# Horse people-how well does roy moore ride? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404 "2017-12-13T16:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/81 "2017-12-14T20:03:39Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It’s my position that this particular horse, in this particular situation, looked uncomfortable and possibly distressed. I was hoping that a knowledgeable/experienced horse person could address this possibility. Based on all of the responses in this thread (I’m not sure that there’s a single poster who praised what they saw from Moore in the video clips), it sounds like a combination of (a) a rider with very poor horsemanship skills, with (b) a horse who may not have been accustomed to crowds. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/82 "2017-12-14T20:07:11Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I believe it may have been the other way around. The Moores tied up their horses, and then left to vote. The asshole photographers, who weren’t tied up, then crowded around the horses knowing that the Moores would return for their horses. It seems to me that a responsible horse owner, with good horsemanship skills, who has a horse that he knows to be uncomfortable or skittish around strangers or crowds, wouldn’t place his horse into that situation in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/83 "2017-12-14T20:12:06Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It’s my position that this particular horse, in this particular situation, looked uncomfortable and possibly distressed. I was hoping that a knowledgeable/experienced horse person could address this possibility. Ummm… > [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve ridden nervous horses, I’ve ridden frightened horses, and I’ve even managed/ridden a horse freaked out over gunfire. > > None of those situations require hauling on the reins in the manner that Moore did. > > To a large degree, the horse will take his/her cue off the rider. If the rider is relaxed and confident it will go a long way towards calming a nervous horse. If a horse rears or bucks (I have experience with both) you manage it with your weight and legs, NOT yanking on the reins. > > The man doesn’t know what the frack he’s doing, it’s that simple. > [@Merneith](#): > > If Sassy were the kind of horse that doesn’t like being around a crowd - then that would be another proof of Moore’s lousy horsemanship, for riding her into a crowd and putting her in a lousy position. It’s the rider’s responsibility to be the brains of the partnership and look out for his horse. Moore deliberately chose to put her there. If she was upset, that’s on him. > > I agree with other here, that she’s far too good for him. > [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve ridden a nervous horse under spooky conditions. The idea is to use as light a hand as possible, concentrating instead on reassuring the animal. > > If a visitor were to behave like Moore on one of our horses, (s)he would be told to dismount and offered a more suitable activity. Maybe take them to the mall or something. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/84 "2017-12-14T20:45:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Based on all of the responses in this thread (I’m not sure that there’s a single poster who praised what they saw from Moore in the video clips), it sounds like a combination of (a) a rider with very poor horsemanship skills, with (b) a horse who may not have been accustomed to crowds. I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/85 "2017-12-15T02:03:34Z")
The horse wasn’t scared of the crowds. The horse was reacting to an overlarge, unbalanced weight pressing on a poorly fitting saddle on her back, and the ill fitted bit being yanked in her sensitive mouth by the overlarge, unbalanced oaf slithering around up there and keeping himself upright by using the reins for balance. I have 40+ years experience in riding and training horses and riders. I know a spooked horse when I see one vs a horse in physical pain. Sassy is a goddamned saint to put up with that idiot, and the crowds were the least of her worries. If anything, she may have actually been afraid that she was going to step on someone because the moron up top was pretty well forcing her in that direction. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/86 "2017-12-15T02:44:01Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I believe it may have been the other way around. The Moores tied up their horses, and then left to vote. The asshole photographers, who weren’t tied up, then crowded around the horses knowing that the Moores would return for their horses. Yeah, well, the Moores shouldn’t have left their horses unattended in the middle of a lot full of people, especially if one of their horses didn’t like crowds. Again - it’s entirely the rider’s responsibility to look out for his horse and set her up for success. If Sassy doesn’t like crowds, then it’s on Moore’s head for riding her where he knew a crowd was gathered. (Although, as others in this thread, there’s no evidence that the horse was unhappy about the crowd. It was the clown on her back causing all her distress.) And yes, obviously Moore knew a crowd was going to be there to photograph him going to vote. That was the whole reason for riding the horse in the first place. This was all about fulfilling Roy Moore’s cowboy fantasies. They chose to ride their horses to a public event, where they knew there would be photographers; they chose to leave their horses in a public space; they chose to mount up and try to ride off into the sunset from the middle of a pack of people. Every step of this journey - every one of their problems - was caused by their shitty choices, including Moore’s need to pretend that he’s an Olde Timey Frontiersman. To hell with him and I hope his butt still hurts. