Great points!
And how would that really work?
You have to take the number off the horse’s neck and put it on the rider at some point.
If the blood is removable then, when at the ring around everyone else, why would it not have been removed before you are with everyone else?
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Back to the number around the neck…come to think of it, if the class requires a jog isn’t the number tied around the neck if not on the riders back? Often the rider is not the one leading it in especially if it’s been awhile since the jumping round. Recall getting drafted to lead somebody else’s several times for the jog as I was hanging around in show clothes. I pinned in the pastels a couple of times 
If they think its going to win, the rider will find a way to be there 
.
Anyway, IIRC the number was around the neck…I think.
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We always put it on the horses neck and I know my trainer was “clean”. No needles, no training sessions behind the barn or in the middle of the night. Makes me feel proud to know that the championships my barn mates won were done through good horsemanship.
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I’m 200 posts behind, but I have to say that I’m surprised by all the responses stating that owners and pony/junior moms would be appalled to know that their trainers were doping their horses and wouldn’t stand for it if they knew. Right….
A small percentage probably would find that unacceptable and make a change of trainers, but most of these people are shelling out all that money to win and probably wouldn’t care at all what was done to their animals as long as they had good results at shows.
If they only had horses for love of their beauty, character, etc., they wouldn’t buy expensive horses that only their trainers ride, or pound the legs off their horses by showing week after week, year round, so that rationale doesn’t work for me.
Let’s face it, this is a culture of win-at-all-costs, and I don’t think it’s even possible to change at this point,
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The pony moms need to know that a drugged horse is a dangerous horse. It’s up to USEF to include that as part of required horse welfare training. No matter how much they want Susie to win they would have to think twice about putting them on a horse that they know is now more likely to have a nasty fall. Or why Susie was riding a horse that had to be drugged in the first place. Make it a safety issue for the rider as well.
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This is when I hope AI and robotics turn their focus to the horseworld to create the most beee-you-tee-ful horses and ponies in the world only affordable to the very wealthiest of clients and the most bougie of trainers. Of course USEF the FEI and all the other organizations will need to catch up, somehow they’ll have to throw out the idea that robot horses aren’t just as horselike, maybe even better because they’re much safer. Then AI could create the most fabulous “riding experience” so the family wouldn’t actually need to appear in Ocala, let alone show up in time for their kiddo’s class. All could be done from the comfort of their own home.
Trainers can keep doing what they do but working with engineers and computer scientists rather than veterinarians. Sorry about that my vet friends!
Keep in mind, it must be expensive. Really, really expensive with lots and lots of ribbons and such. But think how awesome those Insta selfies will look when you let everyone know you’ve spent the same as a trip to space on one season of horseshows!
Meantime, the rest of us can enjoy actual horses.
Sorry for the humor. Hope it’s appreciated for what it’s worth. 
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I experienced all the emotions in one read.
At first, it was like when I learned the AC comes on on purpose when you defrost your car.
And then, horror, amazement and disbelief followed by embarrassment and utter gullibility.
That must be what it feels like to be on one of those hidden camera/prank shows.
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I believe you are spot on, 100% right. Sadly.
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No trainer is out there saying to their pony moms, “hey, I’m going to drug Susie’s pony.” No, instead the horse is receiving Dex for its hives, banamine for its aches an pains, some oral vitamin supplements to ease the stress of trailering and being at a show, Regumate for mares, Depo for geldings, injections for joint health (legend, adequan) and other “nutritional” or “electrolyte” supplements to help the horse be at its peak performance. Its explained to parents that this is just how it is “done.” In all that mix, parents stop asking questions. ACTH? Carolina Gold? Until a medication or “supplement” becomes illegal (which a number of these things have), I think it’s hard for a parent to know when a medication or supplement is humane and reasonable, and when it is crossing the line into drugging or abuse.
Ultimately I believe we need a change in judging. Right now, the winning “look” is specifically the look of a careful, athletic horse that has had the edge taken off. Genuinely quiet horses aren’t careful enough or athletic enough in their jumping form to win. Naturally athletic and careful jumpers are often too “fresh” to win a hunter round in their natural state. I wish our ideal look in the hunter ring was an animal that showed a natural level of equine keenness.
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Yep. We expect maximum athleticism with minimum expression. Normal athletes aren’t made that way.
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Literally just saw a sales post on social that said something to the effect of “his expression never changes” or is “the same all the time.”
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I was in Florida last week and took a side trip to WEC just to see it. I live close to Wilmington so have been to WEC Ohio many times - so why not see the sister facility? There was a hunter/jumper show going on. It’s a great facility but I have to say that this here discussion on COTH affected my spectating. It’s like every time I learn about the dark underbelly of a discipline I just can’t enjoy it as much any more.
Guess I’ll just have to ride and enjoy my own horse and hope that people continue trying to clean up all of horse sport. No matter how long and difficult that road is, we really do have to keep toiling along. We owe it to the horses.
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Don’t let the actions of some ruin your enjoyment of any sport, not everybody operates in that underbelly.
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I don’t view this as nefarious - my horse can be described this way. Comes out of the stall the same horse whether at home, at a show, summer winter, whatever. This is how I’d describe him to a buyer - never a wide eye, never a spook. He is the same consistent guy every day - he’s a jumper so we don’t prep him. No lunge. Nothing. I don’t immediately jump to “over prepped” or “drugged” to get that type of consistency in being. But maybe I am naive or spoiled? lol.
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No, I think you’re right because I have two of these. Same horse no matter what. You know what you’re getting. “Expression never changes” can mean “jumps around with ears pricked every time”.
Both of mine are zero prep except handwalks or a 10 min trot on the lunge to stretch the legs. Same horse in every season and whether you’ve sat on them 6 days this week or haven’t touched them in a month. (And both are OTTBs!)
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Well, I wouldn’t say I considered it nefarious. And it’s a fair point to qualify that with “some horses just are naturally this way.”
But I would also argue that “the same expression” is not necessarily the same thing as “the same horse.”
We talk about horses being the same away as they are at home, etc. etc. You know what you’re getting every time he walks off the trailer.
Sure, absolutely. Fair enough.
But then we also talk about automatons being rewarded and others being penalized when a horse “expresses” himself.
When there’s no nuance or context built in, describing this as the horse’s natural character, it’s reasonable to blink at that description in a sales ad, especially when the current discussion centers on the apparent rampant use of meds and other, well, nefarious, means of achieving “the same expression” for competitive purposes.
And ETA’ing for emphasis, when we are also pointing to a culture and a judging standard that places a premium on horses whose expressions are “always the same,” it is indeed fair to blink, when you think about the myriad ways, common ways you can describe horses that are just plain, rock steady good eggs. My point being, this standard clearly isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
I like to think I’ve seen more than my share of sales ads and social posts (starting with buying a horse via Chronicle classified ad way back in the late 80s). But this was the first time I had seen that particular turn of phrase. But maybe I’m just still catching up. I certainly haven’t seen “loads, clips, and hacks” in years and remain delighted by “has a sense of humor.” 
**I keep editing this because I’m work, lol, and keep being interrupted by work things, so I’m not thinking or writing particularly ‘organized.’ Sorry,
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