try to keep it on the outside if you can" (or something like that) The loose horse then cut across one end and crashed into a ladies horse, they got a hold of the loose horse but the one that got smacked into fell, the driver got dumped out, when the horse got up it was running (i'm not sure how this happened because she did have a header). After this horse ran around for a while the announcer suggested that they get the other horses out of there. It appeared that a few of them got their horses out, or at least unhitched but the camera was following the loose horse around so it was hard to tell what was going on with the rest of the horses. In the end they roped the second loose horse, I believe they got it by the legs because it went down so fast.

so thats what happened in the video. I don't really have any thoughts on it. I have heard that the lady in the cart who got hit with the runaway was disabled that would make in understandable as to why she did want to get out of her cart, there was only person with her acting as a header maybe she needed help to get out of her cart. She also needed to be dragged by someone away from where she feel into the center ring. From what i saw in the video it fits, but i can't be sure if it's true or not because i don't know her nor was i there.


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## midnight star stables (Mar 3, 2009)

stormo41 said:


> hobbyhorse23 said:
> 
> 
> > Drat, I was waiting until I got to a YouTube compatible computer to watch this and now it's been taken down. What the heck did it show?? Were these fine harness horses, draft horse hitches, 4-H'ers, what?Leia
> ...


Nice explanation, but you missed that the first horse bumped into another, before it crashed into the other horse that bolted. Both times the first horse hit other horses, it was caused by a man in a blue shirt that grabbed the horse's dragging reins, causing the horse to jolt it head an switch it's direction slightly - enough so that it couldn't avoid contact with the other horses. The first horse also hit a chair near the center ring, knocking the lady onto the ground and ran over a man that stood in his path to stop him.



Also the 2nd run away lost his enter head piece - bridle, blinders, caverson, etc. The cart was attached by the tugs and traces. The first horse, in the end, only had it's head piece on.. the rest seemed to get broken through out this video.

This was a scary video, but I read that no one was seriously injured amazingly. I'm glad to hear it and I hope next time, they can get things under control quicker.


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## Reble (Mar 3, 2009)

stormo41 said:


> The Video was at an Arabian horse show, the horses were in fine harness. One man lost control of his horse (galloping, bucking, bolting). The announcer said when it all started "slow to a walk and come into the center" One lady did get "rear ended" before she knew what the heck was happening. The runaway horse, soon lost it's cart and was running around the ring with it's harness still on,I believe the binders where still on as well. The horse was cutting across the middle often, People in the stands were screaming when ever it did so, there was also people trying to get in the loose horse's way making it cut across the center. At this point the announcer said "Be quit and keep the horse running on the outside, try to keep it on the outside if you can" (or something like that) The loose horse then cut across one end and crashed into a ladies horse, they got a hold of the loose horse but the one that got smacked into fell, the driver got dumped out, when the horse got up it was running (i'm not sure how this happened because she did have a header). After this horse ran around for a while the announcer suggested that they get the other horses out of there. It appeared that a few of them got their horses out, or at least unhitched but the camera was following the loose horse around so it was hard to tell what was going on with the rest of the horses. In the end they roped the second loose horse, I believe they got it by the legs because it went down so fast.
> so thats what happened in the video. I don't really have any thoughts on it. I have heard that the lady in the cart who got hit with the runaway was disabled that would make in understandable as to why she did want to get out of her cart, there was only person with her acting as a header maybe she needed help to get out of her cart. She also needed to be dragged by someone away from where she feel into the center ring. From what i saw in the video it fits, but i can't be sure if it's true or not because i don't know her nor was i there.


Everything you have said is correct, things seem so much easier said when you are not involved.

Announcer asked to come to a walk, come to the centre, and try to keep the run away horse on the outside to stop him from running into anything. It was not until the horse kept running into the centre, that the annoucner decided it might be safe to get the others out only when the horse was at the other end.

Everyone sees something differnet, that is why we can watch a movie and someone sees something the other one did not.


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## hobbyhorse23 (Mar 3, 2009)

StarRidgeAcres said:


> hobbyhorse23 said:
> 
> 
> > A good announcer will calmly state that there is a runaway horse and ask exhibitors to pull to the middle and for the audience to be quiet.
> ...







I agree! I was writing while you posted originally and I nodded when I read your reply and thought of Mark too. We're so lucky he's our local announcer up here!





Thanks for the explanations everyone, that sounds quite scary. Arabian audiences are used to the "whoop and holler" thing, I guess it didn't occur to them that agitating the horse was not a good idea in this case!






I'm surprised someone had a rope at that kind of show though, nevermind knew how to use it that well.




Poor horses. Poor people.





