To be totally honest, there are thousands of better pictures a major online presence could have picked besides this one. I like that horse and I do not like that photo. TPTB talk a lot about social license and how important it is to put a good impression out there, but then they pick the most unflattering pictures to represent the entire sport.
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Perhaps. I say that about all photos my family post of me, however.
I disagree that this photo of this horse shows:
- severe muscle atrophy
- two “super tight” nosebands
- a bit being “pulled through the mouth”
I see:
- a fit, curious event horse
- two nosebands fitted correctly
- a buckle that could be adjusted up or down, or a shorter flash strap procured (higher buckle w less tail)
- a horse on a relaxed rein, neither pulling nor being pulled
- a D snaffle fit wide and not snug
I have no idea who either party are, horse or rider. I have no idea what their regular attire/tack is, how they train, what age / breed / sex the horse is…
I also ride w/out a noseband or with one so loose that you might as well not have it, so tight NBs are not my thing. I’m not seeing this as tight.
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The pitchfork mob of self proclaimed horse behavior experts is really grasping at straws here.
I will say not the best photo and likely one taken .05 seconds before or after might capture a slightly different facial expression or might not. He has a slightly worried eye about him, which I would argue most horses have at a trot-up. It’s a high energy, loud environment filled with fit horses either walking around, practice jogging, or actually going down the strip. Horses can show signs of “stress” and A. That not be a bad thing and B. NOT MEAN PAIN.
Imho too much has been extrapolated from ONE study on the equine pain face. (Which was artificially created with a very specific nerve stimulant). Basically a few clever graphic designers made some infographics I see all over instagram and now every young SJW of the horse world is claiming all horses are in pain. PS the study couldn’t conclude if the markers they saw were from stress, annoyance, ambivalence or genuine pain. Not saying we should ignore horses facial cues, but it is helping no one to see every raised eyebrow and declare the horse is abused and in pain.
Final thought. I remember in the not too far distance past it was common for all trot ups to be done in a plain cavesson. Personally I loved the look and I’m not sure I fully understand why people are adding flashes for the trot-up. Less is more, show off the horse.
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I swear there’d be less chubby horses worldwide if there were less “OMG so cute” rugs and blankets available for people to buy and cover their naturally perfectly warm and comfy horses up in so they could get Instagram photos and likes. If the only option you had was to turn out Princess SparklePuff in a boring old NZ canvas rug covered in mud and horse poop, held together with baling twine, instead of a hot pink quilted rug covered in cupcakes with a matching neck rug and sleazy, horses would start getting back to normal size again.
“OMG, it’s getting down to 12c, I’m nipping up to the barn to cover baby up in her new purple turnout, the one with otters on it - did you get one too? Do you follow me on Insta? I’m SparklePufftoParis2024”.
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Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with that comment ripping FEI for that horse’s condition/atrophy/whatever. But I don’t think that photo or the angle it was taken in is a flattering photo either. I bet if they used a picture taken a few seconds after, the horse would look totally different. The angle plus the timing of this photo makes this horse look more like a stressed out stick figure than a top level athlete going down a trot up.
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I wouldn’t even swear that was a “worried” eye. One of mine has permanent wrinkles, worried or not. The rest of the horse’s demeanour indicates curious alertness, IMHO.
Again, don’t know the horse.
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So I went to the FEI Instagram page today and there are posters like this commenting on almost all of the photos . I just want to know what these people hope to accomplish by accusing top riders of not caring for their horses . Do they not understand how stupid they sound when they complain about poor saddle fit when the horse in question is probably being ridden in a custom saddle made just for them ? I am all for calling out bad behavior, but I am not sure that the “crying wolf “ behavior does anything but make people wonder how unhinged you are.
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Even if it is, could it not be from the atmosphere of the jog? Looks to me in the photo that he is focused on something out in front of him.
The pain face study has always been kind of ridiculous to me, but then again, I have expressive mares and a dramatic gelding. No need to read between the lines here. My friend and I joke all the time about this graphic shared around on Facebook that outlined signs of pain in horses, which were things like, “eyes closed,” “blinking,” and “head lowered.”
