@mbosnz
It's an agenda thing, innit?
Well, exactly. The same agenda that doesn't just want to oblige everyone to go vegan, but wants to stop us all riding horses and having dogs and cats. I did once go right down the PETA rabbit hole and my word, that was enlightening. One of the arguments was that because domestic dogs might suffer, they had to go extinct - you were permitted a rescue dog, but you must never, ever, under any circumstances, breed a dog or buy a puppy.
Now and then I spot an OP like Poor horses. This ridiculous dancing in dressage, who the hell thought of that? and I think, oh, I know where this might be going - this is either crashing ignorance and intolerance, or someone with that same old agenda who doesn't quite want to admit to it just yet. And lo:
Some people enjoy talking about things and even argue for changing things they think are wrong.
Excuse my cynicism, but I am rapidly turning into a right old bag, but it looks to me as if OP, all along, thought that horse riding was wrong, but thought approaching the argument from that angle wouldn't be so successful. People are already going after racing, but lets go after dressage and traduce it as 'ridiculous' and accuse the riders and trainers, all of them, of cruelty and heartlessness, and stick a crowbar into our old friend the class divide and crank that a bit.
It doesn't wash with me. I ride. I have ridden since I was six. I've been on far too many horses who start jibbing excitedly and bouncing around when they approach the spot where they normally get a canter and who, as soon as you sit down, put you leg on and ease the reins, go away like bloody trains. I've been on a horse in the manege, and felt him start to track up eagerly and get excited as it becomes clear to him that we're about do fun stuff like three loop serpentines.
Yeah, they hate it. Every second. 