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/87 "2017-12-15T11:01:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The Shatner video is a great example of Western style riding - note that his hand movements are minimal and he keeps them mostly near the neck of the horse. He sits in a completely different way than Moore did, and Shatner’s butt seems glued to the saddle. Shatner moves _with_ the horse, not against it. Shatner is in control and the animal is calm, obedient, and shows no signs of stress. Not in the least because the animal is getting clear direction from the rider instead of that confused mess Moore generates. > > Now go back and look at how Moore “rides”. Years back, I saw a demonstration of dressage by an older horseman - guy in his 70s at that stage. Full routine around the arena - if you looked very closely, you could see the tiniest moves from legs or hands, but for the most part, he looked practically immobile. It was magic, some of the best horsemanship I’ve ever seen. Horse and rider working together seamlessly because each trusted the other. By comparison, Moore was trying to dominate the horse. It was ugly to watch. #freesassy ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/88 "2017-12-15T11:34:17Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It seems to me that a responsible horse owner, with good horsemanship skills, who has a horse that he knows to be uncomfortable or skittish around strangers or crowds, wouldn’t place his horse into that situation in the first place. No, no, no!! You work with any given horse to best deal with any given situation. If you are on a horse that you know has problems around water, you do not avoid a creek you’d like to cross. Rather, you begin reassuring the animal before you even reach the creek and calmly deal with crossing. If the horse balks, you do a 360 and approach again. The horse eventually crosses and the next creek goes more smoothly. ETA: by contrast, Moore handles the situation badly. The horses behavior was reinforced. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/89 "2017-12-15T19:27:54Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > All I know is that _[Sassy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassy_(magazine))_ was a magazine aimed at teen girls. The kind of mag a guy with a thing for teen girls might peruse. A bit too much of a coincidence. While I am appreciative of the riding info from our real horse people in this thread, I also wanted to recognize this post that has me laughing all morning - Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/90 "2017-12-15T19:57:53Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I believe it may have been the other way around. The Moores tied up their horses, and then left to vote. The asshole photographers, who weren’t tied up, then crowded around the horses knowing that the Moores would return for their horses. Ever been to a horse show? The horses there, who are not police horses, have to deal with bigger crowds than this. True the crowds are made of horse people, but I didn’t see any reporters being abusive to her. My daughter rode English (hunter/jumpers) so I can’t comment on how Moore handled a Western saddle, but he sure looked unsteady as he was leaving, and looked about ready to fall off the horse as the video ended. If he tried going over a fence with that seating he’d fall on his pointy little head for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/91 "2017-12-15T20:12:12Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > All I know is that _[Sassy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassy_(magazine))_ was a magazine aimed at teen girls. The kind of mag a guy with a thing for teen girls might peruse. A bit too much of a coincidence. > [@snowthx](#): > > While I am appreciative of the riding info from our real horse people in this thread, I also wanted to recognize this post that has me laughing all morning - Thanks! 😃 I chuckled when I read it because I still have the first issue of it’s “brother” magazine [Dirt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirt_(magazine)). IIRC it came in a plastic cover so it was back-to-back with a copy of _Sassy_ that I gave to my 12 year old cousin; she was in her Tiger/Teen Beat phase. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/92 "2017-12-15T20:18:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Maybe take them to the mall or something. Moore is barred from malls. 🙂 If he’s so poor a rider, how does he (or anyone) think he can ride horses? Eventually, someone must have noticed, wouldn’t they? Even Moore himself. You can’t have much fun riding like he was. I certainly can’t tell anything about riding - one of the only times I ever rode a horse, it rolled over and tried to crush me. I have no idea whose fault it was. Though, I can’t imagine I was THAT bad! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/93 "2017-12-15T20:18:58Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > To hell with him and I hope his butt still hurts. Oh I’m sure it does, but most likely due to proclivities to which the public has not yet been made aware. