Dressage

[FrankelSaysRelax]

In advance of the Dressage kicking off tomorrow, here are the tests:

Grand Prix

Grand Prix Special

Freestyle

Looking forward to it, and fingers crossed for medals

I went today!!! Never been to a horse show/dressage comp. It was the best day ever! Can you become an Olympic rider when you learn at 25???

The GB team were so fantastic and lovely !!!

kandinsky get yourself a subscription to Horse & Hound quick Once you're hooked on horses, that's it

Oooh! It's the Kur today. I'm getting all excited, although I will have to watch this evening after the Young Donkey is in bed.

I loved watching the dressage yesterday but am too non-horsey to understand the finer points.
Does anyone know why the stewards were looking at the horse's mouth after performing?

Harbinger it was to check that they were using a permitted type of bit (the metal bar that sits in the horse's mouth). To make the competition a bit more of a level playing field, only certain designs of bit can be used from an approved list.

It's also a check that the horse hasn't bitten its tongue (which they can occasionally do when concentrating, just like us) or that there have been no cases of compromised welfare, which can show in things like an excessively dry mouth or a discoloured tongue.

Ooh,thank you Fireandashes. I thought the bit at first but then thought that they would check that beforehand.

I noticed a couple of horses with lots of saliva/froth and wondered about thirst. Awful to hear that they could bite their tongue.

MN really is wonderful;getting a proper reply to a pretty obscure question

The saliva is a good sign - it means the horse is 'mouthing' (accepting) the bit and is relaxed. It acts as a natural lubricant and keeps the horse's mouth comfortable around the bit. That's why one of the signs of a stressed horse can be a dry mouth, and should be investigated.

Once they'd been checked over and the rider had dismounted the horses would be given a drink. They were only in the arena for a few minutes so although they're obviously working hard for that short space of time, there wouldn't be any danger of them dehydrating or being uncomfortably thirsty.

Should have added - biting the tongue is rare, but it does happen very occasionally. Horses have long thick tongues and if they even have a slightly sharp edge to a tooth they can nick the edge of their tongue. Because they are producing a lot of saliva it can look worryingly spectacular - a lot of pink or red froth! - but is is almost always only a tiny nick or bite.

Good to know about the saliva,I thought it was the other way round as I'd recently (during Olympics) read that athletes get a dry mouth and spit out/horrible tasting saliva.

Nick sounds much better than bite! Nick on tooth rather than chomp off end (as children can do on trampolines). Rather dramatic though.

Thought the relationship between the three GB riders was v v interesting. Small world.

I really want to know the name of the woman in red who interviewed the riders after their ride - can anyone help? She had short blonde hair, a bit spiky at the back.
Thanks!

I didn't see the interviews yesterday but was it Clare Balding? She's got short blonde hair and she certainly interviewed the showjumpers earlier in the week.

No, it wasn't CB. It's just a frivolous query - I'd like to ask my hairdresser to cut my hair like hers!!

I can picture the hair and think it is a bit Trudi Styler'ish'.

Ooh, I found a vidoe of her on here, which should help,
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19202508,
but still can't find her name.

Open question: Do you think this marvellous trio will survive now that they have to sell two of the horses?

I'm on my phone do can't open the image but it might have been Judy Harvey, the co-commentator and one of Charlotte's former dressage trainers.

Harbinger they've got some younger horses in the yard that they're training to bring up to the same standard - no guarantees of course, and it will take a few years but hopefully they will get there. This was Carl Hester's third Olympics on three different horses so he's proved he can at least reach the standard for selection with more than one horse, even if this was his first medal.

Ithink it might have been Eleanor Oldroyd. Thanks for helping!

No, Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes!

Iv'e just been watching the Freestyle ... again ...

The best tests are just utterly beautiful. Even non-horsey DH thinks they look good.

And the Young Donk said, "Mummy, those horses are dancing, and watched mesmerised.

Please put in closing " after the word 'dancing'