I think something more along the lines of #abuseisntsport would embody more of what we are trying to relate. Because it isn’t just about bloody mouths, or just about overuse of the whip, or just about asking an utterly exhausted horse to finish a course. It is all of those things and more.
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I’m not saying that blood issues should not be addressed. I think they should. But I think many of u r r focused on the wrong thing. It’s up to the governing body of any sport to declare the rules. And if they r not followed then there should b consequences I agree.
focus on pressuring the us eventing governing body, not individual riders who r operating within the rules as much as u might disagree with the outcome.
Its like calling out out individuals who file tax returns, within the tax laws and then publicly shame them for not paying their fair share. u gotta pressure people who make the rules!
I think the suggestion of implementing yellow cards is a great place for us eventing rules people to put some teeth into the blood issue u r all yelling about.
spending time bashing individual riders or their sponsors is not going to change the issue. Only changing the rules will make the difference.
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I just got an email from the FEI that tail numbing was brought up at the last eventing committee meeting, and their Vet folks are now looking into it.
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WHAT? who numbs tails?! ugh
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I think if you read the thread you’ll find that the majority of the comments are on the bad rules and open interpretation and random enforcement.
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My ideal hashtag would be something with a more positive spin on capturing what “we” all want and can support rather than what we don’t want on a case by case basis.
#equestriansportabovereproach has the type vibe I like but it’s not that catchy and doesn’t “read” smoothly.
wow now THAT is interesting.
What about #horsesfirstsportsecond
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yea, I was confused. must have been the mix-up regarding the national champ at FH that confused me.
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It’s huge in the stock horse industry. Everyone who points their fingers at Eventing and racing and claim abuse really needs to head over to a Western show barn. It makes me sick.
But I digress.
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I think we (general) should all work together to make all the sports horse friendly. Standing around saying ‘those people are more evil, we are not as bad’ are not helping the big picture.
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I think what is frustrating here is that there still doesn’t seem to be any impact on ML’s major sponsors. Most of them are referring back to the FEI and the decision on that day, and sadly it seems that none of them have the guts to stand up for the horses. The rule changes that are being proposed are also concerning, because there is still no system being suggested that will take into account cumulative incidents over a period of time.
Because to me, the real problem here, as it relates to ML, is that this has happened in 5 FEI events, where her horses have been photographed with blood in the mouth, not having grabbed a heel, or scraped themselves over a brush jump. And each time, there has been a “reason”, that the GJ and apparently the FEI have accepted. For three different horses.
How does this particular behavior get stopped? I’m trying to maintain focus here, because this issue is close to being allowed to slide back into the shadows. Who is responsible for addressing the fact that one rider has had multiple horses bleed from the mouth at different FEI events? I’m genuinely asking, because if nothing changes, then it would seem we will get a few years down the road, and it will happen again, and we’ll be right back to the same place.
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So far the most promising news is that Land Rover will dump their support of the HP team if ML is named to it.
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Which they have sponsored for YEARS. And that’s what failing to address her situation for years has wrought for a sport in peril, a sport that already lacks the profile and finances of show jumping and dressage.
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The only way this will stop is if it impacts her ability to win. Period. She will not change if she loses sponsors. Do you really think she needs her sponsors? That just feeds her ego. If she were to get a yellow card once and be faced with a suspension… then you will see change. And that is only going to happen if officials make it happen. She is living in a loophole that says cuts in the mouth are at the discretion of the ground jury. What official is going to eliminate someone at a FEI event if you say the horse bit her lip. Now we all know that her barbaric bits and her yank and bolt riding style are why the horse is bleeding… but she’s living in that loophole! If it were black and white… no discretion… blood in the mouth = yellow card and all the consequences of getting a yellow card… then she will make sure her horses don’t bleed. Or go back to show jumping… which will be fine too!
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As someone who knows very little about Eventing and the rules that govern it, may I ask a couple of questions?
Does FEI Eventing run under different rules than FEI Dressage? I ask because there have been several notable instances of horses competing in Dressage that were excused or DQ’d due to blood. IIRC, there were at least two Horse/Rider pairs who were rung out for blood in the mouth, and one Rider DQ’s at World Cup for a red spur mark. In the cases that I am thinking about, they were not cases of “bitting up” or overuse of the spur, but the pairs were out of the competition anyway—“zero tolerance” was applied at the respective times. (I completely understand the differences between riding in a dressage arena vs. out on course, and how a horse could get nicks or cuts from the CC run.) The instances I remember of riders being rung out for blood in the mouth were several years ago, but the World Cup rider DQ’d for a spur mark was just last year. TBH, I don’t know if FEI rules for Dressage still have a “no tolerance” policy.
Second question: does the rider in question ‘only’ have bloody mouth incidents during the cross country phase? Does it not occur in the dressage and show jumping phases? If not, why not? Is it because tack choices for the dressage and jumping phases are different? After a bloody mouth incident in cross country, has she ever had blood show up in the jumping phase? (My thinking: if horse is injured and bleeding in the mouth on CC, does it heal overnight, or is it treated somehow so it won’t bleed the next day?)
TIA from a plain old regular dressage rider.
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ML has been very successful riding like a bat outta hell between fences and having tack/bits that can yank them back before the fences for balance. She often makes the time and does well in the placings. It’s a good question how she doesn’t have the problem in stadium since the mouths are cut up, other than she doesn’t ride with nearly the same force in stadium to make time.
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^^
Yes. The rules are different. Dressage correctly makes a bloody mouth an immediate dq.
Yes. Her bloody mouth issues are exclusive to cross country. The best explanation for why her horses specifically bleed at the mouth was given earlier in the thread. Her original event was show jumping, the skill set is different, she does not ride cross country like the eventing specialists, as above the tldr is she runs as fast as possible, then hauls her horses up at the last minute to package and jump like show jumpers. This requires an incredible amount of force on the mouth.
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Thanks for the explanations. Too bad the jog does not include a mouth examination—-the very place where such injuries could be hidden.
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No you miss the funny part. The horse’s mouth was bleeding before cross country. The horse was inspected by vets and stewards before starting who decided it was totally cool and fine to run a horse with a cut and bleeding mouth over a four star cross country course because the current bad rules allow it. Thus the world was treated to extensive footage and images of a horse dripping blood from its mouth while competing at the first ever Land Rover sponsored CCI. And that’s our national champion. Horrific from a PR standpoint. Hard to build marketing campaigns around those pics.
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At this point, I don’t think even a yellow card would influence ML’s behavior unless the immediate consequences to receiving one change too.
I think ML has WEG in her sights and has been aimed in that direction on RF Scandalous since they won gold in the PanAms. ML has not competed a horse besides RF Scandalous in any national or international eventing competition since 2016 so it’s doesn’t seem like she has a bunch of horses in the pipeline or in her string that she is trying to bring up the levels. I have had the thought that if she were to make the WEG team and compete there, she might just be done with eventing - though I would much prefer she not make the team. I am really hoping the Land Rover rumor is true.
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