"put up" vs "put away"

[The Knize]

I hope this posting is not too racy for B&B. To me it should not be, because the subject matter is properly equestrian.

My question is, isn't the phrase "rode hard and put away wet" really a misstatement of the phrase ""rode hard and put up wet." And, I may be very wrong about this, but would anyone that had lots to do with horses ever talk about putting one "away" rather than "up"? In fact, wouldn't the use of the word "away" be more likely to refer euthenizing a horse, rather than putting it up in its stall for the evening after a day's ride?

Seems to me up until, say, a decade ago, I never saw or heard the phrase using "away," but now I rarely see or here the phrase using the word "up."

Anyone have any impressions about this completely unimportant nuance in what seems to me a very evocative phrase!

 

[danparker77]

couldn't it just have something to do with where you a from and your "native" dialect? Such as "Pick up your toys." vs. "Put away your toys" (or is that "Put your toys away.") Is it a dangling participle or a split infinitive!

Seriously though I thought the "Put away/up" part was putting the saddle up/away.

 

[Doc4]

In fact, wouldn't the use of the word "away" be more likely to refer euthenizing a horse, rather than putting it up in its stall for the evening after a day's ride?

That'd be putting the horse "down", in my book.



Now, the horsey types may have their own language for this sort of thing. Personally, I can see if a human guest comes to stay, I will put him up for the night, and he can put his car away in my garage. I suppose if you equate the horse to a mere chattel ... an inanimate object ... you'd put it away. If you equate the horse to an almost-human member of the family, you'd put him up.

 

[BigFoot]

That'd be putting the horse "down", in my book.



Now, the horsey types may have their own language for this sort of thing. Personally, I can see if a human guest comes to stay, I will put him up for the night, and he can put his car away in my garage. I suppose if you equate the horse to a mere chattel ... an inanimate object ... you'd put it away. If you equate the horse to an almost-human member of the family, you'd put him up.

 

[Stubblefield]

Honestly, I think the person who came up with the phrase was unfamiliar with equestrian lingo, plus "put away" is more accessible to the general population.

Great question, tho.

 

[ouch]

I always thought it was put up or shut up.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

They shoot horses, don't they?

 

[ImaWestie]

They shoot horses, don't they?

They shoe (put shoes onto) horses. A horse this has been done on has been "shod". Which can cause some confusion.

A horse which has been shot, has been put DOWN.
I've never heard of putting a horse UP, but I would understand what someone meant if they told me they were putting a horse away.

But as an Australian, I've probably got that all ***-backwards compared to you state-side types.

 

[Bertilak]

But as an Australian, I've probably got that all ***-backwards compared to you state-side types.

Australian horses:

 

[Gruder]

I like these sorts of linguistic explorations...

Put "up", in reference to a living object, strikes me as too detached. Somehow I think of "put up" being associated with inanimate objects only ("put up your toys", or "she put up 8000 cans of green beans for winter"), whereas "put away" could cover objects and critters ("put away your toys", "has the dog been put away tonight?").

Of course, the truly correct equine term, as we all know, is "stalled", e.g. "Who stalled the horse?" (This term seems to particularly apply when in reference to a horse I've bet on.)

 

[SRock]

I've always heard it as "away" never "up".

 

[Never2Late]

I "put" my horses "up". I hope to never have to "put" one "away". And, fortunately my horses have never "stalled" out on me. The notion, though, of putting or placing a 1,200 pound animal anywhere is curious. I lead my horse to the barn.

I'll accept any phrase that communicates thought. ..And I loved the thought about Australian horses...

 

[global_dev]

i jus' done lifted this here piece from some'un on the net about us southern expressionists...

RODE HARD AND PUT UP WET -- Riding a horse "hard" to exhaustion and putting him up "wet," rather than brushing him off and cooling him down. That is very bad for the horse's health.

: Cooling Off
: . Walk that last mile home
: . Remove the saddle
: . If it's cold put the horse in a cooler
: . Give the horse a few swallows of water. He must be completely cooled down before eating or drinking normally
: . If it's hot, hose him off and rub him down
: . Walk him at a working walk until cooled
: http://www.horsecentric.com/html/exercisecheck.html

: "Horses may seem like large, tough creatures capable of enduring incredible amounts of activity. While this may appear to be true on some levels, the reality is that they are very sensitive animals that will do anything to survive, even if it means drinking too much water when they are not allowed to cool down properly. Drinking too much water before this cooling off period can lead to the complications of colic, or a severe tummy ache, which the horse may try to alleviate by rolling on the ground. Rolling while in pain can lead to thrashing and twisting of the animal's torso which can cause an internal organ to rupture or a portion of the intestines to twist. A twisted gut is very serious, especially if not addressed quickly, because then all activity in the bowels will stop, creating impaction, a blockage in the system, or toxicity if the horse cannot pass manure."
: http://www.equestrianliving.com/tip.asp

 

[The Knize]

Thanks for the comments. I did some on-line research.

