Show me a world where ignorance of the law is an excuse for breaking the law, and I’ll show you anarchy.

What those opposed to “cultural” bans on things like horse tripping and dog- and cockfighting are asking for is affirmative action for lawlessness.

All I have to say about that, with a nod to the female circumcision reference, is that we use to have slavery as a culture. Now we don’t. We had a bloody, horrible war about it, but righteousness won. The country is a better place for it — as is the rest of the free world, because we set an EXAMPLE for those places suffering from oppression, ignorance and inertia.

I am, as Citizen K said, also no freind of PETA. At first blush, this looks like a situation where a constitutional “no animal cruelty” amendment would serve us well. Where we need to tread lightly is in specifically defining the cruelty we are bannig to practices that cause injury or death to the animal.

What could happen with a “no cruelty” defined as “injury” is such: you have a new girth and you go for a trail ride. you get a bit lost and are riding for several hours in the heat before you find your way back to the barn. Your horse has rubs and a girth gall and some thorn scratches on his pastern from the briars you had to blaze through to get home.

No horse person would imagine this is cruelty, but that is the bread and butter of PETA types: finding the lewd in the mundane.

Please think carefully before supporting any legislation that is not written narrowly. Sure, it feels good to “ban cruelty,” but WE, the GOOD GUYS are going to be the ones getting the short shrift before long.

I haven’t read the AZ legislation, but the Border states are probably most reluctant to do what is most relevant.

Makes me wish I ran the world, I tell you…

I’m not even going to start. But on top of horse-longes-human situations, can I just throw on top of the pile the idea of human-on-a-cell-phone-not-even-turning-but-lifting-longe-line-over-her-head-as-horse-canters-around?

AUGH! Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl.

Longeing is absolutely something that needs to be learned by both human and horse. If you can get access to a trained (not necessarily perfectly broke, but gentle) longeing horse to practice, you will see how much your body position affects thier desire to stay out and move forward on a circle.

Also, consistent, effective (read, if you’ve said it more than twice, DO SOMETHING about it) voice commands can work wonders. My horses not only know the basic gait commands but also understand “slow” and “up” for shortening and lengthening thier strides. Even a simple hand gesture for halt can help them. Also, a verbal “half-halt” like “aaaand walk” or “ready? canTER” will help your horse do what you are asking him the first time, keeping all parties involved happy.

And for God’s sakes, don’t longe a bucker with beginners around. Our fearless author could clearly manage the situation, but how cool is it NOT to see one horse loose with a longe line tripping another horse loose with the reins over his head?

(that is not a question to those, who have allready answered above!!)

I’ve had excellent results with clicker training, including training horses to load in trailers, stand for mounting, and training a nervous, pushy donkey to walk alongside me politely, and take treats without biting (which he did, hard, when he came to me).

Clicker training (operant conditioning) is not the same as coaxing or bribery. If you’re not getting good results with it, you aren’t doing it correctly. Since you apparently haven’t done it at all, maybe you shouldn’t be giving advice on it.

I confess, I am no good at lunging, and neither is my horse. I’ve felt like it’s something we should both know how to do, and have made a few attempts (at home, alone). Horse turns to stare at me, wanting pats, and shows no interest in moving. LOL At least he’s fairly idiot-proof.

Must spend a session or two with my instructor on lunging, since I’m clearly not getting it.

At least I have enough sense to keep away from others, and to not allow slack/dragging. I hope that woman smartens up before she gets herself tangled in the line - that could’ve been fatal when her horse took off.

I just bought a pair of Griptek Gaitors half chaps from Kerrits and I think they are awesome! I feel like my legs are actually glued to my stirrup leathers. If you ride horses that buck a lot, these are the half chaps for you! Also, they’re washable and made of synthetic fabric and not leather so they’re a good vegan alternative. No joke, this product is awesome.