Question : what's the best way for normal people in city/suburbs to see horses regularly (self.zoophilia)
submitted 2017-05-29 05:58:10 by jokavichu2
Say, like on the weekends. I'm in the suburbs and have no idea how to see horses, cows, (livestock). Do you just have to go to a farm?
Depending on where you live there might actually be stables, but you'll have to know where to look. I've lived in suburbs that are as far from rural as you can get and they've had stables in and near them. Do a search for stables or horse boarding in your town, you might be surprised how close they can be!
Livestock can be harder because they're not pets or part of recreational activities. Suburbanites also just don't like to be around them or see livestock near where they live outside of specific scenarios. A petting zoo might have them and if the county fair or state fair is nearby livestock are often a big part of those.
Well im not too sure about cows, but if you want more experience around horses (which in my opinion is something very important for anyone who may want to own a horse in the future), then I recommend you volunteer at a barn/stable.
Honestly it doesn't matter where you live for this. Unless you are literally in the middle of nowhere than I am positive that you can find a barn or stable looking for stablehands to help care for the horses. Horses require regular feeding, and in the case of horses boarded in a stable, will also require a change of bedding on a regular basis, and need to be moved to pastures every now and then for time to graze and move around. You would likely be doing things like this if you volunteered. Some stables even offer riding lessons in exchange for work around the barn.
As a professional, I feel like I have to destroy this myth of volunteering once and for all.
Sure, there are some farms that don´t refuse any potential worker/farmhand, but when the horses are trained ones , the very last we pros need are total newbies incapable of even the most basic things. If you have no experience with horses whatsoever, don´t know how to clean up the bedding properly (especially in boarding stables: people PAY for their horses taken care of properly and don´t hesitate to complain about a forgotten wet spot of urine or some "horse apples" as we Germans call equine manure), don´t expect to volunteer in any decent stables. Let´s say some totally ignorant dude wants to volunteer for a week and people like me need three days to teach him all the basic stuff like how to lead a horse with a rope ,how to clean up a box, how to drive a tractor and how to operate machines involved in equine work, then this dude is no help, but a severe hinderance and not worth the time invested in him. In professional stables, time is money and you´ll never run out of work that has to be done ASAP for various reasons; it´s already hard enough to teach your customers decent horsemanship. I can only speak from my experiences as a German riding instructor, but to be accepted as a volunteer, you NEED actual experience and skills with horses or you won´t even come near the horses at all. It simply is too dangerous for total noobs to clean out boxes with the horses still standing in them as it is done in many stables here in Germany. It is way too dangerous to hand over the leading rope of even the most gentle and calm horse to a unskilled person...if you have seen someone doin´ the "equine waterskiing", as my colleagues called it, because an unskilled person couldn´t anticipate the horse´s behaviour correctly, there´s no other way to tell it: learn proper handling and the very basics of riding skills like anyone else, as a member of a riding club, taking proper lessons or don´t get near any horse!
I should also mention that unknown individuals who are literally appearing out of nowhere and ask to volunteer at the stables are usually seen as creeps by us pros. In all my years leading several boarding stables as the responsible person, being in contact with quite a few of my colleagues, I never heard of anyone who has successfully made his entry into the equestrian world without actual skills, usually acquired prior to volunteering. Maybe you´ll find some hillbilly , self proclaimed "cowboy" letting you near his lifestock regardless of your ability to handle horses, but any reasonable pro will make sure you only get near horses if you know the basic, vital and essential safety measures to deal with up to 800 kilograms of bone, hooves , teeth and muscles. I don´t like picking up a newb´s skull fragments after he got kicked in his head and so do my colleagues...
Especially today, with all of those articles about "zoophiles" out there, normal horseowners and farm staff have become extraordinarily cautious and won´t "just allow" any random person they don´t know shit about near their quadrupeds, especially horses which are are really easy to harm out of ignorance. One hand of hay offered to an arthritic horse and the vet bill can rise to unseen heights, the wrong kind of food for a "colic candidate" and it´s "off to the clinic for 6 hours of extremely expensive surgery, without any guarantee the horse will survive the operation".
