To think that equestrian events are ridiculous

[BFrazzled]

In the Olympics.

Poor horses. This ridiculous dancing in dressage, who the hell thought of that?

There was one winner of the dressage contest who supposedly also won in the nineties. No mention of the horse, guess it was with a different one then

I think this post is ridiculous.

You know that little rectangular contraptions with buttons? You point it at the tv and press the buttons. It magically makes the equestrian events go away if you do it right.

@cricketmum84

I think this post is ridiculous.

You know that little rectangular contraptions with buttons? You point it at the tv and press the buttons. It magically makes the equestrian events go away if you do it right.

Indeed!

Showjumping on today for those who are interested!

scratchnall.com/blog/abuse-in-the-dressage-world-breaking-the-silence/

Loving the attempts to suggest that equestrian events aren't exclusive or just for rich people.

Princess Anne, Captain Mark Phillips and Zara Phillips have all competed in the Olympics in equestrian events. So clearly it's a pure meritocracy

God there is so much ignorance on this thread.

Dressage is HARD, it takes years of training, part of the skill is the rider making it look effortless, it's not. And no, they don't just get given a horse in Tokyo they train for years with their horses!

@Hopeisallineed

That's a US blog and 8 years old.

All my dcs have been through the Pony Club which is a brilliant way to learn how to look after a horse or pony and then competed with various organisations all who have very strict guidance on abuse.

I was volunteering at a British Eventing competition last month and one rider was suspected of using her whip too much. As she went past each fence the judges made a note of how many times she used it. She was pulled up after fence 8. As I've said repeatedly, affiliated equestrian bodies in the UK take abuse extremely seriously. But do keep trawling the internet for irrelevant out of date opinion pieces

Are you saying now me today in the dressage world are using these techniques in an abusive way?

*No one

And horse racing and dressage are two very different sports. I do agree horse racing is cruel and leads to many ex race horses being needlessly bred then disregarded/killed when no longer of worth.

“It's only horses that seem to bring out people's inner expert - feeding other people's horses when they see them in fields, getting critical about the way horses are kept and ridden. Are people like this about dogs?”

There’s a lot of people who went on a pony ride in 1992 and read a few copies of H&P so think that qualifies them to know what’s “right” and “wrong”. Solo turnout, spurs, competitive riding, all wrong because they have no idea about them. Throw in some class envy - “all horsey people are snobs/toffs” - and you have…this thread.

Are you under the impression that all the horse's friends and family are watching the event and are annoyed their mate didn't get mentioned by name?

And if any of these armchair experts actually engaged with the sport rather than criticising from afar, they’d know that practically the first thing riders do is praise their horses and talk about them. Look at Charlotte Dujardin’s FB page - pretty much every post is about her horses, not herself.

This is a more recent article if it helps…and an Olympian.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/three-year-abuse-ban-for-olympic-rider-filmed-jabbing-the-mouth-of-small-pony-743644/amp

@grumpytoddler1

Loving the attempts to suggest that equestrian events aren't exclusive or just for rich people.

Princess Anne, Captain Mark Phillips and Zara Phillips have all competed in the Olympics in equestrian events. So clearly it's a pure meritocracy

The fact that you need a lot of money to compete at high levels is completely irrelevant as far as abuse goes.

The worst abuse in this country comes from the people with no fixed abode who race horses on tarmac roads and leave horses tethered to the side of the road to starve to death. I actually went with my horsebox to rescue a horse who had been abandoned, tethered with no water for 3 days. Took him to the local horse welfare place. He was sunburnt, starving, lame and covered in lice. He still gave me a little whicker and a happy ears forward face as we led him into the trailer. So you can sit on your arse banging on about how awful it is that you are made to watch dressage on the TV or you can get out there and do something about perceived abuse.

I think it’s upsetting how some so called ‘horse-lovers’ continually ignore what is clearly going on in the sport. Fine that you still want to do it and that you feel you are treating your animals with the utmost respect but that doesn’t mean to say there doesn’t need to be tighter restrictions on abuse or to deny that that abuse is actually happening in some areas, as it clearly is. It’s very blinkered ( if you excuse the pun) and I’m surprised that more people aren’t upset about it. Every kind of sport is open to abuse and highlighting that should be a good thing not ranting on about ‘ignoring it’ or ‘just turn the telly off if you don’t like it.’🙄

@Hopeisallineed Specifically which of the Olympic horses do you think look as though they were suffering?

All of the ones I saw looked in peak fitness, very healthy and happy. There are riders who’s style I don’t agree with, but that’s a seperate issue to the claim that it’s cruel to fly these horses out to Japan. The racing industry has nothing to do with the Olympics, apart from the fact that some ex-racers are retrained as eventers or showjumpers (I’m not sure if there were any there this year tbh).

Some are spookier than others, naturally, but none looked as though they were distressed. The eventers wear literally rearing to go in the x-country start box, so I’m fairly sure they enjoy their job

Why do you feel the need to put hose lovers in speech marks?

I'm not a horsey person but I thoroughly appreciate the skills involved. As for the horse, I see it as akin to training any working dog. They're incredibly intelligent animals and need both physical and mental stimulation x

Hose lovers

I agree there are training methods (Rolkur, crank nosebands, draw reins, rapping, for example) that I absolutely think is cruel. However I do think there’s been a shift away from these methods. More of the horses in the dressage looked most relaxed and naturally carrying themselves, to my amateur eye. The one who’s technique and training I personally cannot stand, is an exception. I thought he really stood out this year and not just because of his orange tails

@Hopeisallineed

Do you have any pets?

I hope you don't have a cat because some people treat cats very badly indeed. If you think you are a "cat lover" maybe you should think again?

😂😂😂 I have cats but they don’t compete in sports ( as far as I’m aware) I don’t ride them around the garden, trying to make them trot nicely. Enjoying the way you are completely ignoring the recent article on dressage abuse from an Olympian though. 😉

@ChiefClerkDrumknott I agree…and as long as it is still going on in some areas it needs to be talked about.

Apologies for the mistakes in that post. I’m just checking on my new 2yo Dales pony after her second night in the field with the big boys. She’s already figured out that her stable is a nice place to be, with breakfast and shade and hay and relief from the flies and took herself in today.

She’s also been introduced to rugs, trailers, quad bikes, hoses etc., to prepare her for her working life. Some of which she was a little scared of, in which case they’ve quietly been shown to her and she’s been praised and reassured.

But she’s destined for showing, dressage, fun rides, perhaps a little jumping, (whispers) hunting , perhaps some driving. So someone call the RSPCA, the BHS, the FEI, the IOC, because that would be cruel 🤣🤣

Yes sorry @Hopeisallineed

Don't have time to read yet another article saying how awful dressage is as I know that it isn't in the UK. Just look at Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin and be proud you live in th UK with their very sustainable training methods.

I don't have time because I'm about to go and bring my horses in for the day to escape the flies

@Hopeisallineed Absolutely it should be talked about and very much IS being talked about in the horsey world. But that doesn’t mean that every single horse sport should be banned because some people use disgusting methods. Horse welfare is taken very seriously by governing bodies.

So again, which horses looked as though they are suffering from being flown to Japan? Which is what the OP was about

Good. No need to all be in denial about it then. 😊