I hear a lot of people talk about how American Saddlebreds are trained, and how we all abuse, neglect, torture, and mistreat our horses in the way that we train and keep them.  Let me just explain to you that not all saddlebreds are kept, trained, or treated in a manner that is mistreating them in any way, shape, or form.  There are bad apples in every breed and discipline out there, but you can’t judge the majority by looking at the few who conduct themselves poorly.  Below, I’m going to explain myself a little further.   I give you eleven reasons why our horse lives better than we do along with explanations of these reasons.

11 Reasons why our horse lives better than we do:

1)      His shoes cost more than ours.

I don’t know about you, but I spend MAYBE $40 on a pair of shoes, once every like 6 months IF I’m lucky.  Infact, I can’t remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes.  I am a disgrace to the female gender, I know.  Fiz’s shoes are custom made and cost about $90 every 6 to 8 weeks.

2)      He gets regular pedicures.

Last time I had a pedicure, hmmmm… Let’s see, I think I was in a wedding and I HAD to get one with all the other bridesmaids, as to have matching feet for the wedding.  I would not have done it otherwise.  So, does that really count?  Fiz gets pedicures the same as he gets shoes, every 6 to 8 weeks.

3)      He gets regular hair cuts.

I can’t remember the last time I had a hair cut-seriously, I can’t remember.  My hair is a mess most days anyway, so I guess it really doesn’t matter.  Barn hair is a good look, isn’t it?  Sigh.  Fiz gets a good hairbut every month at least, and he gets trims in between to keep him looking nice.

4)      He gets seen by a chiropractor.

I have never seen a chiropractor in my entire life.  Ever.  I mean, I wouldn’t even consider it because frankly, I don’t want to spend the money on the visit for myself.  But will pay for it for the horse.  I mean, horse people logic… haha.

5)      His living arrangements are paid for.

You know, by someone else.  Those of us who actually work for money and have jobs we go to every day.  Jobs we have to pay for our living arrangements (and our horse’s living arrangements as well).

6)      He gets fed as much as he wants to eat.

He gets fed literally as much hay as he can eat, and he has grass available to him almost 24/7.  If only I could just exist to eat food for the majority of my day!

7)      He only has to work about 30 minutes a day.

I go to work for about 10 hours every day.  I’m at the barn for about 2 hours most days.  Fiz gets brought in from his pasture, groomed, ridden or otherwise worked for about a half hour, gets bathed and groomed again, and gets to go back out to his pasture and continue eating, playing, and running around as he sees fit.

8)      He gets treats, like, ALL the time!

And he doesn’t even have to do much for them!  Even when I get treats, I have to work AND pay for my own treats!!!  What kind of nonsense is that?  He gets baked home made horse cookies, he gets peppermints, sugar cubes, carrots, apples, even Skittles and Cherry Coke!  Yes, I know, his teeth are going to rot out.  Not likely, but I’ll keep that in mind.

9)      He has someone to rub him, brush him, bathe him, etc.

Didn’t I already mention this?  He has someone else that comes and pampers him like some kind of luxury spa customer on a regular basis.

10)   He can poop in his bed, and someone else will come clean the sheets.

Yep, I said it.  Our horse can “shit the bed” and it doesn’t matter.  Someone comes every day to clean his stall, that one he’s not even in very often, and they remove all the muck and put down fresh bedding for him to enjoy.

11)   He can come and go as he pleases the majority of the time.

His living arrangements are that he can be in a field (with a shelter) to run, play and eat, almost 24/7.  He does what he wants for the majority of every single day of his life!  Sometimes even, he gets to be in a field attached to his stall, where his stall is tied open and he can come and go in and out of it, stand by his stall fan if he wants, or go play if he wants.  What a life!!!

 

So in closing, before you see us at a show (or anywhere for that matter) with our American Saddlebred and think he is tortured, abused, mistreated, etc… I encourage you to think about how pampered our horse is.  Think about all the reasons he lives better than we do, and think twice before you feel like riding, training, and showing an American Saddlebred is abuse.  More often than not, these horses are treated better than you could ever imagine!