What alittlegrey posts is nothing new though I certainly feel for her DD. I was a groom at a top, really top, HJ barn in the late 70s. What happened to the horses there was shocking and led to my move to eventing. Tack poles were par for the course. There was even a roll top with tacks on one edge. A chambon made of baling twine (I bought that horse to keep that from ever happening to her again and she carried the scars for the rest of her life). Withholding water. Head tied to tail. Horses literally jumped to death ā that one was shot behind the barn. And that just touches the surface. [edit] Some things never change even though it has been a lot of years. It is naive for anyone to think there is any chance this isnāt just as bad, or worse, than it appears.
And the head tying stuff and the tack poles werenāt in any way considered bad or limited to the known baddies. It was seen as totally normal by many many people at the top of all of these sports. It still is by too many. Rest assured too many people read that litany about MLs farm and think meh, no biggie.
I have photos from the frog pond where blood is visible. I forget which fence number that is.
sick of the COTH witchhunt here, really people [edit]
i checkedāit is 4a, right after the alleged bump at 3. Are there other locations?
Can you clarify what specifically you take issue with?
So true! My opinions have changed a great deal now that I spend a fair amount of time in the barns.
Tie a knot in the tail. Bit the horse in anything and a tight noseband. Run a rein from the bit to above the knot in the tail and let the horse soak. Hello, WP 101.
Whatās the purpose of blocking the tail?
Tail moving can be a deduction in dressage because it can show tension. Another arguably subjective assessment.
The horse canāt swish it for any reason
OMG who even thinks this stuff up in regards to blocking the tail.
It will be interesting to see if the powers that be have the nuts to put her on the WEGās Team. I suspect there would be a big financial backlash. I know my donations would stop!
Thank you for your kind words. I am proud of my daughter, and the second half of the story is worse. It might be tomorrow before I can get it written.
polling, however, involves rapping a horseās legs with a bamboo pole or rail as they jump so they are more careful after. In this case, it means wrapping carpet tacking upside down around the pole so the points dig in. It usually causes bloody legs.
Sorry, I guess it is poling vs. polling. My english isnāt working right today. DD is at work atm, but when she described it to me she said they ran a lead rope from the halter to the tail where it was braided in, pulling the head not down but to one side.
With Blue Angel it was a few days this way, with the Corona horse it was hours of under saddle work first followed by being tied this way and then whipped at to make her spkn in her stall. She said every time the mare stopped spinning, someone slapped the wall to make her spin more.
And while someone may feel it is a witch hunt, that is your opinion to have. However I am fairly certain if it was you or your horse being treated this way you would see it differently. And I sincerely hope your āassholesā comment is not directed at my daughter as she does NOT deserve to be called such by a stranger who hasnāt her courage to say wrong is wrong. It is one thing to challenge the truth of her statements and another to name call.
[edit]
I also want to add that the hoopla about the groom running to wipe the mouth misses the point. They already knew the horse was bleeding, everyone agreeS that she was. They just didnāt feel it was an eliminatable offense. Thatās where the conversation needs to be focused.
Along with the complaints that sometimes come up on this board about other trainers ā¦ TPTB have no authority to go after anyone for what goes on outside of competition. So please donāt everyone start calling for official sanctions, because as reprehensible as these actions are, no one is able to take an enforcement position.
They say that social media callouts happen when people believe that the system is failing to hold someone accountable.
And the best evidence is evidence ā¦ if someone from the inside can get 1) video, 2) photos, 3) any other hard documentation, in order of effectiveness in substantiating broad credibility.
Not just for any one barn ā¦ but for any barn that thinks this treatment of horses is ok, given that apparently some still do.
āPunishmentā that occurs more than 15 seconds after a horse displeases a human is pointless, because the horse has no association with the action. Thatās just a human torturing a horse for reasons that apply only to the human. Unfortunately there isnāt any real accountability unless someone who is there at the time steps up. There are no laws or rules that apply.
You and your daughter are doing the right thing by coming forward. I wish more people who saw stuff like this were as brave as you both are. Itās time this type of āhorse careā that happens at the top levels gets called out.
I had a somewhat similar experience after spending a few weeks at a combined driving farm where my pony was in training. It was atrocious and, of course, when I left with my pony after I couldnāt stand one more minute, I was turned into the ābad guyā by these trainers, and trashed in driving circles and on social media. It was an awful experience and made me lose faith in the upper levels of all horse sports and how those horses are managed.
The worst was that I tried to reach out to another client at the farm to explain why I left, but this person took my private message to the trainers and I was accused of trying to ruin their business. It took time for me to realize that itās pointless to try to āwarnā clients if they are more concerned with winning and getting to the top levels rather than doing whatās best for their own horses. I think they become willfully blind to what goes on and/or talk themselves into the fact that it really isnāt that bad.
It was also amazing how many people came out of the woodwork afterwards to tell me their own horrible stories about this training barn. I wish someone had spoken up before the damage was doneā¦to my pony and to my psyche.
Anyway, I am so sickened that ML continues to get a pass on the abuse her horses undergo. What we see in competition is just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening when the world isnāt watching, and what we do see is horrific enough.
It makes it awfully hard to think about coming back to eventing, especially because it feels like our own organizations will do nothing about it and not give a damn if a few amateurs leave the sport due to the lack of concern for horse welfare.
Please donāt think mistreating horses is THAT common at the top of FEI sport these days. It really isnāt. There is definitely still plenty of room for improvement and thereās a signficant amount of shady non-horse abuse stuff that goes on but you should really know most grooms love their horses and arenāt doing this for the super salaries and are really the ones caring for the horses before, during, and after training. Everyone isnātā¦this.