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I had to double check the post, the picture, and read through the rest of the posts on here because I didnt believe THAT was the photo they were talking about. They could have picked a better “bad moment in time” outrage photo than that, that’s such a nothing burger. The horse doesn’t even look the slightest bit distressed. Alert maybe, but the same way my BTDT pony is alert and looking around but not overly worried when there’s a lot going on around her, and its impossible to know what could be causing the alertness from a pic. Literally the only thing is the flash looks like it got twisted around so the buckle is in a less-than-ideal location, but I doubt it started there. And no top line? What??
These people are getting more and more ridiculous and it’s taking away from any real issues.
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A ton of them have been all over the Stubben Europe Instagram over their new freedom bridle “it’s not freedom you put a flash!” "The noseband is too tight " “the bit is too high”
Stubbens SM is like “get the f out of here” and I am here for that.
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I don’t have Instagram – what does the new Freedom bridle look like?
Oh wow. That looks stunning. Thank you.
Off topic but that bridle is stunning.
As a someone who has been trained in bridle fit, that head peice drives me nuts. I have also seen it twisted and broken.
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Horse facial expressions are useful in some situations. Introducing a horse to new stimuli, it’s good to be able to see when the face goes tense and the horse kind of checks out. As far as pain, usually the horse is showing some other symptoms. And I’ve also watched horses trot around visibly limping from an abscess and have bright happy faces.
Studies that try to quantify horse expressions and postures necessarily dumb things down enough that the peanut gallery ends up knowing just enough to be annoying.
Think about human faces. Think about the terrible photos or videos where someone is reacting to a lovely wedding or surprise party with a face that looks like they just saw the Hindenburg explode IRL. Think about our faces as riders over jumps, how hard some of us have to work to have Show Ring Smiles and not contorted grimaces.
Then think about the things that make horses anxious or alert, leaving out tack and training. Other horses. Large signs or banners. Clapping. Deer. Kangaroo. Turtles. Beach sand. Spawning salmon splashing in a creek. Other people’s horse trailers. Wind.
If you want to evaluate your horse’s mood you need to watch for a few minutes and see how it changes, not just capture a photo of a millisecond.
It’s also not true that a horse can be or should be absolutely mellow relaxed 24/7. Left to their own in a field, healthy horses go on bomb around aerobic exercise and concoct endless low key emotional drama (mares) or playfight (geldings) or fight for real (stallions).
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Or hurting or aged.
We have a TB here (not mine) who is old (27) and I’m having a HELL of a time putting any weight on his topline. No ribs are visible, he’s actually got a bit of a hay belly, but his butt will not gain weight nor will his spine area. I have to rotate feeds, he routinely refuses to eat, and he has nubs of teeth so I’m not sure he’s getting much out of his hay. He gets grain fed 4 times a day, I’m throwing hundreds away a week in soaked and dried feeds that he won’t consume, and I don’t even own the beast. Corn oil? He ate for 2 days then stopped eating it. Fat supplements? Same pattern. Alfalfa? Same pattern. Soaked beet pulp? Same thing. The only thing he will routinely eat without complaint is a sweet feed, so I mix that into everything else.
The owner says I’ve gotten him fatter than he’s ever been, which is very nice, but he stresses me out.
So - I guess my point is - it’s easy to judge when you don’t know the horse. Much harder when you’re actually feeding the critter.
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Are you talking about the brown bridle that AMWookey posted?
Can you expand on why you don’t care for the headpiece? Genuine question - I’d like to learn what you see.
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in the same boat with a toothless tb - right now I am cooking him mushy peas to mix in with his alfalfa cubes and it’s a big hit with him
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Ooh I’ll try that. I tried applesauce but that was a no go. The not eating thing drives me nuts. He goes off his feed if he is too hot, too cold, in too long, his friends aren’t there, it’s Tuesday…gah.
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