We've all heard horror stories about train wrecks, but these videos are first hand accounts of the stupidity that goes on in the horse world. Not all are show related, but they do indicate that the mentality of the horse owning community slips pretty low sometimes. This first video is just horrific. I can't believe people this stupid are let out without keepers.
How fricking stupid do you have to be to hitch up a horse with NO training, no safe fencing, no safe clothing and equipment that belongs in the trash? And then to do this crap in a neighborhood, with kids around, just puts you at the top of the dipshit heap. I really like the segment where you have the kid ride bareback n front of the crazed horse, as he lunges up and down, almost hitting the pony, in his efforts to break free.
Gotta say I love this one:
And the no-riding dumbass on his back should have kept his spurs out of Cutter's sides because he caused the prolonged bad behavior. Looks like your horse doesn't appreciate your sloppy riding and poor handling.
I get the fact that reining has changed from the good old days. I know the "fencing" is an accepted practice. But when did reining horses start to hang their heads like WP horses? And when did the constant jerk and spur become standard? And when did reining trainers stop learning how to actually RIDE a horse? These people look like shit. I wouldn't place them at a local show. No posture, bad legs, horrible hands, the horses look miserable and stiff. Where is the beauty of reining?
These next two videos showcase something that is very wrong with the show system: The warm up pen. Show management better get off their asses and start really monitoring the warm up pens. It's bad in everything from reining to dressage. The two following videos show how awful the riding and treatment are outside of the ring. In my opinion these riders should have been banned from competition.
And WTF is this? You haul so hard on the reins that your horse's tongue turns BLUE? Fricking BLUE!!!! Why wasn't this asshole dragged off that horse and beaten to within an inch of his life? Someone needs to rolkur this jerk for several hours until he learns to ride without his hands holding him on!
Really, there is so much to be ashamed of that happens behind the scenes that we should be ashamed of, but to see this kind of blatant abuse in front of spectators, other competitors and show personnel is disgraceful! It has got to stop!
A huge thank you to epona TV for featuring some of these idiots and refusing to back down from showing abuse!
8 comments:
One of the MANY things I totally don't get is... how does having a horse with a neck as limp as overcooked pasta help matters any? Sure, you want softness, flexibility and responsiveness, but I don't want an overly floppy horse any more than I'd want a sports car with a loose suspension. Don't sacrifice responsiveness for the sake of mushiness.
"elastic" ≠ "noodly"
Not in any discipline. In a true equine athlete, I want to see the horses whole body working together - I don't want the head/neck disconnected as an afterthought, to be stuck on later in a static, nonfunctioning position.
Other than that, people can be super cruel dumbasses, can't they?
I find it ironic that they boot and bandage the horses to the nines and then go do that.
wth.
Why, Steve, so we can pray for these bad-riding sins?
Prayer won't help.
Although I bet these horses pray every night, that their riders will learn how to ride..
These practices are only getting worse. The "pros" are doing it to make money, so therefore it's A-okay.
Poor horses.
Great animals, as long as humans don't spend too much time screwing them over.
There really are no words after watching those videos... Honestly? I sat here pretty much looking like a guppy the whole time - it just boggles the mind.
I haven't shown or competed since I was a kid; the industry seems to have deteriorated into a very expensive farce where horses with man-made gaits and mean methods rule the day and collect the ribbons. We have a former big lick horse here, and I knew absolutely nothing about soring until the total meltdown that almost killed us all.
I don't get it, I will never get it, and you know what? I don't want to get it. Thanks for sharing this.
sad thing is, the rider obviously thinks this looks good. Poor horse!
"How to screw up a horse in one easy lesson...."
The videos seem to be the result of the lessons being repeated waaaaay too many times.
I gotta say a few things about the first two videos.
The driving horse appears to NOT have some of the key parts of the harness ON and there are a number of mistakes being committed there. If anyone wants to learn how to do it slow and right, check out my blog on training a horse to drive THE RIGHT WAY, Show in Style
The cutting horse bronc- he could have scored well with the PRCA saddle bronc judges on the first few jumps having his spurs up on the shoulders. Otherwise he was just gripping with his legs and telling the horse to keep moving while trying to get a hold of the head and make him stop.
Gotta go back and finish watching the first one...
Thank you for this site!
I grew up showing hunters and jumpers -- my father was a prominent horse trainer (contributing editor of The Chronicle and former member of the US Army Horse Show Team)-- way back in the old days when the show season was highly anticipated and enjoyable part of the year but not the end-all it seems to be now. A lot of these poor creatures appear to do nothing except get dragged to another horse show.
Showing was for us just part of a healthy balanced year for a horse which always included down time in pasture and hacking cross country. Sometimes my father would let open jumpers push cattle around a little -- ANYTHING but the show ring and jumps.
"Forward and Happy" was his motto and I have to say his horses competed happily for years usually in snaffle bits. Dad hated patent bits and what he called "geegaws" -- the hallmarks he said of bad training and poor horsemanship. To him, a standing martingale was an admission of the trainer's failure.
Unfortunately, I think there have always been greedy, wretched owners and professional trainers to make horses' lives miserable as well as good ones like my father.
It's great that there is a site like this to expose the bad ones and talk about how to improve the care of horses. Thanks for doing this.
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