Prince William

[Serenbunny]

Anyone else seen the footage of Prince William on his horse & think that horse has been sedated?

I'm failing to see the swaying or stumbling.

The horse is on a really loose rein at times so is relaxed and ambling along. At other times it's pawing and shuffling about a bit presumably when the noise and drums are loudest. William can be seen reining it in then.

As for sweating, I couldn't see any excess but it's a warm day and William is a fairly big bloke especially with all the gear on. I'd be surprised if it was sedated. He has grown up riding and it'll probably be the most experienced charger they have. If it was a horse that couldn't be trusted to behave without sedation at an event then it would be a risk given the level of stimulus it would be exposed to.

Also riding a heavily sedated horse is highly dangerous. Not a situation anyone would put the future king in unless it was some sort of deliberate sabotage attempt. Agree with op are you confusing where the horse is pawing then ground and being corrected as wobbling?

Also riding a heavily sedated horse is highly dangerous. Not a situation anyone would put the future king in unless it was some sort of deliberate sabotage attempt

Putin 😱 He did threaten Britain. Maybe the plan was to take out William 😂

Who knew all it would take was a heavy dose of ketamine to take down the country 😆

😂

It’s a bit worrying that those with no experience of riding like this or working horses are so convinced they have spotted something wrong and their odd observations are valid and need to be taken seriously. It sounds like those who have the views don’t know what a relaxed horse at walkers looks like. It’s different to dressage and competition! My horses are this relaxed a lot which I take a pride in and I thought it was nice of prince william to give the horse a long reign.

At walk * I do regret I sound so rude but it’s like me trying to tell someone how to drive a train or pilot an aircraft. I wouldn’t have a clue and realise that

William has got the horse on a loose long rein, encouraging the horse to relax, which he is doing, the riders either side of him are holding their reins, slightly higher. A bit more gathered so their horses, look a bit more alert.

Agree with this. Surprised it's posted in the tack room tbh as that's usually for horsey people - would have been better off in aibu

Absolutely this^^! And you never quite know how an individual horse is going to react to a sedative drug either. Very occasionally, it can send some horses the other way because they fight it.

(Hasten to add, have only seen horses medicated for veterinary reasons, not to calm them down for riding, I don't really approve of it for clipping either.)

I've spent some time working in a university equine hospital - sedated horses are hugely unpredictable and can be dangerous. It's something you receive extensive training on.

FFS, William plays polo - I reckon he can handle riding a horse in a walk without drugging it!

This. What a load of rubbish OP. Maybe the horse was just having an off day, like we all do from time to time. I wouldn't believe a thing that anyone from PETA says, having seen some of their previous rants.

Oh my god. I've just watched the short clip. That horse is relaxed, chilled and beautifully schooled and William is riding amazingly.

For a horse to be able to be ridden on a long rein in that kind of atmosphere demonstrates years and years of experience from horse and rider.

You should be praising his horsemanship and the breading and training that produced a horse like that.

To get a horse to free walk like that in the hectic pressure of a dressage test is seen as the highest level of riding! Let alone in the middle of London with crowds/noise/horses everywhere.

A less experienced rider/horse combat would be hanging in to its mouth and the horse would be stiff and tense.

It might look pretty though... pretty horses prancing and all that.

Thankfully you posted in tack room where a bunch of actual riders/horse people know that the horse is not sedated. Just beautifully behaved!

Thank you to the horse experts here for clearing that up. I'm clueless about horses so when I saw the footage on the news here in Aust, with the newscaster suggesting it might be drugged because of the 'stumbling' and the nose so close to the ground, I was half prepared to believe it.

But then I thought why? Surely it'd be an experienced horse, and William's obviously an experienced rider, so ???

I understand now. Thanks :)

I thought it was nice of prince william to give the horse a long reign.

The horse had a long rein. It's Elizabeth's long reign that was being celebrated.

Can't find the actual footage, and won't give the DM the airtime in terms of watching their videos - and please warn people if a link is to the DM, it's a truly poisonous piece of shit. I found rehearsal footage. The horse looked relaxed and well schooled in that.

I’d heard people saying this before I saw the footage, but really didn’t see anything remotely suspicious when I watched it. He’s a very experienced rider, I can’t think of a single reason why they’d sedate it anyway. It was a warm day, my horse sweats easier than other horses too.

Of course that horse wasn't sedated...it was a hot day, the horse was only being asked to walk. What would you expect it to do?

I did ,on a completely different note, wonder about his leg position though. Maybe more experienced riders can tell why, but to me it seems a bit too straight and in front. Is it because he is really tall?

I have only been riding for two years but I could recognised the way I have been told to ride by instructors in what Princess Anne was doing, but not so much in how William was sitting/using the stirrups....

I watched the video , some of the other horses are being a bit jostly and head throw-ey especically the ones at the wider edge of the curve who are going quicker to keep up.

But Williams horse looks relaxed , maybe a bit bored , they'd have practiced till these horses could do it in their sleep !

I did wonder if maybe he had ear-plugs in after what happened with Burmese ?

I have only been riding for two years but I could recognised the way I have been told to ride by instructors in what Princess Anne was doing, but not so much in how William was sitting/using the stirrups

The riding in this tack and for that discipline is really quite different to you're average horse in a gp saddle, same as you'd ride entirely different in a racing saddle. As you can see there are pads that help position the leg on those saddles. I'd liken it in a way to a western saddle where they also have that long far straighter position. Obviously better to keep you in place when you charge off at high speeds or need to suddenly change direction. Williams legs are long and his horse looks quite small so it looks far more exaggerated with him whereas Anne has the contact with the horses sides that hold the leg slightly differently and is just not as noticeable - Williams have gone past that point.