To think that equestrian events are ridiculous

[quote Penistoe]@Carthief all your examples are humans who
Choose to be there.

Horses wouldn’t choose this.[/quote]
Really @Penistoe all of those gymnasts “choose” to be there?

Or is it one of the few ways out of poverty for many of them? How much choice do they really have when they’ve been at gymnastics farms since they were a toddler? When they’ve been hot-housed and pressurised to believe that the only thing worth doing with their lives is winning? And then when they ages out of competitions…what then? When they have no other skills?

The horses might not chose to be in Tokyo specifically I’ll grant you that, but anyone who has ever been near a horse will tell you that there’s very little persuading one to do something it doesn’t want to do.

Ave heart rate 186bpm.... was the horse threatening to buck you off over a 100ft cliff for a solid hour?

All we do is sit there

For a lovely example of horses enjoying prancing around in their field, check out https://instagram.com/playlovelearn.se?utmmedium=copyy_link

She's taught her Shetland pony and horse dressage moves from the ground using positive reinforcement techniques (clicker training, like you'd train a dog) and her Shetland particularly enjoys showing off his prancing about. Not sure he'd win any Olympic medals as he mainly seems to freestyle to the beat of his own very cute drum but it's a lovely example of horses really enjoying their training.

I find dressage odd, but entertaining. I also find Tae Kwondo odd, where the object seems to be to kick your opponent in the head. And floor gymnastics, no idea how the scoring works. Oh. ,and how do you judge between 2 high divers both at the top of their sport, where the difference in their performance is miniscule to me. However, a Nobel Laureate once wrote 'Don't criticise what you don't understand' and I think it applies perfectly to all these disciplines.

I have a 42 year old pony who we have had to adopt a Redwings pony for as a companion , because after her field mate died , she would jump 4 feet of post and rail into my neighbour’s field to talk to the horses the other side of his field . And then charge up and down like a snorting dragon while I would try and catch her ..

Well, I'd be tremendously surprised if a horse spontaneously decides to jump over an obstacle

One of my dhorses regularly jumps out of his grazing paddock bumhead

We also have an unbacked youngster at our yard that regularly jumps the fence out of his field.

Dd not dad 😆

I was taken over 3' wire by a horse who didn't agree with my ideas. DD was on a horse with the plan of going over trot poles, and he cleared the lot in one leap.

The pony Dad rides does that frequently too. You also see foals often jumping an obstacle like a fallen branch over and over when playing

Well, I'd be tremendously surprised if a horse spontaneously decides to jump over an obstacle.
Hm, okay then.
I was taken over 3' wire by a horse who didn't agree with my ideas. DD was on a horse with the plan of going over trot poles, and he cleared the lot in one leap.

Dammit, I meant to say that Rollkur is still used on the continent, and that some of the current Olympic horses have been trained using that method.

However they aren't winning medals

Whether or not LDR is still used, and where that line crosses into rollkur, is still problematic. But as a sport, the FEI has at least addressed the issue in this, and subsequent, iterations of the international rules.

Every time I see someone saying the horse does all the work I wish I really was rich. I'd pay for them to have a schooling session and then record the groaning as they tried to move the next day.

Surely any horse person taking half an interest knows that, while it might be banned in the UK, it's still used on the continent? And that one of the current Olympic riders has gone on record to say he's fine with it. Edward Gal broke Totillas mentally and physically.

I won't even call it a sport since the horse does all of the work

I'm presuming that this comment is made in ignorance, and not to be nasty or goady....

If you've ever sat on a horse you will realise that just to stay on board is hard work and requires serious muscle control, flexibility and balance. Dressage may look like the rider is doing nothing, but don't be fooled. Event riding in particular is very high-intensity with riders heart rates up at maximum level (similar to a runners) Riders are effectively holding a squat position for a significant time, whilst travelling at speeds of around 30mph, over very large and often very technical fences.

Still fab music, though.

Surely no need to ban it as you can’t make a horse do anything it doesn’t want to right? I expect they love having their heads twisted until their tongues go blue.

You can make them do some things. What you can't make them do is relax and enjoy it. Something that was apparent quite early on in Totillas' career (using him as an example as most will have heard of him) . He was always tense, never appeared fully happy and it only got worse. It was scandalous that he was scored so highly at the time. It would t happen now thankfully.

Everyone is entitled to express their views although I am perfectly fine with horse events. My daughters used to do a lot of show jumping. Most riders love and care well for their horses which perhaps is more than can be said for parents (and communist states) who force young children into sports they may not like and are far too strict with them.

@Carthief all your examples are humans who
Choose to be there.

Horses wouldn’t choose this.