Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Eating Disorders and Equestrians?

Dressage
#41

right horse, I typically enjoy your posts, but you need to lay off your crusade here.

OBVIOUSLY there can be healthy weight people without eating disorders. I am “recovered” in that my eating patterns are slowly but surely becoming more “healthy” and I am at a healthy weight. And you are right, you can see disordered eating/eating disorders at any weight (under-/over-/healthy).
Nobody here is accusing you or other naturally willowy people of having an eating disorder. THAT SAID, eating disorders are rampant among women, particularly type-A, perfectionistic women (equestrians much?), athletes (equestrians), reasonably high socioeconomic status (equestrians), etc. Ignoring the mental health problems is NOT working.

I can say from experience–people with EDs can’t get better until they want to get better. But I truly think that if someone–anyone–sat down and TALKED to me, showed that they cared about me, gave me a chance to try and get better–I may have taken that step much earlier than I did. Instead people ignored it, didn’t want to meddle, etc. (I had a lot of people come up to me AFTER I was in treatment for several months and tell me that they had been concerned for some time.) And that kind of apathy is what you’re telling us to embrace.

#42

[QUOTE=right horse at the right time;8642694]
This is what I don’t get. You’re an incredibly nice person and I’ve never disagreed with a single post. You’re even my tag line hero. ;). So this isn’t out of wanting to argue, but truly discussing.

What on earth is wrong with buying a fancy horse and having someone train it, ride a few times a week, and go to some shows?? Why does that make someone wealthy and narcissistic and not necessarily Having to work or having nothing but leisure time?

Isn’t that EXACTLY what this entire board would recommend someone do if they bought ANY horse?? And were not a trainer?

It is exactly what I did when I bought my horse! (Who I think is VERY fancy but probably not everyone would :wink: ). And while I joke about the pretty clothes, i certainly don’t ride because of wanting to look any certain way. I ride because I love it. I love my horse.

I only rode a few times a week because my trainer had to TRAIN my horse and keep him ahead of me. That’s it. Otherwise I would have ridden every day. Now I ride more, because I’m better :).

I LOVE horse showing. For the sport, and also for the fun I have with friends and fellow competitors.

But why the knock on those people? I’m not wealthy, and I do work. I work VERY, very hard to afford this. I also get a massage every two weeks BECAUSE I want to keep my body in great shape for riding. Also get my eyebrows done. Occasionally my nails. I’m tall and thin. No eating disorder. Does that put me in the category of those you’re talking about above?? On the outside, I guess it does, to you.

I think there are a LOT of perceptions flying that just aren’t accurate. and stereotypes.

I live in arguably the second most “appearance-conscious” city. There certainly are people with eating disorders. And I’m sure there are equestrians, and dressage riders, with eating disorders. And unhealthy eating habits (raising my hand, I can’t turn away cookies and cakes) exist as well.

I do love the clothes. Really. But I love my horse, the trainjng, riding,and the friendships SO much more. The clothes are a fun benefit, and for someone who has a hard time finding clothes that fit, breeches are a godsend.[/QUOTE]

Sorry if I offended you, but I’m really not knocking anyone. Just stating observations. I didn’t mean to imply that you had to be narcissistic to pursue dressage – maybe I didn’t word that very well.

It is true that there are people out there who happen to be narcissistic (that’s just who they are) and happen to be rich, who have nothing but leisure time. They don’t have to struggle as others do. I do not think riding is hard for someone who has no other responsibilities, no job, no chores, and a seasoned FEI horse. Is it wrong? No. It just is what it is, and that’s my opinion.

I’m not whining that it is unfair, and I didn’t cast judgment on them or say they are terrible human beings. I just said they are out there. I’m not sure why people get so defensive about that, or why they can’t believe that it is possible.

1 Like
#43

[QUOTE=cleozowner;8643001]
right horse, I typically enjoy your posts, but you need to lay off your crusade here.

OBVIOUSLY there can be healthy weight people without eating disorders. I am “recovered” in that my eating patterns are slowly but surely becoming more “healthy” and I am at a healthy weight. And you are right, you can see disordered eating/eating disorders at any weight (under-/over-/healthy).
Nobody here is accusing you or other naturally willowy people of having an eating disorder. THAT SAID, eating disorders are rampant among women, particularly type-A, perfectionistic women (equestrians much?), athletes (equestrians), reasonably high socioeconomic status (equestrians), etc. Ignoring the mental health problems is NOT working.

