I literally was about to ask “who hurt you?” If someone did, then I am very sorry, but I know that it is not true of the majority. If they didn’t, then you are just coming in here to trash BNTs with no first hand evidence.
To the OG post, I personally would feel more comfortable using a few small studs than risk my horse’s confidence jumping on uncertain footing. That said, unless it is slippery, I would probably just go without studs.
Dude, they need some grass man. Just stop harshing the buzz.
For full disclosure, as an eventer I install traction control all round on turf once running at prelim (1.10m) and up.
No, no one has done me wrong, but I can understand how you could infer that from my posts.
I’ve been around the h/j world for 50+ years, and have seen a lot, either while working for show management, or back at the home barn.
I’s really nice to read that many of you have faith in your trainers, have good experiences with them, are enjoying the sport, and your horses are doing well.
Dude, you’re dating yourself. The hip young people don’t call it “grass” anymore.
Kids these days.
That’s the problem. All about hip and new. Yeah, everything new was once old. 
Yeah they sure do…
not exactly the same, but a huge reason my old trainer didn’t like full cheek bits. The extra bit of control (in my case) isn’t worth what an itchy horse can catch it on…the list never ends once you start thinking about it.
Oh, horses.
I agree that this is more often the case than not. Grooms and the trainers are often the only ones who know the absolute truth of what goes on. And if it isn’t drugs, it’s lunging. Many owners truly have no idea what their horse has done before they put their foot in the stirrup.
It’s the reality at the top of the show hunter game. Not talking backyard people either, talking every aisle in the permanent barns at thermal.
Jumpers are slightly different, but absolutely have their flaws.
Oh shocking, a thread about hunters riding on grass and turned into yet another thread about making broad statements about how every hunter in the world is either lunged to death or drugged.
Which post said that ?
I didn’t necessarily bring it up. But people claiming their trainer is the exception is…just not realistic.
I’ll go back on topic and say pulling the shoes for grass shows would give you the best traction without using studs.
So you are saying that all trainers drug and LTD and anyone who says their horse is not drugged or LTD is just not realistic? Just want to make sure I am reading that right.
Barefoot still entirely depends on the footing. Multiple people have said their barefoot horses have slipped on a very different grass footing. Not to mention, a lot of horses should never have shoes pulled just to jump in a grass arena, Hunters or not, as they’d be sore as heck.
I DO subscribe to the idea that you can do some interesting things with bars on bare feet, trimming to allow a bit more bar material to provide a bit more grip, but it’s a tricky thing to time right and do well, and it still isn’t going to work well on footing that’s too hard-packed
Plenty of trainer behavior (or misbehavior) results from unrealistic owner or rider expectations and lack of knowledge. And so SOME trainers over prep SOME horses so they can be ridden by the amateur rider and be “successful”. Each horse is different on different days and different years and so requires a modified prep to achieve a certain soft hunter round with an ammy rider. If all the riders would become more knowledgeable about their horses, appropriate horses for the job, better riders, there to hack the horse the day before, the morning of etc the horses and trainers would not get blamed and everyone would be better off. It falls on the owner/riders to take responsibility for educating themselves and having more realistic expectations if the over prepped horses will become a thing of the past. Unfortunately and realistically this will never happen. So instead of perseverating about the need for studs on grass (plenty of horses can jump just fine on dry short grass with no studs, in my opinion, if the ground is not rock hard slick) and blaming trainers for over prepping horses maybe all of us owner/riders need to take responsibility for becoming better horsemen and women and understanding our individual animals and what makes them tick, and accepting they are individuals and maybe they don’t all go around like a damn machine every day.
No, because I’ve ridden with both types of trainers. So I do know it is possible. But I feel like people are completely dismissing an absolute fact about our industry because their trainer may be the exception. I was also just pointing out that not every client knows 100% what their trainer is doing to prep their horse. Unless you groom your own horse at every show and don’t allow anyone to handle it.
I should’ve said no shoes is what gives you the best traction* and exactly because of the second half of your statement.
Ironically pulling shoes for flat class has apparently become a hunter fad, also?? Back in my day we had steel shoes at home and aluminum at the shows for the same purpose.
A “fad” since at least 1982…
Maybe it’s an area thing…I’d never heard of that in the PNW. Even my old school trainers from the Midwest and CA did steel and then aluminum.
Maybe it depends on how much of a hack winner you are on.
My horse wore aluminum. We never bothered pulling shoes for the hacks because though he was amazing he was not even close to the hack winner. We did the hack because paying for the division was cheaper than paying for just the jumping classes and heck, we were there so might as well WTC in a class while we are all dressed up.
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