What do you see?

An educated eye can change what you see. When I watch motor racing on golf I can't truly appreciate the skill that goes into it as I haven't really tried those sports to a level which allows an understanding of what they involve and the skill needed.

This also goes for horse riding. Anyone who hasn't ridden a horse to a level where they are trying to refine their riding or the horse doesn't really understand how hard dressage is or how much work goes into Eventing. Equally, its much harder for them to spot subtle distress in a horse or that grey area that some consider abuse under saddle.

The UK and the US have the subtle horse riding abuses all the time. I have been to events in the UK where a unfit horse is being galloped around a XC course, being kicked and kicked into a jump only to be gobbed in the mouth by a snaffle bit three strides out. In the US there are definitely more horses ridden in leverage bits. For anyone non horsey- leverage bits apply pressure to the tongue and lower jaw and can cause serious pain in novice or heavy hands. Im certainly not good enough to ride with anything other than a snaffle and even those can cause some pain in the wrong hands.

Western long shank leverage bit

Snaffle/ Direct Rein bit

What do you see?

So, I think I have chosen fairly obvious examples. I did try to find horses resisting snaffle bits like the long shank one above but funnily enough they are much harder to find...

Do you see the distress in the first horse? In a photon frozen in time its easier.

Out here in the US, equestrians are praise when they manage to 'control' their "crazy" barrel racing horses. I find it as distressing as watching any other heavy handed riders. People see someone staying on a galloping, excited horse and think that makes them good riders. It doesn't.

Here are a few videos for you to watch- what do you see?

Barrel Racing Vid 1 pretty ok huh? No reins, no harsh bit- no flailing legs, balanced rider and horse knows its job

How about this Barrel Racing trainer vid 2 ok that one was pretty easy and obvious right? Imagine being slammed in the mouth with a piece of metal leveraged so that it not only slams the side of your mouth but your soft tongue and yanks your jaw too.

Oh and I couldnt help it New Tack - surely, even my less experienced friends can see that the horse was going to rear up- it couldn't escape the pain in its mouth any way it tried so up was the only option.

Now last Barrel racing one- Spills so I didn't watch all of this but all the falls were caused by unbalanced riders and all the 'spazz outs' by harsh hands. I wonder how many people blamed those horses for being 'naughty' or 'crazy'...

Ok, thats it for now, rant over. However I am off to the National Stock Show this weekend so there may be more ranting and videos after that.