When we know better, we do better. 25-30 years ago, no one would have batted an eye at riding “deep.” Now, we know better. A LOT of people bought into that crap. Sven is a beautiful rider, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen him away from a show. But if he felt the need to come forward about Parra, then you have to assume he was pretty horrified by what he witnessed.
22 Likes
Well, despite this video, I still think he did a very brave and good deed. Coming forward with all of this has encouraged a GREAT deal of conversation amongst equestrians that needed to be had. He obviously does not agree with CP’s methods and put himself at great risk to make that evident.
Also, this type of deep riding is rampant in higher level dressage barns. It certainly does not excuse the riding but it complicates the situation as many are teaching this and don’t find this type of riding to be abusive when temporary. We need clear and concise definitions for abuse.
15 Likes
Creating an account specifically to add a video of someone years ago who exposed abuse in Parra’s barn smells like Mean Girl BS to me. What was the point of this? When we know better we do better.
10 Likes
Absolutely!
Many of us have grown to know better and do better and we have learned and matured.
8 Likes
DOZENS of video of Parra beating the shit out of horses in recent months that apparently means nothing because one of the people who reported the video rode a horse deep a decade ago. Video posted to attack the whistle blower shows the horse being ridden deep, but zero use of the whip, the spur, draw reins, bloody welts, etc. There is simply no comparison. It was absolutely posted to be mean. Not many teenagers have the money to purchase a horse like that to “rescue” it.
When we know better we do better, Sven rode with Parra, came to realize that what was happening was very wrong, and risked his life and career to blow it wide open.
39 Likes
Thank you for saying this.
20-30 years ago, the event riders at the barn where I boarded used this technique for short amounts of time. There’s no comparison to the horrors inflicted by Cesar Parra.
When we know better, we do better.
11 Likes
It’s been50 years but I did it with my old eventing pony. I’m ashamed of myself now
3 Likes
If you did it for reasonably short periods and not chin on chest, don’t feel terribly guilty. When I first moved to the Hamilton MA area, Jack LeGoff was in charge of the eventing team, based there. It was commonplace to see horses being hacked down the road, long and low but on the bit. In order to prep the horses for the long format competitions, they were ridden at the walk in that frame to strengthen their back muscles I was told. It really was considered the best way to create the fitness needed for the rigors of the sport without using your horse up.
I wonder what Jack would say now that the long format is gone?
5 Likes
The key to the rollkur or LDR position is determining if the throatlatch is open and what the profile of the face and poll are doing.
FDO (forward down out) is good for horses.
Rollkur/LDR/Hyperflexion is not.
Again, my definition of rollkur is the position itself and not the means used to achieve it.
10 Likes
I’ve tried ALL of the above links and they all say n"Page not found"
Well, I dont know what to suggest. I just went to the Dressuur Klassiek facebook page and they are all still there.
Thanks for saying this better than I did. I just don’t see how that video is relevant to the current situation with Parra.
3 Likes
For years, the equestrian community has been an insular group that lived in its own little bubble and could drive the narrative. Trainers and experts or even the federations, associations and the government could define what equine abuse is. But this has all changed. SLO is very real, as this once insulated world now has global exposure on SoMe platforms. As more and more celebrities also embrace the sport, we now have more followers who are not equestrians. They are highly influenced by what they see online. Younger generations view their pets as children, and they don’t condone behaviors like slapping a horse, cracking a whip at one to make it move, etc… because it would be wrong to do that to a child, so why do it to your pet? Furthermore, we have more access to data (and so does everyone else) that shows long term damage to horses from certain methods like Rollkur and even damage caused by something as simple as lunging at the walk. PETA further drives a narrative that compares horses in stalls to life in a jail cell, and how they should be running free like The Black Stallion. And in some ways, they are correct. Horses do need turnout. And equestrians do all kinds of crazy things like lunge the pants off horses at shows because there is no turnout and they sit in stalls for days. In “jail.” There’s a reason for the lunge whip rule… Now add on high-level “real” abuse like the recent events (electric spurs, cocaine in horse bloodwork, physical abuse) and we have a serious problem. Our entire discipline is based on a period in history when a horse was a mode of transport. Now, we have automation and the horse is not a vehicle. It is an animal and it has rights (as it should). We don’t use it until it literally dies in the street while pulling a cart, or whip is mercilessly when it refuses to go forward. And honestly, people never should have done this. However, we have some trainers from days of yore who were trained by people from a time when the horse was a tool or vehicle, and they have not evolved to current standards. At the current trajectory, the keyboard enthusiasts will determine what abuse is, not educated equestrians, because we’ve had nearly a century to put the horse first and have abysmally failed in doing so.
18 Likes
I apologize but what is SLO?
3 Likes
Social license to operate, IIRC.
2 Likes
Don’t be. It’s been going on 45 years for me, but as so many have said, “when we know better, we do better.” No need to feel guilty now. <3
I can honestly say that none of my coaches have ever promoted cruelty or been cruel to their horses. I got a wide awakening when I switched from H/J to Dressage decades ago. One of my long time coaches is a 2 time Olympian and they have NEVER done anything abusive to their horses or the horses they have in training. My long time local coach same thing.
9 Likes
No apologies needed - it is Social License to Operate (SLO).
3 Likes
You can’t see me but I’m giving this a standing ovation
7 Likes
What was your wide awakening ?
4 Likes
