I used to exercise ride for a lady who owned national top 5 gaited SBs. Her pride and joy was a big black mare that breathed fire, so she could show off her riding. I got in trouble when she caught me riding the mare bareback with a halter lead rope ……
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Oh quite the contrary. Not jealous. Simply that those with glass houses ought to be the last to throw stones, no?
And I have had a horse crack the corner of its lip on course, in dry weather, wearing a snaffle, without excess pulling. There wasn’t “blood” per se, but if it had been cross country and not showjumping, it very well might have bled without me knowing until I got to the end. And saliva/froth absolutely make it look like there is more blood than there is.
So yeah…things happen. That’s why the FEI sends officials to events to supervise. Do they catch everything? Perhaps not. Is it sometimes subjective? Sure. Bertram Allen got a win taken away for red, but not bloody, spur marks. Is that fair? I don’t know. But it’s not for me to decide…I wasn’t there to see it . And I don’t think any of you were there and examined ML’s horse’s mouth, correct? So…
Note: Contrary to popular belief here, the horse did manage to survive. Neither myself, nor my trainer were spoken to or reprimanded by show staff or a steward, we were not asked to leave the showgrounds, and the ASPCA did not come and remove the horse from my care. (A little latex on the bit and salve on the skin seemed to fix her up, with the only one fussing about it being me).
Puffergirl, how much do you know about ML’s history of bloodying her horses? I’m asking seriously, because you sound like you think these are a one off incident. They’re not. And somehow, she’s the only one that has a history of bloodying horses mouths. So how is everyone else avoiding the problem, in your estimation?
Also, it’s not a matter of saliva mixing with the blood, she’s been photographed with blood dripping down her horses chin: https://the900facebookpony.com/2016/10/19/fair-hill-part-3-the-thing-were-all-talking-about/
My glass house is fine. My horse lives in a big herd and gets special grain to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. No one believes me when I say he’s 23, because he runs circles around the 3 and 4 year olds. He wants for nothing, and I’ve never made him bleed with a bit once. So I’m perfectly comfortable criticizing a chronic horse abuser, thanks.
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Which time?
Yeah but did it happen again, and again, and again…
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This is where you end up when rules are discretionary and/or vague.
Rules in sport need to be clear and objective. This way participants know what to expect even if the outcome isn’t favorable to them.
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I take it you live in Minnesota, yes? You say your horse lives in a big herd, so I’m going to extrapolate that means it lives outside full time. So your 23-year-old horse spends several months of the year on frozen ground, sometimes in deep snow, and in temperatures that often go below zero. In fact, didn’t it get to -40F with windchill last year? Some might argue that is cruel.
Careful…just like the sentiments shared on Ms. Little’s ride this past weekend, most things are subjective and sometimes critiquing others says more about you than them. If you can’t beat them, you’re in no place to talk sh*t.
You are too funny. How much do you know about winter horse husbandry? Or senior horse caretaking?
The difference between my horse’s perfectly normal lifestyle and ML’s chronic abusive riding is as vast as the difference between apples and blue whales. That you try to conflate the two shows just how ignorant and desperate you are.
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Anyone else notice, every time a ML post comes up, there’s always one new poster who vehemently defends her consistently scary rides?
For the record, my horse goes in a french link but, no flash. When he gets strong on XC, I sit up and close my leg to bring him back to me. I’m a BN peon and know better than to compete at any level of the sport consistently displaying poor riding no less the 5* level. We all have a bad ride once in awhile. At the very least, we take a step back or down a level to work out the kinks instead of continuing to showcase rides that make people gasp.
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So, what’s your point? I’m confused as to what I’m supposed to glean from your posts.
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I’ll boil it down for you:
IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, YOU’RE IN NO PLACE TO TALK SHT!
(and you might not want to offer up critique like “she really needs to showjump less and practice cross country more if she’s going to be any good” - you know, unless that’s what worked for you in your 5 eventing career)
Side Note: Seriously, if you think she’s that abusive, what are you doing b*tching about it here? Start a campaign to rally a large group of people to complain to the FEI and /or USEF. Or get the group to appeal to HSUS or ASPCA and have them back you in going to the FEI/USEF.
Go forth dear hens and use the interwebs for creating positive change in the world, instead of continuing to peck at your keyboards!
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I can say whatever I want, however I want. Sorry-not-sorry if you don’t agree.
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I already have that on a T-shirt
Okay then.
Sticking my neck out here because I find the attitude that you need to be able to “beat” someone to be qualified to have a conversation about them to be an absolutely disgusting display of horsemanship, or lack there of.
I will agree that when you say ML’s name, biases creep up. A lot of people unfairly pile on her; other people blindly defend her. Neither extreme leads to productive conversation.
But less than, what, maybe 1% of participants in our sport ever earn the right to represent our country in international competition. When you achieve that opportunity, such as ML has, you open yourself up to questions. One does not need to ride and win at that level to have questions about things like seemingly dangerous XC riding or blood problems that no other competitors experience. You don’t receive “immunity” just because you are winning more than someone else and it is ridiculous and myopic to even propose such a thing.
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Puffy, you’re wearing out your welcome here. You were funny as a one-time troll but now it’s tedious.
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The internet v. ML has happened before. She lost some sponsors due to the chronic blood issues. There was a thread that went to about 50 pages on this forum. More here: https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/marilyn-little-loses-sponsors-after-blood-controversy-kentucky-651726
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The next time I see one of ML’s eventers cruising around bleeding from the mouth, I’ll comfort myself by saying ‘At least that horse doesn’t live in Minnesota!’ I mean, there’s abuse and then there’s abuse.
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I had a crap day and I need to thank you for having me absolutely ROLLING. What a moron. :applause:
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Originally posted by Puffergrrl
I take it you live in Minnesota, yes? You say your horse lives in a big herd, so I’m going to extrapolate that means it lives outside full time. So your 23-year-old horse spends several months of the year on frozen ground, sometimes in deep snow, and in temperatures that often go below zero. In fact, didn’t it get to -40F with windchill last year? Some might argue that is cruel.
comparing this to causing a horse to BLEED FROM THE MOUTH multiple times is just so unbelievably lame.
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Don’t be asinine and say that you see any results for ML in a 5*. If you are going to be hostile then at least do some homework.
Your post on its merit doesn’t really deserve a response but, just in case you are a bit slow on the uptake, people don’t have to be Formula 1 race car drivers to realize that someone is driving dangerously. They don’t need to be a parent to recognize the fact that someone is beating a child.
Most everyone here has experience with horses and did not just fall off the turnip truck.
If “you can’t beat them” then you have no credibility? Sorry dear, that dog won’t hunt.
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