Stop Telling Strangers on the Internet to Hit Their Miniature Horses

Please.

Just stop.

Even if you believe that hitting is necessary in some situations (and that’s a discussion for another time), it’s one thing to choose to hit your own horse when you know all the information and everything is right in front of you, but it’s another entirely to tell a stranger that they should, based on a one sentence question in a Facebook group.

“How to I stop my horse from biting?” is far too ambiguous to give any advice at all. You could end up telling someone to hit (or, god forbid, bite – what the heck is up with that advice and why is it so popular?) a horse for trying to mutual groom, or nuzzling, or … who knows what that person is defining as biting.

That’s the point. You don’t know what’s really going on. You aren’t there, you can’t see it.

And when you recommend physical punishment of any kind, you don’t know how that advice is going to be interpreted. What you intended as a well timed single finger bop on the nose could easily become a full punch 60 seconds after the infraction that means nothing but pain and fear to the horse.

Then there’s the possibility that punishment could cause the horse to think they need to defend themselves, which really isn’t going to end well for the beginner horse owner blindly taking your advice.

There is no reason to tell a stranger on the internet that they need to hit their horse. The risks are too great.

There is always, always, always a better way.

 

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3 thoughts on “Stop Telling Strangers on the Internet to Hit Their Miniature Horses”

  1. I have rescued a mini horse that has been abused enough to fear (and hate) humans. We can only imagine the horror this horse had to deal with. It has taken 3 long years of constant love – calmness – and soft talking and finally, we have taken the fear out of her with us (other people she still fears). Please don’t hit your mini’s. Not for anything. There are better, and calmer ways.

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