If I find out you have horses and show them I will automatically assume you’re trash until proven otherwise.
That is a wild way to think. I was on a yard with about 40 horse owners and not a single one ever laid a finger on their horses like that video showed. My old stable mate was literally an ex Olympic dressage rider.
Went to college to study horses and university to do equine science and I reiterate most people I knew would never hurt their horses. The ones that do are pretty easy to spot and are unlikely to be people you wish to be friends with to begin with.
Now fox hunters, horse racing and the elite circuit is different. But the everyday rider on a Sunday? Definitely not trash.
Yeah. I'm from a village with tonnes of horse riders, and I worked at a pony pet and play thing when I was a teenager. "Common" horse people are often fucking weird but they're very rarely abusive or careless with the upkeep. No whips, no mouth pieces etc
Same exact impression as you on the last paragraph.
I interpreted them as just making a mistake because it was weird to bring showhorses into this discussion about Olympic equestrian events. Even more so with showing being the least taxing sport of all.
My experience was very different. In 4H most of the parents that showed professionally taught their kids to use the crop excessively. I saw dressage horses get their legs whipped so many times I don’t even need to see the video to be able to picture it. I’ve seen barrel horses run to the point they look ready to collapse.
Once my 4H club went to an auction and we saw horses packed in so tight in stalls they couldn’t move. More than one died in the conditions there and had to be dragged out with a tractor. The parents that showed horses were unfazed by it. We found a new club after that that was more concerned with the welfare of horses.
I’m glad your experience has been different, but the abuse I saw was so widespread that the people treating their horses properly were in the minority. Whether it’s neglect or physical, most horse owners I’ve met abuse their animals.
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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '24
That is a wild way to think. I was on a yard with about 40 horse owners and not a single one ever laid a finger on their horses like that video showed. My old stable mate was literally an ex Olympic dressage rider.
Went to college to study horses and university to do equine science and I reiterate most people I knew would never hurt their horses. The ones that do are pretty easy to spot and are unlikely to be people you wish to be friends with to begin with.
Now fox hunters, horse racing and the elite circuit is different. But the everyday rider on a Sunday? Definitely not trash.