Is it true about Charlotte Dujardin withdrawing from the Olympics?

[Freakwave897]

Or is it fake news?

It’s so disappointing if true…

I am a huge fan and can’t quite believe what I am hearing.

Interesting on the Olympic coverage just now when they introduced the highlights of the eventing from today, the presenter went to some trouble to say that eventing is a separate discipline to the dressage. Lots of distancing going on now.

And there will be hundreds of innocent well intentioned grooms, vets, farriers, trainers, breeders, producers, etc aligned with dressage and eventing who have worked their arses off to provide consistent good horse welfare in all weathers 24/7.

Yes. And if they could speak out without fear of recrimination it would be interesting to see what they would say.

dressage is the only aspect of this I follow but come on....... I have been following the abuse story for years and there are a SHEDLOAD of photos and articles out there. Its why the FEI have launched their social licence thing and that launched in 2022 so has been in preparation for at least a year before. I have not said, would not say, that everyone involved in competitive equine activity is tainted but at the higher moneymaking levels it certainly smells that way. I wouldn't like to see the partnership between horse and rider ended but here is a question for you. If the ONLY way to end abuse of ridden horses was to end horseriding, would you support it yes or no? You could keep the horses and care for them but no more riding. I guess what I am asking is which do you love best the animal or the activity? If you'd rather not then don't answer publicly but think about what you answer would be? PS I am not saying that I believe that would be the only way, its a "what if" question.

oh and Carlos Parro has been warned. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/olympics-star-warned-horse-abuse-150024374.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC3tDescDmvEidPxsS0R33VGeVMfFNLgpsSs12AXDzcvFQahxOS4QAXhtTIi9gbeO6o-QdriKbXnaf90FITqQVEnWbkFLN21QaUaoqPJHxLJt6fVJlhb2vuF8STmSfAqoIjA4n5NiEKs8qEgM2No4v1aypauRXSOOkk4DNQBY3Mi

I'm sorry but it's a silly question.

I know for sure if ridden horseriding was banned tomorrow then a lot of horses would be put to sleep. There might be a few getting fat and laminitic in fields. Equine vets would become few and far between. It would be very sad and a complete over reaction.

Look hard at top level dressage, yes. But leave riding horses alone.

@godmum56 I think that those of us who have cosseted multiple horses in retirement, however that came about) until the day they are no longer with us would say that (in my case), we cared more for the animal.

Yes I have no guilt over my treatment of all the horses I've owned over the years.

I would not. Abuse is seen far more widely in neglected horses owned by people who either cannot afford them or should be banned from owning any animal. Pick your battles.

Beautifully cared for animals are generally not abused but obviously a few might be. As are a few ridden horses everywhere but there are degrees of abuse. I’m not ever going to say I don’t want horse sport. It’s fantastic and horse abuse in many horse disciplines isn’t widespread. Frankly I’d look in the worn out fields and manky stables first.

Totally agree.

so no one except @GradGirl will even attempt to answer my question. I am not talking about YOUR horses or YOUR behaviour but it seems that some people on here would be ok with some abuse happening provided they could continue to ride? @TizerorFizz I am not talking just about professional competition, I am talking about all abuse.

Well obviously we know that some people abuse horses but we continue to ride. Horses were discovered in a terrible way not a million miles from me and I never even considered giving up riding, despite feeling upset and angry.

I know that some people abuse kids but I still had kids. People abuse dogs and cats but people still have dogs and cats!

I made clear that it was a hypothetical question. in the real world I don't believe its the only solution or the most desireable one..... But in those circumstances say its a magic wand that gets waved....The ONLY way to stop the abuse is to stop riding. Would you do it or would you choose to continue to ride?

It's a horrible loaded question. I'm not going to answer it.

It's got me wondering about the word "abuse".....
How would a horse define it I wonder?

Meanwhile - in the next village to me (and in the same village where my own horse was before he died age 33), a horse has been murdered in his own field....
(reported on itv.com/other places I'm sure if anyone is interested). Very sad, and worrying.

I am going to again point those who care about horses and don't know about this lovely family, to The Moons 😘

s

That is an awful story 😢

We had someone deliberately letting horses out of their fields - smashing gates open then letting the horses escape on to roads. My two were found still standing by the remnants of the gate 😳.

I have already said that you don't have to......it makes you think though.....that even for a totally hypothetical question nobody will say "if it was the ONLY possible way, I would give up riding to stop abuse".........

I don't think you know what it's like to have horses in real life and put their welfare above everything and then have some randomer trying to get you to say you somehow support horse abuse. It's actually pretty nasty.

Oh, wow.....
Marvellous that they stayed in the field 😍
Human beings can be absolutely terrible, and sometimes they feel the need to exert dominance over other sentient beings.
What happened to the horse in the field - and Olympic level dressage are the furthest opposite ends of a spectrum of dominance over an animal who's life is in our hands.
They try to tell us with body language and behaviour, but their faces are generally quite impassive, so sometimes they are seen as compliant, when that is the last thing they want to do.
I irritated a racehorse (in his stable - just skipping out close by) and he came at me across the box and nearly took my arm off. They do not have to be as gentle as they are, and I love them for it.
(The Head Lad threw a sponge at him, and it bounced off his bum.)

I was actually standing up for the innocent hard-working, patient, riders, grooms, trainers etc who are decent and put horse welfare first.

It’s because I support equestrianism that I find it so unfair that CJD and others have caused their integrity to be questioned. I certainly don’t have an agenda to get rid of horses, I am an owner rider myself. And I work to preserve one particular breed.

That said, I still looked at the eventing today and wondered if the governing bodies and competitors are all trustworthy.

Sorry but that was my genuine reaction. And if a supporter of horse sports thought that, imagine what the man in the street who knows nothing about horses is thinking?

Trying to find the long term solutions and positives :
~hoping that increased scrutiny will lead to positive changes in the arena, warm up, and training at every level and encourage more people to speak out
~that judges will not reward tension or fear
~that FEI will rigorously apply existing rules
~that FEI will introduce unplanned welfare inspections of professional and amateur yards and ban working pupils signing confidentiality agreements.
~that all competitive riders will sign a legal document at the end of the previous season and beginning of the next, saying they have not, and will not, use abusive training methods and they will be banned from competing permanently the moment this is breached.
-And if someone in a position of authority is subsequently found to be in possession of proof of abuse and hasn’t spoken up, they are immediately sacked.

Not in any way perfect but a few suggestions.

I absolutely love them. There is nothing like the bond I have with one of my horses in particular. I literally torment myself thinking about what I'll.do when he dies.

Yes, that is the wonderful thing - these bonds are so precious.
I waited what seemed like a lifetime for my old guy, and was a mess for a long long time, even though he had a luxurious 6 year retirement, and a peaceful passage after a sudden visible onset of a fatal condition. He only "suffered" for a couple of hours while we waited for the vet, and could be sure what was happening.
He is buried in his field, with the WH Auden poem, "Stop All the Clocks" framed alongside him.
There is something about the trust they have in you; it always helped me to go to sleep to think I had done the best I could for him that day.
I would NEVER sleep if I had hit him, or any other horse, or animal. I have no clue how people who abuse animals DO sleep.
No sympathy for CD of anyone involved in this case - but this is only one of many, I am certain.

did I say that? where?

My bond with my mare was unreal, she was a funny old thing but I totally got her and did everything within my power to make her life as comfortable as possible. She died a few years ago now and I still dream about her constantly - just a night or two ago, I dreamt I'd gone back to the yard as I was worried she didn't have enough hay. I loved her with every fibre of my being and as other posters have said, the idea of ever even raising my voice let alone my hand to her is completely unimaginable 😓.

@Toastandmarmaladeisdelish

That's lovely - I understand.
I still dream about mine and he died in 2013.
I am happy that I do - but always a wee bit sad when I wake and remember he is long gone - but a piece of them always stays behind with us 💕🤗

I am not a lawyer.

I have wondered from the beginning about the discrepancy in timing. Whistleblower's lawyer says 2 ish years, CDJ says four.

There is a time limit for prosecutions in England and Wales under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

It is three years beginning with the date of the offence.

On a far more trivial note I intensely dislike the 'royal' looky likey emblem / corporate emblem on her website.