Leia


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## Margo_C-T (Mar 3, 2009)

Despite my slow dial-up, I waited out the download and watched the video. Accompanying comments stated that it was from a regional Arabian breed show, circa 2003.

Between storm41 and midnight star, they pretty accurately portrayed what occurred--except, the last horse to go down-who indeed had lost his bridle and cart, either had a rope thrown at him, or, a long rope was 'stretched across' in front of him, and he ran into it(either would have been a poor idea, because a man on the ground isn't going to be able to hold either)...whichever, the action was ineffective, with the rope falling away as the horse actually was tripped by all the stuff trailing from it. The horse wasn't seriously hurt-no horse or human was, according to comments by someone who'd seen the actual occurance.

The video was a 'study' in how NOT to react, for the most part. The announcer made some bad suggestions, some good ones...understandable with the adrenaline flowing. The video shown was nearly 7 min. long, so this event lasted for a good while....

IMO, the horse that started it all was likely NOT READY for a show ring. It had no kicking strap. It began by kicking out/a slight 'buck'; by the time it 'reappeared' to the camera on the cameraman's side of the ring, the whip(driver) was gone from the cart. It was by then galloping fast, but not bucking/kicking. Most of what occurred, IMO, might have been avoided had the headers all 'stayed with' their assigned horse, while others in the ring(there seemed to be a RINGFUL of 'on-foot' people), instead of RUNNING AFTER the horse yelling 'whoa', or jumping in front of it when it was at full gallop(which is idiocy, w/ a full-sized horse!), had concentrated on keeping the horse out on the rail, away from the others, and letting it 'run itself out'. One 'crash' was IMO DIRECTLY caused by a man who grabbed the first horse's bridle and literally 'made' the horse crash into another hooked horse, and the person at its head.

There was NO 'throwing a fit' by any of the horses, after the first kick/buck by the original horse---it was really 'just' galloping--panicky at first, but soon settling into a 'steady run'....

It is SOP for the other horses in the ring to immediately come to center ring and line up when something goes wrong, in ALL driving venues I know of. Unhooking would be a judgment call; if you had a competent header, it *might* have been good idea--such a decision would have to be dictated by the situation and your level of experience, I believe. Some in this instance evidently DID manage to exit the ring when the loose horse of the moment was at the other end, with the gate quickly shut behind them--and some did appear to get unhooked during the ruckus.

Everyone should realize that BREED SHOW RING rail driving is by and large an entirely 'different animal' than ADS-patterned pleasure and other events, driving. Too often,in the BREED ring, many horses aren't truly 'trained' to the level they should be-they are 'hurried' into the show ring; action and/or speed is 'favored' over genuine ability and level of real competence on both horse and whip's part--in some breeds,for instance, just before horses enter the ring, they are 'juiced up' in various ways with the rationalization that they will better 'show themselves', when in reality, such actions represent an unkindness, if not outright cruelty, to the horse, and create potential for danger to ALL participants, horse and human, having upset the horse to the point it is all-to-ready to 'blow up'. So-called 'fine' harness makes the horse pull via the harness saddle-NOT a comfortable nor a kind situation--mainly because breeching isn't used. It is 'gotten by with' because show rings are (hopefully!)level and firm, and the horse is driven for a relatively short period of time. The 'worst' time for the horse is when it is asked to back, under these circumstances, BTW. AND, those who have a good level of experience working with BOTH will tell you that MINIATURE HORSES are remarkably tolerant(which IMO, may be to their own detriment....).

I began training my horses IN ORDER TO breed show, and did so, for a good many years, with good success. I hitched and drove (in the breed show ring) in ways I now would not--because I've worked at learning about the WIDER world of driving. I owned two gorgeous Lutke harnesses, three Jeralds, drove w/o breeching, 'cinched down' the shafts of same w/ Tilbury tugs and/or wrap straps.....all because that's what I saw others do, and was told to do. I came to realize that I didn't LIKE things, like running martingales and overchecks, and quit using them. Luckily, the first harness I'd gotten, on advice of a local, ADS-style driver, included breeching, so I have ALWAYS trained to breeching--one of the best things I've ever done!

For those who want to breed show, a few suggestions, based on experience, study, and research (with a number of minis, not just one or two)---

Train from the beginning WITH BREECHING, and using good sturdy harness, NOT 'fine' harness(for training, at least). The horse has the chance to be truly comfortable in the harness, presuming it is properly fit and adjusted--and guess what? You can REMOVE the breeching for the show ring--and you will more likely have a horse that can be driven and enjoyed in the 'real' world.

Don't forever rely upon checks and running martingales to 'force' a horse into a false 'frame'; you will NEVER have a truly collected, balanced, and HAPPY horse. REAL balance and collection come about SLOWLY, and gradually. In a false frame, you will see things like hollow backs, bulging undersides of the neck, pinned back ears, stressed expressions....meaning uncomfortable horses. Sad to say, such stuff often wins, in the breed ring--but it is NOT seen elsewhere as desirable.