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/94 "2017-12-15T20:27:17Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Reins are there to provide subtle direction cues. They are not balance aids. If you must, that is what the big honking horn on the front of your saddle is for. But that’s what sissy-boys do, not a manly stud like Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/95 "2017-12-15T20:30:13Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Moore is barred from malls. 🙂 > > If he’s so poor a rider, how does he (or anyone) think he can ride horses? Eventually, someone must have noticed, wouldn’t they? Even Moore himself. You can’t have much fun riding like he was. > > I certainly can’t tell anything about riding - one of the only times I ever rode a horse, it rolled over and tried to crush me. I have no idea whose fault it was. Though, I can’t imagine I was THAT bad! Lots and lots of people ride horses, who are just as terrible as Moore, but mostly not in front of video cameras. You’d be surprised what constitutes fun for some. Moore is exactly the kind of person who would torment a horse with his horrible riding and not give one tiny shit. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/96 "2017-12-15T20:32:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Moore is barred from malls. 🙂 > > If he’s so poor a rider, how does he (or anyone) think he can ride horses? Eventually, someone must have noticed, wouldn’t they? Even Moore himself. You can’t have much fun riding like he was. > > I certainly can’t tell anything about riding - one of the only times I ever rode a horse, it rolled over and tried to crush me. I have no idea whose fault it was. Though, I can’t imagine I was THAT bad! My observation is that Roy Moore is one huge self-propelled pile of Dunning-Kruger effect. He’s the best at everything, because he says so. And everyone who says otherwise is part of the librul-satanic conspiracy. As to “fun”, I don’t think he values fun. At least, not that kind of fun, because it’s not a 14-year-old human filly. And he probably rides those poorly too. \ The horse is not a friend, not a pet, not even a mount. It’s a prop. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/97 "2017-12-15T20:42:10Z")
I was worried that this thread might be a gang-up, perhaps unjustly maligning his riding, because Moore is a horrible person. Is he really that bad, I wondered. So I asked a Republican coworker, who has no love loss for liberals (we kid each other mercilessly), but grew up riding horses, to evaluate Moore’s riding. I asked, “Does he look like he knows how to ride?” The response - “He looks like he’s never been on a horse before!” He said the same things about the Shatner video y’all did, as well. Excellent riding, well trained horse. Glad I can trust this board for the facts! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/98 "2017-12-15T20:50:57Z")
I care more about horses than the politics. If it had been a liberal who rode that badly I would’ve come down on them just as hard. If a conservative rode well. I would’ve said that, too, and they might’ve even gotten a few points in my book. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/99 "2017-12-15T20:52:29Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Moore is barred from malls. 🙂 > > If he’s so poor a rider, how does he (or anyone) think he can ride horses? Eventually, someone must have noticed, wouldn’t they? Even Moore himself. You can’t have much fun riding like he was. > > I certainly can’t tell anything about riding - one of the only times I ever rode a horse, it rolled over and tried to crush me. I have no idea whose fault it was. Though, I can’t imagine I was THAT bad! I rode one rent-a-horse that tried to scrape me off against a tree. I hadn’t done anything wrong. At least, I rode lots of other rental horses from that place, and never had that sort of problem. The horse was just cranky, recognized that I wasn’t a good enough rider to actually control it against its will, and decided it didn’t want to carry me around in the woods that day. The horse won. I took it back and asked them to trade it for another, more cooperative horse, which they did. And then my friend and I rode to the nearby state forest for a couple hours of riding. (Like hiking, except the horse does the hiking part.) I haven’t done that in forever. It was fun. I wonder if there are still places that let complete novices take their horses, unsupervised, into the woods? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404/100 "2017-12-18T18:53:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Ever been to a horse show? The horses there, who are not police horses, have to deal with bigger crowds than this. True the crowds are made of horse people, but I didn’t see any reporters being abusive to her. (post shortened, underline added) The horses at the horse show are not this particular horse. Different horses act differently, in different situations. “The crowds”? Are you referring to the “the crowds” at the horse show, or to “the crowds” of photographers, and reporters, outside the voting location waiting for the Moores? The photographers were clicking their cameras, and reporters were shouting questions. That’s what they do. Some individuals/people/horses find that to be annoying, and distressful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-people-how-well-does-roy-moore-ride/804404.md?page=6)