‘Sådan har den altid gjort’ – vi kan gøre det bedre
Hvor mange gange har du hørt sætninger som:
“Hun bider altid, når man strammer gjorden.”
“Han er bare doven.”
“Det gør de alle sammen.”
På rideskoler over hele landet gentages de samme forklaringer igen og igen. Adfærd, som i virkeligheden er hestenes måde at fortælle os, at noget er galt, bliver ofte affejet som normal opførsel.
Men er det virkelig normalt, at en hest bukker, bider, løber løbsk eller helt lukker ned? Eller er det snarere et tegn på, at mange har vænnet sig til at overse deres signaler? Eller slet ikke forstår dem?
Når vi siger “sådan har den altid gjort”, lukker vi øjnene for hestenes sprog. Og netop dér bliver det farligt. For så bliver ubehaget en fast del af hestens hverdag – og vi mennesker lærer børn og unge, at det er sådan, man skal acceptere, at heste har det. Jeg mødte for nylig en mor, som sagde at hun er holdt op med at tage med barnet til ridning, fordi hun ikke kunne holde ud at se på hvad der foregår (og hun kender intet til heste). Det er jo vanvittigt.
Jeg tror på, at vi kan gøre det bedre. Blandt andet ved at dele viden og erfaringer om hestenes natur og sprog med både ansatte på rideskoler og børnene.
I artiklen 👉 Breaking the Silence deler jeg mine erfaringer med rideskoleheste, og hvorfor vi bliver nødt til at ændre den måde, vi ser og taler om deres adfærd på.
How many times have you heard phrases like:
“She always bites when you tighten the girth.”
“He’s just lazy.”
“They all do that.”
At riding schools everywhere, the same explanations are repeated again and again. Behaviors that are actually the horses’ way of telling us something is wrong are too often dismissed as normal.
But is it really normal for a horse to buck, bite, bolt, or shut down completely? Or is it more a sign that many people have grown used to ignoring their signals? Or perhaps never truly learned to understand them?
When we say “that’s just how she’s always been,” we close our eyes to the horses’ language. And that’s exactly when it becomes harmful. Because then discomfort becomes part of a horse’s everyday life – and we teach children and young riders that this is how horses are supposed to be treated. Recently, I met a mother who told me she had stopped accompanying her child to riding lessons because she couldn’t bear to watch what was going on (and she knows nothing about horses). That’s so disturbing.
I believe we can do better. One way is by sharing knowledge and experiences about the horses’ nature and their language with staff in riding schools and with kids.
In the article 👉 Breaking the Silence I share my experiences with riding school horses, and why we need to change the way we see and talk about their behavior.