I can say from experience–people with EDs can’t get better until they want to get better. But I truly think that if someone–anyone–sat down and TALKED to me, showed that they cared about me, gave me a chance to try and get better–I may have taken that step much earlier than I did. Instead people ignored it, didn’t want to meddle, etc. (I had a lot of people come up to me AFTER I was in treatment for several months and tell me that they had been concerned for some time.) And that kind of apathy is what you’re telling us to embrace.[/QUOTE]

Your inference is off.

My “crusade” is against snap judgments and nastiness, and is for the best care in health, including mental health. If you’ve read my posts, a great number surround healthcare and mental health.

I am a healthcare provider, and I address BMI at every visit, with every patient, mostly. I also address diet and exercise. I do not hide at all from the conversation. Quite the opposite. I do not specifically treat eating disorders and I am not in mental health. But I am often the first line of intervention, and it is a conversation I am not afraid to have.

When I get tired of, however, are the assumptions and the blanket statements based on someone’s perceptions, which are usually incorrect.

In no way am I telling anyone to embrace apathy. Quite the contrary.

What I am advocating is stopping the nasty women bashing which seems to be acceptable when done to women, or I suppose men, who are thin and have any bit of success in any aspect of their life.

Just as much as you wanted someone to metal, I have friends who would assert the exact opposite. It is hard for me to keep my mouth shut because healthcare is what I do and I care very much. But that is not the discussion here. The discussion is about bashing others.

#44

[QUOTE=LarkspurCO;8643024]
Sorry if I offended you, but I’m really not knocking anyone. Just stating observations. I didn’t mean to imply that you had to be narcissistic to pursue dressage – maybe I didn’t word that very well.

It is true that there are people out there who happen to be narcissistic (that’s just who they are) and happen to be rich, who have nothing but leisure time. They don’t have to struggle as others do. I do not think riding is hard for someone who has no other responsibilities, no job, no chores, and a seasoned FEI horse. Is it wrong? No. It just is what it is, and that’s my opinion.

I’m not whining that it is unfair, and I didn’t cast judgment on them or say they are terrible human beings. I just said they are out there. I’m not sure why people get so defensive about that, or why they can’t believe that it is possible.[/QUOTE]

I hear your point. The people I know who are in this position still get a lot out of it. And if I suddenly get rich :slight_smile: I will work less and ride more :).

#45

[QUOTE=Velvet;8641606]
BTW, do you ever see top swimmers and runners that are overweight? Nope. A top rider, who is doing GP should also not be seriously overweight. It’s a sport, after all.[/QUOTE]

Hilda Gurney is hardly svelte and she seems to have no problem.

#46

There is definitely a lot of body shaming going on behind the scenes with working students. And it is usually the trainer that they work for who drives it. Working students usually get a pretty raw deal though, and body shaming was the least of my worries when I did it. But in the dressage culture as a whole, I don’t see a lot of eating disorders or people striving to be thin. The typical dressage rider that I am familiar with is a moderately wealthy, post-menopausal woman. Why would body shaming catch on?

I agree that there is more of this in the H/J world. I also notice that the type of woman that bleaches her hair, works out a lot and has a lot of “dental work” to disguise her age is usually a jumper rider. Dressage riders tend to embrace their age and bodies better. Or at least, that has been my observation.

But back to the working student thing. If you’re looking to lose weight I highly recommend the “working student diet.” It’s quite simple Muck 20 stalls, do a bunch of other random barn chores, move 100 bales of hay (because hay is never in the right place), ride 4-5 difficult horses a day AND only eat $20 worth of food per week. It literally cannot fail.

#47

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8640946]
I just think it looks pretty ridiculous when you see 5’2 women who may only weight 120lbs TOPS pitched up way on top of these 17hh+ warmblood horses. It just looks weird. What if they just floated up into space? Who’s going to save them?[/QUOTE]

I’m 5’5", weigh 120lbs, and ride a massive warmblood just shy of 17hh. I think I look quite lovely on him, thank you very much. I’ve been told frequently that we look very graceful together.

#48

and I am 5´3, weigh 118 lbs and my massive warmblood is 17.2… so far nobody told me I look weird…

#49

That’s because it’s common in the sport to see petite women riding massive horses. But it still looks weird. If someone has a long enough leg, it could look fine, but most women end up looking like a perched jockey. People should ride horses that fit their body type imo.

I’m 5’5 and I stick to riding 15-16hh.

#50

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8643313]
That’s because it’s common in the sport to see petite women riding massive horses. But it still looks weird. If someone has a long enough leg, it could look fine, but most women end up looking like a perched jockey. People should ride horses that fit their body type imo.

