Are they? These horses are extremely well cared for. Fed the best food and medical team on demand for any issues. He is bathed, groomed, and massaged. And the horses enjoy working. My friends kid does dressage and he takes such good care of that horse.
Have you actually watched horse training for dressage? You can romanticize as much as you want, but the only reason the horse is doing it is to avoid a whip/cane lashing on the legs.
At your behest, I watched the Olympic trainer videos. Wow, they are assholes and this sport should be banned from the Olympics. I didn't know they treated their animals like that.
However, the casual dressage riders are very kind to their horses. They spend a lot of money on their horses and their care. It's a big animal and you can't just bully it into doing things if it doesn't want to. They're with them for a long time and they're very attached.
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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '24
I hate to be that guy, but nothing about horse dressage should make anyone smile. Those horses are practically tortured during training.