As the driver, learn the proper use of a whip. It is a substitute for the 'ridden' leg--a way to signal your horse, NOT just 'decor'-nor a way to harangue, or worse, 'beat', the horse.

You will be told that you 'can't win' using breeching in the (miniature)breed show ring....well, all I can say is, I did so, on occasion. And, as I said, you *can*remove it for the show ring--but understand its reasons-for-being and its importance. Work to educate yourself, don't just look around and see what others are doing...there is a LOT of basic ignorance of good driving principles within those who drive miniatures---including many so-called 'trainers', whose focus is satisfying owners by wins, not on creating safe, solid, truly well-rounded driving horses.

I know---strong statements. They are so because the longer I have been a driver, working to learn all I can, the more I have realized this is so. You CAN 'do' the breed ring, and do well, and still give your driving horse and yourself the maximum opportunity to ENJOY the experience!

You don't need to fear the experience of driving--it is wonderfully enjoyable!!--

--but please, DO arm yourself with PROPER knowledge and a sense of kind fairness to your horses!

Margo (driving and learning since 1985, and still today....)


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## sedeh (Mar 3, 2009)

> I went through the comments, and they said that no one was seriously injured, just a few bumps and bruises. It really looked like they broke the second horse's leg when the yanked him down, I'm glad that was not the case. It is a miracle that everyone made it out of that.


I just saw this in an email a couple of days ago. It was horrifying to watch but the worst was not knowing if that last horse was okay. So thanks for posting that there were no serious injury. I'm new to driving and even though this was scarey to watch it is a good learning lesson of what to do and not do. Margo you summed it up very well! I think the major problem was all the people trying to stop that crazed horse and instead causing him to turn in to the center and wipe out more horses.


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## Sterling (Mar 3, 2009)

Well written post, Margo. Wise words to practice.

I did'nt see the video, but got a good idea of what was happening from all the other posts.


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## Keri (Mar 3, 2009)

The video was taken off, so I couldn't see it. I've never really dealt with run-aways. But at one show, I was passing out ribbons. Towards the end of the line up and ribbon passing out, the end horse started rearing. The header tried calming him down and the driver got out to get better control. Well, the horse bolted (thankfully opposite of the open gate). The cart tipped right away. But our quick thinking judge flipped the cart back over as the horse passed. Most everyone got out before the horse got around and were safely out of the arena with their horses. We all stayed quiet except those talking the the gelding and calming him down. Someone was able to grab him quick before he caused any major damage.

But yes, you can man-handle a mini most of the time. But any other horse, the driver should stay in the cart and hope others will be there to help. The driver can at least help steer the horse away from the crowds in the middle and work at "talking" the horse down to a managable speed.

Personally, I see a lot of green horses in the arena that shouldn't be there. Bolt at stupid things. I take my horses (green or not) out on the roads. They get approached by cars, dogs, everything imaginably scary to them. If they can pass that test and calmly drive, then they are ready for the ring. Some take months, others weeks to get to that level. I drove at a fair one time. A kid in the stands had a balloon. I was driving by and the kid jumped at the rail with his balloon. My horse went a bit sideways, but never bolted. You just never know what they may encounter at a show.


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## End Level Farms (Mar 3, 2009)

At one pinto show someone decided to change their check length and tightened the check the horse was horribly unhappy the entire class and when it came time to stand in the line up the horse had a full blown fit. Rearing and bucking and kicking ended up flipping himself the cart and the person over completely continued to kick and fight the judges and ring people all jumped on the mini holding him down and carefully stayed out of the way of his teeth and legs and struggled for 10 minutes to free him finally the decision was made to cut him out as it was the only way they were going to be able to get him and the unconscious driver out of the ring and safely as he was escalating again. The check was so tight no one could get it off specially since the horse landed on it and so it was cut in a way that it could be repaired easily and the tie downs on each shaft had to be cut at well the traces they managed to get off.

The owner of the horse was screaming the driver was not the owner and I guess had been told NOT to do the check up but didnt listen. The owner was very upset and too scared of the horse but kept demanding that someone hook the horse back up well needless to say no one wanted to jump on that one but one ring lady did take the horse into the warm up arena and warned everyone what had happened and rehooked the horse and drove the horse around for about 5 -10 minutes then un hooked the horse and that horse has been fine ever since so long as that check is not tightened.

The driver was okay peeved that the harness got cut and tried to sue the show and the owner of the horse sued the driver of the horse (I dont know what happened past that)

And somehow through all of this other than needing a fresh coat of paint the cart had no lasting issues.


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