Magazine Tour, part 2

This is part 2 of my reaction to the stack of German horse magazines I was given. I was surprised by so many things, I had to write about it.


Libel?

Every issue of a major riding magazine had a "Riding Stable Test" where an undercover agent from the editor would book a riding lesson at an unsuspecting stable in Germany. Since there are literally thousands of riding stables in Germany, three stables are reviewed per month. They begin the article with a picture of the facility, and the facility name, address, telephone, and website. And then they proceed to bash the heck out of the facility. What? That's allowed? I couldn't help feeling sorry for the unsuspecting barn owners. Their farms are judged on how much mud is present (this is where the concrete floored paddocks are applauded), how dark the barn is, if turnout is available, whether the stalls were cleaned that day, and the condition of the arena. I liked how they said horses must be able to stick their heads out of their stalls, or else the barn loses points.

They list the name the riding instructor, and criticize his style and effectiveness in giving an advanced rider a lesson. This is good, but I had the feeling none of these instructors knew they were being tested, and that their names would appear in the next issue.

(I learned that all riding instructors must be certified here.)

The reviewer snaps photos at every chance, revealing inadequate to illegal conditions. Exposing abuse is a good thing, but I was surprised to see this happen so sneakily, every month in a riding magazine.

Illegal would be the stable one undercover rider visited, and she found horses in standing stalls. That is, horses who live tied up. There is a sign on the wall, "These horses are learning to be trailered." But a boarder told her, "No, they live there." (Standing stalls are illegal in most German states.)

I concede that a new rider coming in for a lesson must be shown your facility in the best possible way, stalls should be clean, and the riding instructor should have had his coffee. Some of those lessons were horrible to witness. I am a little worried about finding a good riding instructor here. The magazine has stables which get good reviews, but most were scary. That riding instructor certificate program needs improvement!

Slaughter or Euthanasia?

Here in Germany, when a horse is ill or old, the horse owner must decide whether to slaughter or euthanize. Seriously! This is a two way system here. That is why my vet asked me if my horse was intended for food or not when he vaccinated my horse. Agh, excuse me? But so it is, here. I do believe there are still knackers who will come and shoot your horse and take it away for meat, but I learned through the magazines that many horses travel to Poland or wherever in trucks, to be slaughtered there. From what I have read, it sounds like a lot of horses whose owners chose euthanasia did not get the sedation shot first, and had a horrible death. Previously I thought all euthanasia was done with the sedation!

Less Prudish

Europeans are less shy about body parts, we all know that, but I was not prepared for how many working body parts I would see in these magazines, scenes I have never witnessed in an American 'zine.


This article was about testicles, and I believe the title, "Eiertanz" is a pun, calling stallion parts, "eggs." Every month I read a horse health and behavior magazine from America (Equus). Equus has these horse parts too, but they are not discussed using puns.




I am finally accustomed to seeing advertisements with topless women, but I didn't expect to see it in a horse magazine. Wait a minute...no body parts here. This must be their conservative ad.










Conformation Opinions

In the magazines I read back home, there were often conformation clinics, where an expert pointed out flaws in a horse's build. In this popular riding magazine, several experts give their opinions about a horse, but they all conflict. Almost every expert has something to say about the size of the horse's mouth. One out of 4 experts noted a horse with tied in knees.



I was happy to see one of the 4 also noted this one's posty hind legs. Am I just too leg oriented?









No one pointd out the calf knee on this one. This is a calf knee, right? They often note if the horse has a long or short back, and what training is in order for these horses to compensate. That is good. (Check out the box drawn around this horse...it doesn't touch the start and end of the body of the horse, oops.)







Forum Questions

Each month a forum question is given, and I found a couple interesting.

1.) Do you feed supplements during shedding season? (Shedding season is a time where horses need extra immune system support, according to what I have learned here.)

Answers: Yes, yeast. Yes, flax. Yes, Malzbier. (This is like liquid vegemite and rootbeer mixed. Horses seem to like it.)

2.) Is it too dangerous to let horses stay outside at night? (Really?)

Answers: No, No, and Yes. (Should I be worried about something? We have a padlock on our gate, and a motion detector light over our barn, but is that enough?)



T Posts

New, from America! T Posts, guaranteed to have more longevity than wood. Every single magazine had a T Posts ad, each one pictured capped for safety, touting ease of installation and durability. I love it. T Posts come to Germany. Incidentally, we got ours from a German firm, an authentic American replica!







A new device

This thing is a training device to teach a rider to have softer hands. It breaks under pressure, giving you an audible and physical fail.










Kind of a neat idea.












Western Riding Everywhere

I am getting used to seeing western saddles, chaps, hats, and reining and cutting all on Quarter Horses in magazines, the newest coolest thing. And the cute (really, adorable) thing is, they all try to use English terms for riding. I hear a lot of western riding stables give lessons completely in English. That I have to see!

Also, Parelli and Monty Roberts are huge here.






They name a lot of reining maneuvers correctly, and some, not.






BTW, does anyone say "Whoa" to stop a horse? I mean, phonetically? I am only a West Coast girl, I don't know, but we all seem to say "Ho."

Do you know what they say to stop a horse in Germany? It's not a word at all, it's a sound with the tongue, that sounds like Brrrr. Hm. I just thought of something. How do you exactly shout that sound? You know, when your horse was told to Stand, say at one end of a roundpen, and he thinks about moving. We normally yell HO and he stops that thought. I wonder what they say here as a correction?

I would love to hear about horse magazines in other countries, anyone?