How to respectably talk to a horse person

1. @molly_struve
Talk Horsey To Me
How to respectably talk to horse people.
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Today I am going to teach you how to respectably talk to a horse person. It is no secret…

2. @molly_struve
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That I am a horse person and today I am going to teach you exactly what to say when talking someone such as myself so that you appear knowledgable and informed about the horse world. Let’s pretend that one day you find
yourself in a conversation with the one and only…

3. @molly_struve
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Michelle Obama! Whew, ok just breathe. Clearly, the stakes are high for this conversation but I’m going to help you get through it. So you and Michelle are chatting and suddenly she says…

4. @molly_struve
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I ride horses.
I ride horses. Now its up to you to respond, but you know very little about horses so what do you say?! Well before we dive into what you should say, first I am going to tell you what you should NOT say. Do NOT understand any
circumstances say these 3 words…

5. @molly_struve
Do you…
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Do you…

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Do you…
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Race?! DONT DO IT! Unless you are talking to a person who is under 5 ft tall and weighs less than 110 lbs, there is a 99.99% chance they do NOT RACE. “Do you race?” is by far the most common response a horse person gets
from a non horse person when….

7. @molly_struve
Do you…
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They bring up riding so if you take away anything from this talk, remember, never ask someone who rides if they race. But then what do you say?! After all this is a…

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I ride horses.
high stakes conversation! Ok, don’t panic, here is what you are going to say. You will respond with…

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I ride horses.
Awesome,
what discipline
do you do?
Awesome, what discipline do you do? This statement makes it clear that you are knowledgeable enough about the horse world to know that there are many different disciplines. I guarantee responding…

10. @molly_struve
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I ride horses.
Awesome,
what discipline
do you do?
with this question will impress the horse person you are talking to. Now, of course I am not going to send you in blind with that question. If you are going to ask that question, you should know WHAT you are asking about so
next we are going to very briefly cover the…

11. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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The equestrian disciplines. There are 2 general disciplines. One discipline is…

12. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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English
English. English requires the rider to use both hands to hold the reins which you can see the rider doing in this picture. Another characteristic of English riding is the….

13. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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English
English saddle which is smaller and does NOT feature a deep seat. The second general equestrian discipline is…

14. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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Western
Western. Western riding evolved from ranching traditions bought to the Americans by the Spanish Conquistadors. Unlike English, western riders ride with 1 hand on the reins and…

15. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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Western
A western saddle has a very deep seat with a large horn on the front. So to recap…

16. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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English Western
There are 2 general equestrian disciplines, English and Western. Now, the road doesn’t end here. Within each of these disciplines there are many different styles of riding. I’m going to quickly…

17. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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English Western
whip through a few of these styles so you at least have an idea in your head what a horse person is talking about if they give you a more detailed answer about their riding. First…

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English Styles
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let’s start with the English styles of riding. One style is

19. @molly_struve
English Styles
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Dressage
Dressage. Dressage is basically dancing on horses. Another style is…

20. @molly_struve
English Styles
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Show Jumping
Show jumping. This is what I do and it’s where horses jump over jumpsg. Fun fact, this is a picture of Ben’s brother, Paul who also does show jumping. Another style is…

21. @molly_struve
English Styles
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Eventing
Eventing. Eventing is the Triathalon of the equestrian world and combines Dressage, Show jumping, and another style called cross country which is essentially jumping jumps in a field. You also have..

22. @molly_struve
English Styles
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Endurance
Endurance riding. Endurance is the ultra marathon of the equestrian world where horses race over long distances. That covers a few basic English styles, I know that was fast but stay with me! now let’s jump quickly over to…

23. @molly_struve
Western Styles
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Western styles. The first western style I have for you…

24. @molly_struve
Western Styles
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Western Pleasure
Is Western Pleasure. In this style of riding you are judged by how much of a pleasure your horse seems to be to ride. Another western style is…

25. @molly_struve
Western Styles
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Reining
Reining. Reining horses execute complex patterns to show off their responsiveness to the rider. One common pattern is their ability to stop quickly. Another western style of riding is…

26. @molly_struve
Western Styles
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Roping
Roping. When doing roping the rider has to rope a cow or other type of animal. Finally, the last western style I want to mention is…

27. @molly_struve
Western Styles
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Cutting
Cutting. Cutting is where the horse and rider have to separate a cow from its herd. As you can see, many of these western styles were born from practical things people had to do with their horses when ranching. And….

28. @molly_struve
Equestrian Disciplines
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English Western
Dressage
Show Jumping
Eventing
Endurance
Western Pleasure
Reining
Roping
Cutting
that’s all I have for you. So the next time you are face to face with a horse person you will not…

29. @molly_struve
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Do you
race?
Utter the words do you race, instead you will ask…

30. @molly_struve
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Do you
race?
What
discipline
do you do?
What discipline do you do?

31. @molly_struve
The End
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The End