Are there known bad actors in his pedigree?
Never mind. My observation has been addressed.
The outrider and his pony have similar expressions there. Ouch.
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Good one. Lol.
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Finally getting caught up after a busy weekend. My earlier comment meant that the owner has had less than 10 wins under his belt all together, not with this specific horse, if I understood him correctly in the press conference. Sorry if that was not clear.
Although technically, this horse had less than 10 wins until yesterday. By a margin of nine. Lol.
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This was his only previous win until yesterday, correct? And I think this was the race where he was claimed for $30,000, if I understood the remarks at the press conference?
Pretty large gap between both that setting and the value of the horse between those two events. I cannot blame anybody for wanting to err on the side of caution yesterday, even if it did not work out exactly as they might have planned or hoped.
He certainly looked pretty cooperative in the background in the interview from this morning. Granted, he had a lip chain on, but still. He did not exactly look like a ball of fire in that setting. Even with the crowd of reporters gathered around him, which he has probably never seen in his life until yesterday.
I’ve finally gotten through all the comments on the thread. Lol.
Many thanks to everyone who included links or videos. Much appreciated.
I especially loved the article from Friday, when the trainer was obviously just thrilled to even be in the room where it happens for the weekend. Who knew?!? Good for him and all the connections!
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I did not see this posted yet. It is a series of eight videos of the horse the morning after, I believe.
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Aww. Nice. Thanks for posting it. 
True unity of horse and rider.
Yes. I wonder if that was the only bite to the outrider himself, or the only bite that was photographed.
The poor pony certainly got plenty banged up. I hope he got some good medication to go along with his carrots last night.
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At that time, it was reported that he was bitten on his leg once and also bitten on his arm more than once and treated for bites when he was back in the barn area.
So was his pony horse, he too had bites that needed attention.
Have not heard any more since then.
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Poor outrider, and his poor pony! I hope they’re both OK.
The marks on the poor pony’s neck are horrible, in the picture posted earlier in this thread. The reins were almost chewed through also. This could have turned out even worse, if the pony had a different temperament. If the outrider had let go of the lead rope, I hate to think what might have happened.
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His groom also seems genuinely fond of the horse (of course, the horse does have the chain on in the video). What a lovely and humble, understated man his trainer is! Maybe the horse is just one of those “you have to know him well to handle him right”-types.
On a number of occasions on this board, we’ve discussed how a horse has to be very, very talented to put up with the added inconvenience of dealing with bad and erratic behavior. Regardless, he’s one of the few horses who has earned it.
I agree with everyone who says that it’s better to be kicked than bitten in this thread, though. At least with a kick, sometimes you can get out the way more easily, or bend to soften the blow. I know at least two people who had accidental bites from horses they got when feeding in a rush that hurt for months. And those horses weren’t out for blood, just hangry and clumsy. I hope the outrider as well as the pony is as okay as can be expected.
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Hoo boy, I get a kick out of seeing the armchair activists’ comments on SM about the outrider having “anger issues” and “being a meanie to the winner.” One even said something about him getting his own horse riled up and how that put RS in danger??
Anyways, I just saw a video with a little closer of a view and Jesus, yeah RS did have quite a grip on the outrider’s reins. Dragging them all over the place. I definitely agree that outrider did the best he could in that situation and did what he could - kept himself, his horse, and the jockey all (relatively) safe. I feel bad that they had to be on the receiving end of those teeth though, ouch!
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Luckily, the outrider is probably too busy doing his job to see or care about all the comments on social media.
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Horse wins big race.
Horse wins good money for a lot of people.
Horse gets his bars jerked on multiple times and his face punched. Outrider horse also gets brutalized (and outrider)
That is the problem. Not what the outrider did, but that as a sport, we defend actions and activities that are abusive/cause harm to equines that are used for profit and entertainment.
Solution? I don’t have one, but it is a bad look that “horse people” are defending it as ok/normal. It is not normal. It should not be ok. People posting that they would do the same thing, on non horse forums, aren’t really helping the perception of horse people.
I think the horse owner is doing a good job trying to show that this is not how the horse is normally behaved/treated.
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Uh nope, I was actually just trying to be helpful to you since you’re posting on a message board about horse racing so clearly you have some access to the internet and I assume you’re interested in racing. The stream on YT is a free, fun way to watch horse racing. That’s all.
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You should consider posting that picture of RS chomping down on the leg of the outrider on SM and ask if they would consider changing places, or something like that.
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