So recently a video was posted on the Fugly blog of a western pleasure horse (which actually may be APHA not AQHA) I stumbled upon it via a forum that I frequent based in Ont. All of you know who read this blog know that I have done the WP thing but that I also struggle with what people are doing to horses to show them. I wanted to defend the WP/stock breed industry but I agreed with what everyone was saying.
I go onto the pleasure horse forum and people are defending the person. No one should be bullied, but the video was awful.
I was disguised with the video. Poll well below the withers, behind the bridle, cantering almost sideways down the rail. The horse had potential, but will never stay sound enough now to preform the way it could have. How do I know that? Well recently a girl I know found out her horse will never be sound again.
He's 3
And he was sound 3 months ago, before he went to the final trainer...And his trainer rode him the same way that this horse was being ridden.
We see the horses that come out for a season then are never shown again, the ones that 'disappear' only to be buried on the trainers farm. The horses burnt up in a season of showing and can never be ridden again. I hate what we are doing to our horses.
And no one stops it.
I'd like to say that I'm better than that, but I'm not, I still do stuff that some people would think inappropriate. I ride my English horse in western spurs. I often ride him in shank bits. I do make him preform hip in at the canter occasionally. But hes happy, sound, and acting like a horse for the first time in his life.
Its the trainers getting caught, charged, fined, kicked out of the association but still allowed to attend shows and coach clients. Its trainers and riders breaking rules and still getting there picture on the cover of a magazine. Its a Professional Horseman regaining his PH status only a couple of years after getting caught drugging horses at a show. Its a trainer getting charged by one association for crulity only to be welcomed with open arms into others...
AQHA, NSBA, APHA, ApHC please get your act together, before some animal rights group does it for you.
5 comments:
All the disciplines have these problems - not just WP - whenever winning and competition are put above the needs of the horse, this is what happens.
I couldn't agree with you more, and Kate has a point too. Look at what Rollkur has done to dressage. Not that any of that makes it right. We should be better than that, and protect the horses.
I'm hopeful that this is not the norm, because the way the horse was being ridden in that video isn't the "in style" I've seen at the shows around me lately. I think that trainer is located in NC too...
It's definitely disgusting, and I feel awful for those horses.
That is very true with Dressage. Rolkur is just as bad as the crap that goes on in the warm up's at the breed shows... The dressage shows have stewards do any of you think that makes a difference?
Agreed. I saw that video and it was awful. I guess each area of competition has it's little dark secrets. Making the public aware of them and making it professionally and socially unacceptable to participate in activities that may hurt the horse for the sake of a trophy is the first step for change.
Post a Comment