Charlotte duJardin

[suein56]

This is a depressing/sad thread.

It certainly is, but I feel the abuse has become so widespread that the whole subject needs airing.
I had no idea of some of the horrible practices shown above .. they are unjustified in my view.

[hughnique]

What's new, another example of man's abuse of animals, be it horses, dogs, cats, or indeed chimps owned by Mary Chipperfield. I have not seen the incident, and don't really want to, but feel this woman should be banned from the sport and stripped of any medals she has obtained.

[Veem]

Until dressage judges can be persuaded that riders should be judged on their performance in the test they just rode and not on their previous reputation or ranking in the world of international dressage, they will continue to give subjective scores. Some highly esteemed judges seem to have become unable to recognise subtle signs of bad riding or maybe their consciences allow them to simply overlook them. The pressure on riders to win, be they ego driven or financially driven may push some towards an attitude where awful practices influence their training methods.

The more exposure the abuse gets, the better in my opinion. My heart bleeds for some of these poor horses.

[suein56]

The more exposure the abuse gets, the better in my opinion. My heart bleeds for some of these poor horses.

The use of horses in this way I find truly obnoxious. Some riders evidently care hugely for their horses but many seem to use abusive practice methods simply to achieve fame (and money/celebrity) for themselves.

[hughnique]

Events such as the Grand National should be abolished, at least one or two have to be destroyed after falling over

[Blaze]

@Veem Remember poor Totilas ? The once magnificent stallion ruined by abusive practices.

Anky van Grunsven, a Dutch rider, has won 3 gold medals in olympic dressage. She is known for using abusive practices, even in public, but seemingly has been allowed to get away with it. From "classical" dressage to western "reining", she continues to use it. Yet the rules of Reining (also a working horse dressage discipline) state that the horse must be "willingly guided" and ridden on a loose rein through its performance.
Her treatment of horses is shameful as you can see from these two photos, and the second one was particularly shocking because of the type of bit used.

578802_338292389590880_1677331345_n.jpg

anky-western-rollkur-horse-abuse.jpg

[Veem]

I find those photos so hard to look at. I've never understood how Anky could fail to acknowledge that her methods have no merit and are nothing but cruel. I watched Edward Gal (her then student) warm up a horse for a demo she was giving (she was on crutches following a bad fall from a young horse - I wonder why?) and he was a mirror image of her training. Horrible to watch. In the days of Bonfire I loved to watch her, but I'm sure she became more and more extreme over the years.
How anyone can think it's OK to work a horse with its chin touching its chest is beyond me. It isn't even close to the 'vertical' where the flat surface of the horse's head is vertical to the ground and is the classic position. The poor horse's frame just isn't made to work like that.

I shall always think of her as the inventor of the notorious Rollkur.

[Headers]

1. She regrets getting caught
2. Someone had this film and didn’t publish it until just before the Olympics - there are other agendas in play here whatever the whistleblowers solicitor is saying’
3. The whole FEI setup of flying horses round the world for ‘entertainment’ needs to be reviewed.
4. It’s all about the money these days
5 I used to do dressage and one day events. I was not very accomplished but I saw some pretty bad stuff and I have had cause to report an international rider at a one day event, was told not to make a fuss by the organisers who only acted after I stood my ground and threatened to call the RSPCA( no smart phones then).
6. I personally think horse competition should be removed from the Olympics. It’s had its day.

[Nomoss]

6. I personally think horse competition should be removed from the Olympics. It’s had its day. ...........

I can't understand why watching horses perform unnatural circus-like acts can be an attraction, or considered as a sport worthy of the Olympics, even given the commercialisation of the event since Barcelona and Samaranch.

[Lori]

So many of these photos show lots of people around to see these things taking place. So, they accept this behavior ? And at events where people/organizers surely know cruel treatment is taking place and just ignore it. I don't get it.

If you are found beating your dog/cat or abusing them in general, you get fined and often lose the right to own a pet again. Yet, this stuff gets 'overlooked?' Shameful. I'm really surprised they get away with this stuff.