five years old but I’ve never seen it before.
“Motivation That is not beautiful. “
five years old but I’ve never seen it before.
“Motivation That is not beautiful. “
4 Likes
14 Likes
The blog was excellent as Lauren’s are.
The original video which I had no volume on for internet was largely video of a horse being deliberately ridden way btv.
Quite different to the discussion and thought Lauren was promoting.
2 Likes
The gist of the video, which you could really only get if you listened to what was being said, was that some of the methods of achieving a “beautiful” dressage presentation are themselves not beautiful. I think the video is from 2012, so it probably was influenced by the Rollkur controversy. But he wasn’t just talking about Rollkur.
I guess my thought is that it may be a little too glib to dismiss all criticisms of training methods as being the concerns of a hysterical fringe of self-proclaimed “animal lovers.”
6 Likes
“A lot of riding is based on motivation that is ugly”
Call me naive but I think Epona.tv is exaggerating quite a lot.
3 Likes
I don’t find the cranked nose bands, spur marks, etc to be beautiful. I think Eponatv has some very good observations.
11 Likes
Some
I will put it on my list to watch more videos. There seems to be plenty. The business of horse sport pushes all of them into a bad place. No sport is immune. When $, clients, prestige, marketplace share, awards and the human need for validation coalesce within the project of making a horse perform, it pretty much all goes in a worse direction.
I am glad to see so much good quality training available online. At least people have a much greater choice now. They are not ‘stuck’ with the local show professionals, only.
3 Likes
This is a fair criticism. I’ll admit I didn’t watch the video and chose to respond in a fashion similar to the OP of posting a link with nothing substantive added. I shall strive to do better in future.
2 Likes
At some point I think a horseman will take a step back and ask themselves, “what does my horse get out of me riding him?” And you can’t say “well, I feed him.” The horse doesn’t understand that, and won’t appreciate it. So what do horses get out of being ridden?
Most motivations are ugly. Horse not impulsive enough? Squeeze them until it’s uncomfortable enough to elicit response. Horse too fast? Pull on them with a metal tool in their mouth.
Somewhere in the middle of both extremes are the true horsemen, who understand that training is a series of mildly uncomfortable stimuli until pleasantry is achieved. The end result can be a healthy, happy, safe horse for all to ride and handle — which is truly in the horse’s best interest despite the occasional discomfort it might have endured.
I didn’t find LK’s article particularly transformative. I do think that in some ways social media outrage is the best thing for more insular sides of the sport. It will take a lot to get dressage to pull away from the direction it’s going in, which has not been beautiful for a long time.
17 Likes
The training of a large flight animal is not going to be carrot stretches and reins of silk 100% of thr time, every day. There will be mistakes, miscommunications, resistance, etc. Those are part of the learning process for human and horse. It’s not always going to look pretty and sometimes you have to go through some ugliness to get past the ugliness.
That does NOT mean that abuse is ok. That does not mean rollkur, cranked nosebands, blue tongues or spur gouges are acceptable in our sport, any more than lungeing to death and drugging for the show ring should be acceptable in hunters.
15 Likes
I agree and I think a lot of people miss the midly unpleasant in “training” of all species…kids aren’t born excited to wear clothes and eat with a fork and knife. To use a simple exampe, how many times does a toddler get frustrated because picking up that piece of broccoli is so much harder with the fork than the hand? But they are taught/encouraged to do it because it will help them fit in with society later, which will help them be a happier, more productive member of society.
You don’t want to beat the kid for improper use, or insist on perfection right away. Neither do you want to be to lenient and keep letting them eat with their hands. This is not to be confused with leeway for slighty different habits like the way you hold the fork or what foods it is used on. I was at a banquet and there were cupcakes, I picked mine up with my hands and ate it and was a bit surprised at the person next to me eating with a fork and knife. Neither is more right that the other, just different.
Likewise, some aspects of horse training need to account for different personalities, conformation, athletic abilities, etc. but there is always going to be a time of gently pushing past comfort zones to get to the next step.
8 Likes
I rarely find Lauren’s blog posts particularly revolutionary. To me this post read like the generalizations of someone who was offended at someone’s critique of them, rightful or not, and decided to speak for the general public. But then again, I’ve never been Lauren’s biggest fan.
I haven’t watched the above video, but I’ll try later. And wasn’t Epona the people who hosted the Gothenburg livestream that got backlash for allegedly hiding the corners of the arena on the live stream on purpose, so that riders could have a place to abuse their horse out of the public eye? /hj
7 Likes
Eating a cupcake with a fork and a knife should be ILLEGAL. That’s the whole point of a cupcake versus a sheet/layer cake, fer cryin’ out loud!
6 Likes
I watched a girl eat a cupcake at a party and it was life changing for me. She cut the bottom half of the cupcake off, placed it on top over the frosting, and ate it like a sandwich. 
8 Likes
I saw this on one of those stupid facebook short videos!! I haven’t had an opportunity to try it, but I can’t WAIT. 
It was brilliant.
This is how I’ve eaten cupcakes since I was a child. There is no other way to do it!
3 Likes
That’s the only way to eat 'em!
1 Like
Motivation is certainly ugly on March 2023 cover of Western Horseman magazine.
https://westernhorseman.com/magazine/this-month/march-2023-western-horseman-table-of-contents/
Do follow the line/rein from the horse’s throat latch/browband/crown piece as it goes under his front legs and appears to go up to the back ring of the saddle.
I saw this sad and appalling cover photo at a tack store selling the magazine, and bought the last issue so young riders wouldn’t see it.
5 Likes
