Monday, October 17, 2016

Perception is Everything in the (non) Horse World


I'm not much of one to court controversy in the horse world.  I have my opinions, keep them (mostly!) to myself, and try to treat my personal horses in a humane and decent way.  I try not to be too judgmental, since over time, my knowledge and understanding of how horses think and should work has evolved quite a bit.  I really don't care for the rollkur(riding the horse purposely and strongly behind the vertical) and the forceful riding seen in a lot of competetive dressage right now, many of the show practices of the western breed associations, the massive drug problem in the hunter/jumper world, and of course the awfulness that is the Tennessee Walking Horse.  But I really don't get involved.

That said, I always wonder when some terrible video or stills come up on my Facebook page how the enforcement organizations for these various types of competition think these things play with John Q. Public.  The general public might not know much about horses, but it is pretty easy to see cranked heads, forceful riding, dead eyed horses, and those awful stacked shoes.  Do these organizations not realize that the general public will only have tolerance for horse sports as long as the sport looks like an ok life for the competing horse?  With the general move away from people living on farms and much more concern for animal welfare with things like free range meat and cage free eggs, are these governing bodies thinking at all about the long term future of horse sports?

I've been thinking about this a lot this weekend after seeing pictures of a certain event rider at a prominent national event with many pictures posted of the horse with a bloody mouth.  The rider was allowed to finish the cross country course, allowed to have a groom towel off the mouth with a black towel before a vet welfare check, and ultimately after show jumping WIN a nation level event.  And the kicker is, this rider has been spotted with bloody mouthed horses on multiple occasions at competitions and because she is deeply connected to people in the eventing power structure she keeps getting away with it!

Who the he#€ thinks this is a good idea?  Doesn't eventing have enough problems with rider/horse deaths and rotational falls without stuff like this?  I don't mean to just pick on eventing either.  Dressage has had a massive publicity problem with rollkur.  Hunter jumpers have had many drugging scandals that make them look terrible.  Various other breeds and competitions have had all sorts problems and videos that have become public.  With the advent of the cell phone and the Internet many things have become general knowledge that were kept hidden in the pre-Internet age.  

Is anyone even thinking 20-30 years in the future when the general public will probably have no tolerance for even the perception of abuse?  Do horse people realize that public opinion can change in a heartbeat, especially in our hyper connected world?  Governing organizations seem to be more worried about keeping winners winners and competing on the national and world level.  Besides the obvious point that they are supposed to ensure a level playing field for all competitors and the general welfare of the competing horses, shouldn't they be making sure the public will allow horse sports in 20-30 years?  Remember, what is now appalling in the Tenessee Walking Horse world was common practice not that long ago.  Will the same thing happen to eventing and some of the other more controversial horse sports without some serious intervention?  Something to think about.  

10 comments:

  1. Great post--and a great reminder for all who compete in animal-related activities. If we want our sports to continue, we must be conscious of how it looks to the general public.

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  2. Great post! If it smells like a duck to the majority, it is a duck to the majority....

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    1. Yes, and eventing brought these things to mind but the problem pervades all horse sports.

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  3. I am with you. Wasn't a dressage rider eliminated from the Olympics because of blood from spurs? I've always (fondly) said eventers are crazy. All the horse and rider deaths just in the last few years and now this repeated offense?!?! My "eventers are crazy" is now for real--pointing at the powers that be for allowing this nonsense to persist. By the way, how does one make one's horse's mouth bleed? Too severe of a bit or heartless riding.

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  4. Susan, I really don't know the ins and out of how you have your horse's mouth bleed on multiple occasions but I'm thinking it is not by doing humane training. That said, I don't know the rider, did not see the events live, and I can't really comment on her integrity as a rider/trainer. The thing is though, any sane non-horse person equates blood in competition as a very bad thing. The next time there is a death or terrible accident the "blood" pictures will come out again. It makes eventing look really, really bad and is terrible PR. Why would the powers that be allow this at the National Level?

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  5. Agreed - it is the public perception that is so dangerous. This is how we drive people away from the sport, and without the support from the "little guy", the sport itself will cease to exist. They are the funding. Some of these upper level pros will turn themselves inside out to get a sponsorship from a company so that they can pay to go to a big event, but lets be honest, those big events would not exist at all if not for the continuous stream of money that comes from the "every man". These people need to get real.

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    1. Absolutely, but there seems to be no thought by the governing bodies about the larger perspective of how humane horse sports and rule enforcement play to the general public. You know, the public that attends, sponsors, and even competes at the lower levels. Talk about burning your own house down...

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  6. I am absolutely disgusted with eventing these days. Not only with ML and the blood, but the deaths and falls...I just can't support the sport I once loved. It is not the same thing it once was! Well written post.

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  7. Eventing seems like it is in a precarious place right now, but the powers that be don't seem to have any serious worries or concerns about the future. I'm not sure the general public will tolerate this current version of eventing 20-30 years down the road. Sad, because a lot of horses truly love galloping a cross country course.

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