I’m 5’5 and I stick to riding 15-16hh.[/QUOTE]

5’5" isn’t petite.

#51

[QUOTE=UnlacedDreams;8643474]
5’5" isn’t petite.[/QUOTE]

I never said I was petite?

#52

This is kind of ridiculous…who decides what looks weird and what not?? And I would really be interested who determines what a healthy weight is… Obviously there are different point of views about it…

#53

I used to board with a slightly chubby 18 year old girl. Really, she was just top-heavy, if I want to be more accurate. She told me that her trainer told her she needed to lose weight so she could sit the trot better. I thought this was strange, as this girl was not fat, and what she needed was just a stronger core.

This topic came up between me and an older lady at the barn, and I expressed that I felt the comment was out of line and inaccurate. The woman proceeded to tell me about how she grew up with a mother that has an eating disorder, and then came the line that blew me away: “Don’t tell me that you know of any rider that doesn’t have some sort of eating disorder.” I was so floored that I didn’t know how to respond.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a rider with a true disorder in the dressage world. However, this woman clearly had, which is why I think testimonials are not the way to go for a college paper. Evidence-based research is what it’s all about.

#54

[QUOTE=Manni01;8643500]
This is kind of ridiculous…who decides what looks weird and what not?? And I would really be interested who determines what a healthy weight is… Obviously there are different point of views about it…[/QUOTE]

I get to decide what looks weird to me just like you get to decide what looks weird to you.

To answer the second part of your question, that would be your doctor.

#55

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8643483]
I never said I was petite?[/QUOTE]

I must have misunderstood you, in that post you said “petite women riding massive horses” and then continued on talking about sticking to riding horses for “their body type”. I assumed that all was connected to your comment about being 5’5 and not riding horses over 16hh.

#56

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8643514]
I get to decide what looks weird to me just like you get to decide what looks weird to you.

To answer the second part of your question, that would be your doctor.[/QUOTE]

You are probably right about the doctor, but there has been a lot of talk about healty weight in this thread…

#57

[QUOTE=UnlacedDreams;8643518]
I must have misunderstood you, in that post you said “petite women riding massive horses” and then continued on talking about sticking to riding horses for “their body type”. I assumed that all was connected to your comment about being 5’5 and not riding horses over 16hh.[/QUOTE]

I don’t think just petite women can ride horses under 16hh. So unless that’s what you think, there was nothing to get confused about.

I own a 11hh American Shetland Pony, and I do not ride that animal, for obvious reasons.

I think in the topic of eating disorders and crash diets in the eq. world, part of the problem with these unattainable “image standards” that are out there is seeing women who are tiny on huge horses and that’s the normal people are used to seeing in the ring. So anyone who isn’t tiny and doesn’t fit that very particular look has the problem of looking fat or heavy on their much shorter mount.

That’s at least my theory, anyway.

People can ride whatever they want, but I don’t understand riding a horse who’s girth is too big for your legs to get around.

I used to work in the medical field. BMI and all that other crap is not the end all, be all of figuring out someone’s ideal healthy weight. People can be over weight and healthy as well as thin and sick. A lot of it is genetics and some of it is life style, as well as race and sex, but in the end of the day, if you aren’t hurting your horse’s back, your weight should not matter.

#58

I don’t think eating disorders in dressage or any other discipline for that matter are any more prevalent than in everyday life. With the horse world being insulated at times it seems more frequent . It is definitely more of a problem than in other sports. I think the idea of a rider as an athlete isn’t always there because if you have the money you can get that pushbutton school master. In dressage it’s less so because you still need to be more than a passenger to push those buttons.

I also don’t think the size of the horse in relation to the rider plays any part in body image. My leg fell to the same spot, relatively speaking on my 15 hand (with shoes) perch/tb cross as I did my 16 hand ottb.

#59

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8643514]
I get to decide what looks weird to me just like you get to decide what looks weird to you.

To answer the second part of your question, that would be your doctor.[/QUOTE]

Debbie McDonald was certainly not hindered by her “petite” 5’0 stature;).

#60

[QUOTE=Denali6298;8643564]

I also don’t think the size of the horse in relation to the rider plays any part in body image. My leg fell to the same spot, relatively speaking on my 15 hand (with shoes) perch/tb cross as I did my 16 hand ottb.[/QUOTE]

It’s just something I’ve noticed. And girth size as well as musculature and bone has a lot to do with it, not just height.

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $29.99 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse