My gripe about westerns

I don't do westerns but I do have horses here and there in my writings and I know they need hoof care, walk-downs, grain, etc. I've ridden wee a bit, I've listened to some wonderful people who love horses and I've read a lot. It's like anything else you write about that you want to sound real: research it!

I find I don't really get into the details of horses. If I need something specific, I talk to my mom and other people who know them much better than I do.

I wonder if there are any "horses for idiots" type references for people who aren't familiar with them? It would be like Physics for Non-majors.

Skylynx said:

I don't mean this personally, and not meant for you if it doesn't apply, but my main gripe about western novels is writers who don't really know horses. I've owned and trained horses 40 years, mainly western; so, can tell very soon whether or not the writer knows horses. If someone really is determined to get into this subject, he/she needs to go to a riding stable, ranch, or such, and get experience. There's a lot to know. Also, I don't like to hear about horses thinking and feeling like humans do(anthropomorphizing) when they don't, and far from it. Of course, if the story has fantasy animals, that's okay. But most westerns are set up to be realistic. At any rate, the big deal is to keep on writing. Yay, writers!

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YES! That's my grip too. Coming from another trainer.

C.M. Daniels said:

I find I don't really get into the details of horses. If I need something specific, I talk to my mom and other people who know them much better than I do.

I wonder if there are any "horses for idiots" type references for people who aren't familiar with them? It would be like Physics for Non-majors.

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There is a horse dummie's guide. I looked at it because I was curious, and I didn't think it was all that great.

If you're writing about horses, the best thing to do is take a few lessons. Learn a little about how they act, how they are trained, how they feel (they're not smooth to ride ... at least not to a non-experienced person, because they have split-seconds of suspension, when all four feet are off the ground), etc.

One of my peeves in books and movies is that they don't show how much time is spent training a good war/ranch horse: day after day, week after week, year after year. As such, a character is going to guard their horse like gold because getting a replacement would not be like going to a car dealer at all. In real life, they'd never ride into town, and then let their horse out of their sight.

I do agree with needing to know about horses if you're going to write about them. However, I'll argue that you can indeed train a horse to ground-tie and not worry about it. I had the pleasure of riding such a well-trained horse a few years ago and he was the best horse in the WORLD as far as I was concerned. However, Prince's like are few and far between -- his owner had spent years working with him and Prince was a smart horse, too.

It can be done, and I don't mind showing a smart/loyal horse and bonded owner relationship, but I do agree that, when it comes down to it, most horses would prefer to be free or in the barn, versus being worked. And the majority of them will indeed wander off to that tasty bush or -- "heavens! is that something scary?" -- run off at the slightest provocation.

My pet peeve is people refusing to give a ridden animal a name. Humans name things, and riders name their horses. No one is really riding through the desert on a horse with no name.

1955 Derby winner Swaps was groundtied.

I grew up around horses and I've ridden them. I know the smells of horse, how onery they can be and a good bit about their training, though me and my youngest sister are probably the least wise on horses in the family.

Being raised around horses is a plus for my stories, I'm able to draw from my own experiences with them. I remember learning the hard way as a young'un about bare-back riding when the horse's sweat soaked through my jeans and galled the pure dickens out of my thighs and legs, LOL!

When I went in the Army, I knew another soldier who was one of them fellers that felt he had to speak up on every subject discussed and pretend he was an expert wheather he knew a blasted thing about the subject or not.

I was talking with a friend from Texas about horses and here come this rascal shooting his mouth off like he knew all about horses, it was obvious that he knew nothing. My friend and I listened to this booger as he lied the buttons off of his shirt speaking pure, undiluted nonsense.

Unable to stand it any longer, I asked him if he knew what a gelding was. His reply? "Sure, that's a horse with spots on his rump!"

There were quite a few folks in the barracks at that time, everyone's combined laughter at him served to make him skulk off outside. The fringe benefit was that he became more cautious after that about throwing his hat in the ring when he knew nothing about the subject.

My gripe is watching westerns and being able to tell which actors know how to ride and which ones are terrified and concerned only with not falling off...or very obviously being stunt-doubled.

Back in the halycon days of the TV western, whether an actor knew how to ride reflected on the plausibility of the whole show.

My dad used to sneer at actors in certain western TV shows while we watched them..."Aw, look at that phoney sonofabitch, that horse scares him to death"

There's a scene in a Bonanza episode I remember vividly, even though I was maybe seven or eight when I saw it...an extended tracking shot (a camera on a wheeled vehicle) of Michael Landon mounted on that Pinto he rode throughout the series...riding hell-for-leather over a desert-like terrain...it wasn't a quick shot, it lasted quite some time. The camera was close enough so the audience knew it was Mr. Landon.

My dad grudgingly admitted, "Yeah, he can ride a horse."

Axler, that rascal could shoot a pistol too! He won several contests and a lot of target shooting by Michael on Bonaza was the real McCoy.

Not bad for a Jewish kid from NYC.

I always got the feeling that he, Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene were the real deals.

The show my old man reserved the most contempt for was Stoney Burke, starring the pre-"Book 'em Danno" Jack Lord.

I only vaguely remember it myself, but I remember my dad snorting and sneering his way through the episodes.

There are some good horse shows on http://www.rfdtv.com/ .