There is a difference between dominance and discipline. Horses need to have discipline or they will hurt you and often themselves as well. I am not directing this statement at you.
My personal belief is that trainers who demand dominance from day one in training are actually scared of horses and have no other tools in their toolbox.
I do understand what you are saying about her using the phrases. I just think added meaning has been assigned to them in this case.
Agreed, she definitely did ask, repeatedly. Iâm not sure why everyone is seemingly horrified they kept riding without a shoe on perfect footing if the horse has good feet and wasnât unsound.
As I recall, multiple horses at the last Olympics or World Cup finals or maybe both were successful going around without all four shoes, never mind just one.
So itâs not unheard of, especially with the modern footing that does not have a rock anywhere in sight.
Nope, they asked Missy if it had any particular issues, otherwise you wouldnât stop on one on good footing like that.
Somebodyâs pulled one during the first round of Beezie too, and before the second round they said they had just taped it up. That baffled me only in thereâs a farrier on every corner and it seemed like enough time, but maybe it was a glue on or something complicated.
Iâm quoting KM for context, but this is a general comment for the group.
I may be misremembering, but wasnât that tactic featured in The Horse Whisperer? I donât think he flipped the horse over backwards but rather âlaid it downâ - and then sat on it or something like that. Also IIRC (itâs been ages since I read the book and I didnât watch the movie) but wasnât the crux of that training approach that the forced âlaying downâ cured the horse of his extreme fear and anxiety?
If so, then John Q. Public (those who read the book or saw the movie) no doubt came away with the understanding that it is okay to âlay a horse down.â And how many of them who arenât involved with horses would understand the difference between laying a horse down and flipping it over backwards?
And yes, I agree that even the former tactic can be considered abusive, even though it isnât quite as egregious as flipping a horse over backwards.
I also think it works because most riders seem to think the ring ends 30â in from the fence line, and once the bend starts to take shape (or horse starts leaning in anticipation of going around the shallow corner as it always does) it becomes much more difficult to halt one. So they envision riding all the way up and into the fence, which gives them 30 more feet of space to get the job done and a straight horse that can actually feel both reins equally. And then voila, horsey stops a good 5â from the fence⊠where the corner actually should begin.
Believe itâs the Swedish team. United Touch S also goes barefoot. Several GP riders I know in Northern Virginia, including my previous trainer, have taken their horses (including their top GP horses) barefoot with great success.
I have one thatâs already barefoot and if the other doesnât stop throwing shoes, sheâs going barefoot in short order too.
Question - was the rider who the âflippingâ comment was directed at riding her own horse, or a borrowed horse?
If the latter, who would lend a tough horse like that to a junior rider to ride in that type of clinic? Wouldnât you want to lend a horse that showcased not only the horseâs own talent and rideability but also your own training program? Or would the intent be to make a statement about the regular riderâs talent and skillset (because SHE can ride the horse with no problem)?
Either way, itâs not a good look for either the owner or trainer of said horse.
Without any inside information on the horse or the rider, I think itâs probably not that complicated.
It might just come down more to, who has an extra horse sitting around that can jump the height and is not busy doing something else that weekend? And is willing to let some strange kid hop on that horse and ride it in an extremely public setting?
That could be a relatively short list of horses, especially if they shuffled a couple of the kids around at the last minute and had to make arrangements on the fly.
I donât recall whether that kid was on a strange horse or not, but I know there have been years at Capital Challenge when they had to scramble a bit to find horses for the professionals to ride in the big class where they all change horses. And those horses do not always perform quite as expected.
And that is with people who mostly have been riding different horses for a living for a fairly long time.
I do not know if it was mentioned, but the clips circulating around were, IMO, cherry picked a bit. If you watch/listen to the whole clinic, Katie gives a lot of praise and compliments. Her phrases were not thought out (hey- I say I am going to shoot myself in the head or I am going to kill someone and OF COURSE do not mean it- but know your audience).
I donât know how you are supposed to look at your trainer when they are talking to you and ride (Iâd be dead) but the fact the one kid didnât know how to shorten their stirrups was just 100% ridiculous. My pony kid knows how to do that.
Even in the clip that was cherry picked, they showed her demonstrating what she meant about someoneâs position at one point while she was talking. So maybe she does that a lot.
Or maybe she knows the right kid is listening to what she says when they look at her.
And there were multiple kids who looked like they did not know how to shorten their stirrups. Plus only half the kids were mounted at the end when she went over it, so who knows how many of the others knew how to do it? Lol.
Thatâs a great point I didnât even think ofâŠholding an organization sponsored clinic where one of the clinicians publicly supported an individual banned for life from your organization is not a great look.
This was meant to be a reply to @coffeehag- mobile browser giving me issues
Katie did. Watch the entire clinic, not just this horrible mash up snip-it of out of context statements.
I donât understand, why would you be dead? Your horse has eyes. Heâs not going to run you into anything. And at that moment in the clinic, the rider was at the walk. Clinic Etiquette 101, acknowledge when you are being spoken too. That doesnât always mean turn your head and look, but if the group is clearly having problems following basic instruction then I want to see if the words are actually landing, or simply going in one ear and out the other. Riding around on the buckle staring blankly ahead while the coach is actively taking the time to instruct you is just rude.
And not sure weâve ever gotten clarification on whether these kids couldnât adjust their stirrups at all, or just couldnât do it the correct way (without taking the foot out). And I humbly admit, I cannot do it the correct way lol. I also blame thick nylon lined stirrups that take two hands to run up.
Right? Iâm completely capable of riding a circle at all 3 gaits while looking at the trainer in the middle, Iâd think these kids probably are as well. Peripheral vision is a thing for most of us.
Wasnât one rider out due to an injury?
I wonder if they could have or did use her horse.
I agree with your point, that whomever had the couple horses who were challenging entered in this clinic did the riders and horses no favors here .
Itâs a clinic for riders, correct?
A horse that needs schooling wouldnât be my pick for that
To add my own question/thought
There appear to have been several top trainers there, whether with their own students or to observe.
In the brouhaha of the last few days, Iâm intrigued none have spoken up on this, or the voorn post, or any of it, in any way.
Bernie Traurig posted on his FB page the following:
I agree totally with this as do the equine vets in my area.
Without knowing one way or the other, I would be very surprised if that had happened.
I think at least a couple of them have posted on Facebook to say that their kids had a fantastic time at the clinic and got a lot out of it. Avery Glynnâs mom, who I believe is also her trainer, for one.
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