What I´d suggest to the OP: do as anyone else who is a newb. Sign in to a decent riding club, learn how to handle a horse with the ones the riding club offers for beginners, learn how to pick a hoof correctly (the v-shaped middle actually is sensitive and, when irritated by a badly placed hoof pick, can cause the horse to kick, for example), learn the very basics. And in the case your only interest in horses is sexual, just forget it. There´s hardly something less "zoo" than having a horse solely for sex purposes, no matter whether you´re the owner or a volunteer who´s only into equines with his genitals, and not his heart.
Seems to be different in America. A relative with no interest in animals at all (and who is honestly bad around them from what I've seen) volunteered at their romantic partner's stable as a pooper-scooper for quite a while. At the very least, if you know the right people it's possible.
One big issue with this kind of attitude arises: what if something happens to the inexperienced and unskilled newb? It doesn´t even have to be the worst case of getting his head kicked in because the irresponsible owner made the newb lead a horse to the pasture he has literally no control over, it only takes a broken shin or broken bones in the foot and Mr Volunteer won´t be able to work for 6- 8 weeks. Who covers the costs? Insurance is the keyword here...as an inofficial volunteer, you have no coverage and are left alone with all the costs of medical treatment and, believe me, Mr Volunteer WILL try to sue you for this AND as the irresponsible farm owner, you´ll definitely have to answer why you allowed Mr Volunteer in your stables.
To sum it up: taking any random person as a volunteer will get you in trouble and doin´ this kind of irresponsible "hiring" is a clear sign to me that this owner shouldn´t have horses at all, no matter what he has to bring up to his defense. If you´re not aware of how much can go wrong, if you´re not aware of the fact that inexperienced folks can screw up biggly by small mistakes (approaching a horse from behind , for example, because Mr Volunteer mistook horses for dogs), you shouldn´t have horses at all. Irresponsible, begging for accidents...for avoidable accidents. Sadly, the only thing it takes to buy a horse is money, not horse sense or genuine awareness of the dangers.
Well yeah, I never said I agreed with the situation, I don't think my relative really has business with animals. My point was less that 'hiring random people is good' and more 'people do hire people they know as volunteers'. Truly random people are rarely hired, but friends and relatives (who are known to not pull dumb stunts or be creepy) are frequently. This is an area between 'hiring a random person' and 'hiring a professional' that happens constantly inside and outside of animal work. It's not the most responsible thing ever, but it's understandable that someone would ask a friend/relative (that they already know is a good person who can follow directions) for help, especially for less hazardous tasks on short notice.
Yeah I would have to agree with you on this, at least in part. My experience as an American horse rider is that it really does matter on how serious the barn that you are looking to work at is. I have been to schooling barns where work is basically offered to anyone who walks through their doors. I have also been to serious jumper/eventing barns where you need to have a recognized past experiences with horses to work at.
My experiences are on the part of a horse rider, so I admit that my testimonies are based on the bias of a horse rider. Although I have been to many barns here in the states, and I know for a fact that there are a ton of barns here that will take in a newbie if they express interest in getting into the horse world. but...
I have to agree with this too lol, just on a personal level. I have never been in charge of hiring anyone, but I would find it strange if some random dude (and emphasis on dude here, most of the people who ride here are females, and I know this is different in other places) walked into my barn and asked for a job with an animal they have probably never even approached before.
One thing I have to mention about this is that many schooling barns that will accept newbies (based partially on the fact that they will accept anyone) is that their training and barn maintenance ethics need to be taken with a grain of salt. You have two kinds of people who run barns inviting to neophytes: People who have been through the ranks and just want to settle down, or unfortunately, younger individuals putting their showing career on the side in favor of easier money through a barn. I have seen the latter many times before, and I know that they can make some pretty questionable decisions, both in training, and taking care of the horses.
I ride for my university's english riding team, and my God, some of the decisions that the coaches make in terms of taking care of the horses are atrocious. Stuff like boarding one of our horses in the fucking indoor wash stall and tying her by the halter to the wall, she cant even turn around. I am slightly triggered... too many people here in the US dont care about the health of their horses at barns not run by professionals.