First, I know that I would say "put down" a horse when speaking of euthenasia (sp?). But my question went to whether saying "put away" could be confused with the same thing. And indeed, "put away" is used on equestrian fora and various other places, along with "put down," to mean euthanize. (sp?)

I was about ready to write that "put up" seems do be a more Southern expression, and that "put away" and "put up" are both used frequently for "stalling" a horse after a ride. However, I asked my wife who was raised in Vermont around horses and who is very, very New England when it comes to what is proper English and what is not, about the phrases, cold without any background, and she said with absolutely no prompting that at the end of a ride you put a horse "up" in the stable. And to put a horse "away" would be to euthanize it" although "put down" would be the more common useage by far. She said that she had never heard anyone talk about putting away a horse when she was in Vermont, to mean putting it in a stall after a ride.

Interestingly, I found one definition of "putting away" a horse, on a harness racing web site, that said putting away a horse was the process of wiping it down and grooming it before putting it in its stall. So under that definition "being put away wet" is an oxymoron!

I found "putting away" to mean stalling a horse on children's riding school web sites, and my wife opined that they might use putting away to be clearer in meaning for those who were not really familiar with horse terms such as "putting up." Which seemed pretty astute to me, whether it is correct or not.

It is true that one finds "rode hard and put up wet" or "put away wet" on lists of "Southern expressions." But my wife thought someone in Vermont, which is a rural state, I would admit, would be likely to use the phrase, too.

Cutting more to the chase, the use of the word "rode" as a past participle, indicates a colloquial usage. I am not sure whether "rode" in that usage is technically correct grammar or not. I suspect it may actually be, although it sounds funny to the modern ear, or at least to me ear as being absolutely correct English. Also, "put up" rather than "put away" seems more colloquial to me.

So I would say that if one is going to say "put away" the introductory phrase should be "ridden hard" not "rode" hard!

If my recollection is correct, Slaglerock you are too young to know about the evolution in this phrase in popular use and may prove my point! the first time I heard the phrase, and it used "put up" was as the title to Marshall Chapman's first album and a primary song on it. She wrote it in 1973. I am not sure when the album came out. It is also the title of her autobiography, in case anyone is still reading and actually interested.

That formulation of the phrase is also the title of a American hardcore punk band Bastro, from 1988.

The American punkers Diesel Boy put out an album of the title with "put away" in 2001.

Various songs by various other artists use the phrase in one or the other formulations. E.g., Son Volt, Sin Nombre.

 

[rickboone1]

I've often heard the phrase rode hard and put "up" wet, versus "away". Can't say I've ever heard put away wet. I haven't ever understood having a horse put away to mean eutahnizing it. That would be putting it down.
put away is like going to prison, actually that'd be sent away most commonly referred.
To say put things away is a little more formal, if you will, than to say put up.

Where did you hear rode hard and put away wet? I haven't heard that.

In actuality, any good horse owner would never do that anyway. It's usually, as we all know, used to describe a umm... free-spirited person of sorts.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Australian horses:

I laughed!

 

[Go West Young Man]

Given the connotation of "rode hard and put away wet" in common parlance, I think referring to the subject as a less-than-human/inanimate object is purposeful.

 

[Doc4]

I am enthused by this conversation.

 

[The Knize]

I like these sorts of linguistic explorations...

Put "up", in reference to a living object, strikes me as too detached. Somehow I think of "put up" being associated with inanimate objects only ("put up your toys", or "she put up 8000 cans of green beans for winter"), whereas "put away" could cover objects and critters ("put away your toys", "has the dog been put away tonight?").

* * *

Given the connotation of "rode hard and put away wet" in common parlance, I think referring to the subject as a less-than-human/inanimate object is purposeful.

I like these linguistic explorations, too, Hr. Doctor!

Meant to comment on association of "put up" with inanimate objects.

I can think of a couple of examples right away to the contrary!

In westerns aren't they always talking about "putting [someone] up in the bunkhouse"? Something like "we can put the minister up in the bunkhouse with the hired hands and his pretty young wife can bed down in the main house with our girls."

Also, in movies and such, when someone is visiting New York City that someone else wants to impress, don't they "put him up at the Ritz?"

Seems like people frequently enough say something like, we have plenty of room with the kids away at school, and would be happy to "put you up" any time you come to town.

 

[ImaWestie]

FWIW:
The closest two things we have to an Australian horse (other than that photo which showed quite a nice paint and palamino - both decidedly "american" horses) are both an "Australian Stock Horse" (aka "waler") and a "brumby" which like the "mustang" is a mongrol / feral breed of good stock turned loose.

That photo - apart from the decidedly american breeds being passed off as Australian - looked absolutely fine to me though.