To think dressage is cruel and also ludicrous?

I think that if you put a camera on those at the highest level of this sport, 24/7, you’d be able to charge all of them with animal cruelty within a month max. The methods they use to achieve the performances they get from horses don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Things that aren’t there anymore are also very very scary.

Jumping and racing are way more cruel than dressage done well, but there are some really horrific "training " practises in dressage at all levels. I don't recommend anyone looks any of them up, but dressage done well and with no force or gadgets is a joy to watch.

As for horses having to flee from umbrellas - umbrellas are ok, it's sparrows they have to be wary of. Nasty little feathery horse-eating monsters, sparrows 🤣

You missed out the true predator of horses...the leaf blowing gently in the breeze but EXPOSING THE WRONG COLOUR UNDERSIDE

Or a plastic bag, puddle, box, rabbit, bird, their own shadow..........

I’ve never managed to make my horses do something they don’t want to. They are a lot stronger and short tempered than me 😂

Yes. My horse is never in the same field two mornings running. She jumps wherever she wants to go

I laughed out loud at this 😆

Umbrellas are a menace.

You don't know a lot about horses, do you OP?

No it's not cruel. Its subtle use of your body movements and a lot of training for both rider and horse

The point of dressage? Ask

Racing is problematic but thanks to the industry’s investment in veterinary medicine horses everywhere are surviving accidents and illnesses that would have been fatal not so long ago, and enjoying a better quality of life in general.

Done correctly dressage is not in the least bit cruel.

I don’t like anything involving animals and money, but if all disciplines dressage is the least problematic.

It's just movements. Good luck making a horse do anything it doesn't want to do
My old dressage horse would just refuse to move if she didn't want to. When she was done she would walk to the gate and stop, turn her head as if to say "enough now"
They can put you on the floor in a second

Horses are prey animals and they are on their feet within minutes of being born. They have to run fast and jump obstacles to survive in case a megalodon or a butterfly or an umbrella is after them.

Yes horses do jump naturally. Not often as they look to preserve energy whenever possible but some horses will jump with no tack on at all, at liberty.

Believe me, a horse that doesn't want to be trained for dressage won't be anywhere near a dressage competition. Most horses aren't really suited to it in build or temperament and will let you know in a multitude of ways that they can't be fucked with it. The ones that are competing at that level have an aptitude for it and remain calm, focused and relaxed.

Racing I do genuinely think is cruel, as you can see the horses are operating from a place of fear (it's what makes them run) and so many of them have accidents, injuries or are killed and those that survive a very short racing career have very bleak prospects afterwards.

Haha can't really argue with that! 🤣

Luckily for the noble horse, the vast majority of day-to-day horse owners spoil them rotten.

I had one for a few years who was dressage trained to a high level before he came to us. I am emphatically not a dressage rider but he did his mincy thing in the field, in the stable, out on hacks, in the yard while I was attempting to groom him and could have done without the fancy legwork, pretty much anywhere, with no encouragement from me. I concluded he enjoyed it and/or missed the more advanced work that I didn't do with him.

But yeah, getting a horse to do something it doesn't want to is near impossible - they're bigger and stronger than you!

(Caveat - have been out of horse world for over a decade and haven't read about suspension mentioned in OP)

Edit for typo

People obviously have their own opinions on whether we should interact with animals at all. Horses (and other domestic animals) have been selectively bred for thousands of years to fulfil a purpose and those we ride today are a world apart from their wild ancestors.
You may think we should not keep or interact with any animals - and many people do. But others gain a huge benefit from a considerate and mutually beneficial relationship with animals. Many of these animals are effectively hard-wired to need a job and interaction with humans - e.g. like some of the high-energy working dog breeds.
Many riders of competition horses describe a similar situation where their horse seems to get a buzz from work and competition and being given a job to do. These are smart creatures who often enjoy human interaction - I don't think we should think of it as all one-way.

Yes they do jump naturally - straight out of paddock for better grass or to be in company of other horses, out of stables and arenas because they are rogue little ninjas.

It's a bit of a pointless animal the poor horse. Used solely for the entertainment of others in our country at least. Quite a sad life.

I hate anything where animals have to perform. All that guff about the relationship between the human and the animals 🙄

Yes they jump naturally! They also race one another for fun.

A question for those in the know: Is jumping actually something that horses do "naturally"? I have somehow always thought that they avoid it if possible because of the risk of injury.