Dressage WTF

[OrkneyGirl]

I have just been watching Olympic dressage...a poor horse moving its hooves in time to 'Another one bites the dust'...surely this is done for human entertainment only. The horse wouldn't do this naturally. Commentator saying the horse 'clearly loves moving to the beat'. What a load of crap. Years of making the horse move unnaturally. Probably with a stick or whip. AIBU that this sport is about privileged humans dominating a beautiful animal. Makes me so sad...and angry!

I’m with you OP.

The amount of ridicule you’re getting from the apologists is demoralising. People suck…

I'm going now...Queen's Greatest Hits on Spotify. Can't wait to see what happens. BTW my name is actually Karen. Love how tuned in we all are on MN. But I'm not ignorant or a 'dear'...Fat bottomed girls...

Just because something only happens when taught, doesn't mean it's cruel.

Or do you think the same about dogs who do agility? Or even pet dogs being asked to sit for their meals, or being taught how to walk to heel?

Tell me you don't understand horses without telling me you don't understand horses.

They're massive, powerful beasts, if they don't/didn't want to do it, no amount of whipping would make them, they'd just throw you off.

If you watch, you can tell the ones who enjoy it, they're lively, their ears are perked, the movements are fluid.

There were a couple the other day who weren't into it and were jerky and occasionally playing out when switching movements.

I mostly just watch it at the Olympics and find it fascinating, if slightly bonkers. I know a little more about greyhounds and you certainly can't get them to do anything they don't want to do, so I can quite see it being similar for horses.

It does mimic their natural movements. I've ridden non-competition, far lower-level dressage following a set pattern of movements, none of which involved the horse picking its hooves up like a ballerina. I would not say this was cruel per se. I've never seen a lunge whip, or indeed a whip with a lash of any description, at the yard where I rode until an accident two years ago put paid to that.

Top-level competition is another matter, however. Charlotte Dujardin is certainly not alone, and in the wake of her banning several whistleblowers have come out of the woodwork to speak of methods they've witnessed at this kind of level. If her actions have caused questions to be asked around the sport, this is a good thing for animal welfare, IMO.

It's a pity the IOC are not similarly concerned about the boxing. Female competitors being beaten to a pulp by males in dangerous contact sports are equally as dangerous and abusive, but in this case, the crowd cheers them on. What's wrong with this picture?

It seems we as a society value the welfare of animals more than that of women. This should be causing an outcry. But it isn't.

Charlotte Dujardin wasn't giving a horsey treat and a pat on the head in the video I saw.

😂

Thank you.

Wow....you would not believe what happened when I played Radio Gaga...the horse moved backwards...completely on its own...just pricked up its ears and did it naturally...must contact the owner...

Charlotte Dujardin is one person. There are millions of people who own horses all over the world who don't use a lunge whip to beat them into submission

I've ridden on and off for years. I've never needed to hit or kick a horse to get it do what I'm asking of it.

To be honest OP I am torn. The horses I have known have generally enjoyed the (very low level) dressage they've done, and they have definitely done some of those moves of their own accord in the field. That said, after the horrific video of CDJ's methods, I am wondering if top level dressage is riddled with that sort of abuse. I'm not sure I would watch Olympic dressage given that.

And I’ll use it just when I like, too.

@SerafinasGoose I suppose the difference is that humans are willing participants whereas horses (and other animals) are only there because humans have made them be there.

So by your own admission, the difference in the top level competitor and yourself is the cruel use of a whip?

What a great argument for the farce currently being televised.

@MoosesOnGooses why do you like misogynistic language

Tell me you don't understand horses without telling me you don't understand horses They're massive, powerful beasts, if they don't/didn't want to do it, no amount of whipping would make them, they'd just throw you off

I'm the first to admit to knowing slightly less than bugger all about horses, but this is what always occurs to me

Could a horse be forced to do something it really doesn't want to? I honestly don't know but am willing to learn ...

I’ve not seen any of my horses perform many of these movements naturally. Dressage is not ‘refined,’ it’s often training or forcing horses into positions they wouldn’t naturally perform, or at least for the length of time they have to perform them.

I don't mind horse racing as it's essentially natural for horses to gallop along with other horses. Dressage though is the equine equivalent of a child beauty pageant....

The more you respond the more certain I am that you just have an issue with wealth (which isn't always the case anyway).
You try and ride a dressage horse that doesn't want to perform - it won't go well. And yes my horse if frequency found dancing around her field

I know quite a lot about dressage and have had horses for years and I’d certainly agree about the unnatural bit.

No worries - like a previous poster said it's useful to have this demonstration of how widespread misogyny is

You can make horses do things they’d rather not, but it’s incredibly difficult to train and compete a horse as extensively and consistently as you need to do to get to even county stage, let alone the Olympics, if that horse isn’t happy and willing to participate. You simply wouldn’t get the results, so you’d give up.

Whether you like, enjoy or despise it, it’s in the Olympics and has been for ages. I think there will probably be different sports that are available.

It would appear that MNHQ disagrees with you.

Music is altered and picked to fit the horse
Horses do these movements naturally
Not everyone uses a whip
Some people do use a whip but not for beating a horse (I have to ride with one as do many disabled riders)
You train by repetition, the same as teaching a dog to sit
I'm by no means rich and have ridden dressage
Anyone doing walk, trot and canter on a horse is technically doing dressage as that's the lower levels