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| Joined: | Tue Dec 7th, 2004 |
| Location: | New York USA |
| Posts: | 3520 |
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Many new visitors and members comment on how funny, friendly and downright helpful the GOG Message Board family is. That's because we all really are like family, in the best sense of the word. We're here to help and support one another, not only as our online conversation relates to horses, but often as it relates to other aspects of our lives, as well. Our members really care about one another, and it shows.
To that end, we discourage members from indulging in any form of one-upmanship. A great many of our members are experienced and talented horse people. . .and though their particular methods may differ, we've discovered that if we bear with one another's differences, and treat every member with respect, everyone is likely to come out having learned something valuable. Other members have less experience, and the best way we can help bring them along is to offer our advice and suggestions in a spirit of "here's what I've found to work in the past," rather than, "here's the only right way to address your problem. . ."
Having said that, this board is sponsored by Gaits of Gold. We have a great deal of hands on experience with every type of gaited horse, and the problems they commonly present. This has resulted in some strongly held beliefs in the way that gaited horses need to be trained and brought along. Please do acquaint yourself with a basic understanding of our tools, methods and philosophies before posting your own training advice on the board. You can learn about this via our online articles, as well as through our books and videos. If we feel advice is contrary to the overall long term welfare or safety of horse and/or rider, then we will delete the post - usually with a Private Message to the poster, to explain our position. Fortunately, this is extremely rare.
One rule we never allow to be broken: PLAY NICE! Absolutely no flaming, name calling or heated discussion allowed on the board, or via the Board Private Messages. The atmosphere here is to remain positive at all times, and in all places.
Most of the time our members police themselves. That is, if there is a problem, certain core members take it upon themselves to kindly, but firmly, address it via a PM to the offending poster. On one or two occasions, we've had to ban members who simply wanted some place to vent their anger and frustration. More commonly, we refuse to 'feed the trolls.' That is, if an obviously contentious poster comes on the board, we simply ignore any negative posts, rather than feed into such a person's need for attention. They usually go away quietly.
This board - indeed, all the helpful items on this site - is paid for via the sale of GOG saddles, bits, services, etc. Therefore, we do not permit the posting of links to nor the discussion of other competitive products or persons. We've found that when these kinds of discussion have been permitted in the past, most members' responses tend to reflect negatively on the competive brand products - understandably so, since most of our loyal customers have already tried many other brands of tack before finding success working with Gaits of Gold gear. However, we find it best just to avoid these kinds of conversations in order to concentrate on the positive aspects of gaited horsemanship.
Gaits of Gold has a policy not to permit posting of used tack on the site. This makes sense when you realize that this message boardis supported by the sale of new tack. If we allowed customers to post their used stuff on site, we would essentially be paying to have our own customers compete against us, and would lose out on the sale of new tack.
The good news is that GOG products maintain their value so well that they sell quickly on tacktrader.com and e-bay. Those who want a used product can always check those sites often. The problem with buying used is that you miss out on our excellent customer service, don't get the two week saddle fit guarantee - and can't be positive the product isn't one of the counterfeits that have popped up on the market.
We do not get into heated debates regarding 'Big Lick' or other types of inherently inhumane showing/riding practices, but prefer to keep our messages helpful and positive. Most members of the board already have deeply held beliefs regarding these practices, so 'holding forth' extensively on the subject is rather like preaching to the choir - and encourages negative posters to come on board to defend their points of view. I personally believe it is more constructive to show our positive side, and that's what we will receive, in return.
So come on in, draw up a chair, and join the family!
Brenda Imus (aka: "Pasture Boss")
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It's not always about trying to fix something that's broken. Maybe it's about starting over and creating something better.