Well, I had the "luck" to witness a black mare breaking her own neck while tied to an equally small area indoors. Nothing I need to go through every other day... She just panicked because her owner rushed around the corner, threw her head, then nearly fell onto her owner...when her bladder relaxed and she peed for the last time in her life, I knew that she was dead...a really terrible experience, a terrible day. I had to soothe the owner, had to remove the horseshoes with the vet the owner called in panic because animal cadavers aren´t picked up with horseshoes on in Germany by the animal body disposal unit...not pleasant, not at all, believe me. As a pro, I had too much injuries to witness. Had to call the ambulance for a horse owner´s boyfriend, his face had been kicked in while he was picking the hooves of his girlfriend´s mare. Have seen more open fractures than it´s suitable for any non M.D....had to collect pieces of horses from the street after the horses ran off a pasture onto a street and got hit by a car because an unskilled and inexperienced husband of a horseowner couldn´t manage to close the pasture´s gate correctly etc. etc. it really is a special kind of "fun" to pick a a horse´s leg...just a leg that was ripped off by the car impact. I simply have seen too much in my career to take things so lightly anymore.
Oh, btw, what level have you reached? Are you into Baroque riding (like they do at the Spanische Hofreitschule)? Many academic riders seem to prefer this over classic dressage in Germany. My newest Cremello mare is a Lipican and already knows and performs stuff like a levade, she has a wonderful traversale although she´s still very young. So, what are the lessons you are doing in your team?
I am lucky enough to have witnessed no more than a horse being put down due to lameness (which isnt a sufficient reason to put down a horse, another story for another day...)
Hehe, you assume I am a dressage rider. School teams here in the states are only available for equitation, through a program called IHSA. I ride at the highest level with them, which is 3 foot fence equitation (the division is called open equitation). Outside of that, I was trained as an equitation rider but now I ride in jumper shows. Although I dont have the money to afford a horse or participating in rated shows. IHSA is pretty damn cheap, about $500 a year including showing costs and 1 weekly lesson. I dont get any time to enjoy any of the wonderful advantages of riding unfortunately, that may come after I have finished my degree.
**Mouseover** or **click** to view the metric conversion for this comment
Is it really that hard to post the conversion in the comment?
Is it really that hard to use the metric system, as the entire world, from the deepest Congo to the darkest Finnish woods does? ;)
Ironically I grew up using the metric system (im not from the states originally), but I learned it as I grew up. Although I still have trouble using fahrenheit instead of celsius :P
well, you said it ..'it all about money' (and not about horse). So, I think there is no real way..out of all this mess. May be someone will be pissed about it enough for making something conceptually different. Unfortunately, there is another barrier ...after you think out your idea. Implementing something as non-mainstream as ..well, actually living for horse(s) and not about exploiting them in traditional (for human civs) way, or neo-exploitation ways surfaced lately ....seems nearly impossible!
If you just want to see them, consider going to a fair, a horse event, a trail that allows (or rents) horses, etc. Riding lessons are also pretty easy to find, if you don't mind a little drive. I would consider any of these options to see how you like the animals well in advance of volunteering. For other farm-type animals, there usually are petting zoo or farm tours, especially around autumn.
I hope it goes without saying that these are suggestions on where to see animals close-up, not suggestions on where to do anything inappropriate.
For cattle, which seem to have gotten no attention here, more and more dairy farms have "in house" businesses where they sell things like ice cream, fresh products, and let you see the animals
I havent seen one of these places without at least dairy cows, and almost all will give you a tour if you ask nicely (and sometimes for cash). Try looking up fresh or home made ice cream places or farms in your area.
(and side note, since you live in the city, farms usually smell TERRIBLE if your not used to it)
I totally subscribe to the last sentence in parentheses, I´ve seen so many urbanites struggling hard not to throw up when they are confronted with the olfactorian challenge an actual farm full of cattle (and literal bullshit ;) ) poses to their noses.
As someone with a bovine zoophile as his best friend, I can also say that an actual cow is far from what most people interested in bovines imagine them to be. While you can say that for literally any animal species , even for dogs to some extend, bovines are IMHO the best example for the difference between imaginary visions some have of them and reality. Of all animal species, bovines are IMO the least domesticated, even pigs show more signs of domestication and approachability than cattle.
Ive seen people throw up from it. Even i wouldnt want it to deal with it and its cause all the time which is why ive stuck to simpler pets.
i can say ive fallen into that. But if you raise them right, Id say theyre not far off from what most people imagine. Its just that most are just meant to be farm animals and nothing more