I love this post!!
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Yes. All of this.
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This post succinctly lists what is wrong in competitive dressage. I wish I could like it twice.
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I had a boarder for a while who rode w a dressage “trainer” who did those things on an older, unsound horse. I asked her what the purpose of pinning her chin to her chest while spurring and yanking on the draw reins might be and said it appeared abusive. Her reply “ I don’t know but she’s a very good trainer.” I told her I disagreed and the trainer wasn’t welcome here. I told her she was welcome to bring someone else, just not this person. She left.
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exactly!
To get back to the original topic, my question would be “how do they do it in other countries?”
Does another federation have a workable way of doing this that we could copy?
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I’m guessing more than a few EU countries align with FEI rules. USA driving generally just adopts FEI rules (except drug rules align with the rest of usef). At least for driving that’s bit checks while tacked after dressage and cones. It is easier in driving since the list of bits not allowed is very short. Also we are clever enough to put our half cheek bits on correctly 
I get that checking bits by braille is not a very good way to figure out who has a legal/illegal bit given the huge variation in mouth pieces. I loved the idea of the numbered tag.
Maybe the first line of exam is as it is done today, that’s probably 80% of the bits passing without issue. If the examiner can’t evaluate the bit that way, the rider has the option of dropping the bridle OR getting a number tag on their bit rings and it’s their responsibility to bring the tagged bridle back and get their tack cleared/tag removed. It’s not 
perfect, you would have to noodle through how multiple rides/different arenas would work, but under the current system you could pass under one arena/TD and fail later in the day with another. It’s unlikely, but given the subjective nature and complexity of the rules, it could happen…
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I believe we have the rule that 15 horses need to be checked per show…. I have been showing since 2019 and had a couple of inspections regarding the vaccinations one time a vet checked my horse for blood and one inspection for nosebands and I can’t remember any for tack…
In the US I had blood drawn once and a couple of tack checks… but only very few…
But maybe things changed.
In Germany (within the last 5 years) they did a lot of “passport control” to check vaccinations, but I never once had my bit checked. That was for A, L, and M levels. I don’t recall seeing a bit check either, but I wasn’t paying attention to others so much.
I did let a younger rider compete my horse at A level a few times (lovely rider and good experience for her) and one time she had a check of sorts but I cannot recall what happened. They did this to multiple riders/horses and I know they looked at the bridle but cannot remember if she had to take it off or anything. I was on the other side of the arena and it was awhile ago now.
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I know many people who would absolutely not put their horse in a temporary stall that other horses have been in even if they were in their hands the whole time. We have diseases rampant around the West Coast, and almost everyone disinfect the stalls before using them
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Random checking a certain percentage or number of horses seems like a very workable way of managing this without overloading the TD.
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I think that the federation’s hyper focus on bits as a hot topic on cruelty is …interesting. Sure, there are some strong and questionable bits out there. But when it was determined that a Dr Bristol is actually more gentle than the French link? The decision is not to allow the Bristol but ban them both. And the whole nonsense on Baucher bits having leverage. And a range of pretty benign snaffles being banned because they have a roller or something that moves. And be careful that your tongue relief bit isn’t actually a disguise for a harsh port because the issue is all about height and not whether something is wide and curved or a thin U.
Meanwhile you have all the things @Cowgirl mentioned going on. Plus flash and drop nosebands that are not fitted well at all and/or are totally unsuitable for the horse’s facial conformation. Never seen anyone with an obvious noseband violation stopped, but have seen emergency saddle pad changes if one had a little too much sparkle! 
I also laughed at the several bonnet inspections my young horse got this year. If legal, I’d ride in ear plugs and a regular ear net for the bugs. The soundless bonnets are a huge pain. But I use them because it is what is allowed. I had to request to dismount and take the horse somewhere secure in case he lost his marbles when I took it off, because that occasionally resulted in some airs above the ground. It was his first year showing and he’s not quite used to the extra noises and other horses screaming and whatnot. The thing was carefully inspected inside and out but no one ever looked in his naked ears. The rule is so stupid. But seems like par for the course! If we are going to do pre-show checks, though, I’d love a pre-show bonnet check!
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I’m a huge fan of pre class confabs with the TD after I caused an international incident. 
I do my driven dressage test with a Liverpool hung in swale rings. Drivers tend to convert standard liverpools into swales by dropping them on a ring. But this means the headstall is attached to that ring, NOT the bit. In theory the bit could come off the ring and you would have a hitched horse with no bit, no brakes no steering. So most people loosely zip tie the bit ring to the swale ring on each side… But not me. Noooo, I had to get fancy and connect them with these tiny night ize S carabiner. First FEI show and the UK steward looks at those clips and raises the red flag.
They could cut the horse.
Me: that’s why I have bit guards
But the bit guards could come off.
Me: ???
She lets me go but I know this ain’t over. The asst TD shows up at my stall, looks at it, takes pics and says that he wouldn’t have an issue but the issue has been raised so he checks with head TD. She also had zero concerns, but… Issue has been raised, so THEY CALL THE FEI DRIVING HEAD MUCKITY MUCK across the pond, presumably waking him up. He is unconcerned with the clips but suggests I might want to stick with zip ties. Gee, ya think? And those clips were off 3 minutes after the Asst TD came to my stall So yes, I am on the list somewhere at the FEI high tribunal for causing an international incident and ruining someone’s sleep.
Fast forward 9 mos and I’m at another show with an actual proper swale Liverpool (meaning the rings are integrated with the bit), but it’s a straight up bitch to attach curb chain hooks without them twisting and potentially cutting the horse. So I used those link connectors used on hackamore. But by God I’m not going to be at the center of another international incident so I hunt down the head TD when I’m schooling the day before dressage… The same guy who came to my stall all those months ago. He’s in the golf cart with the FEI vet. Looks at it, declares it to be fine… Then looks at the vet and says “let me tell you about the time she caused an international incident…”
KMN 
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GREAT NEWS! The FEI is making spurs optional. Next they need to do away with the young horse tests (or at least be honest that these tests are for horses who are freaks of nature and/or trainers willing to sacrifice the horse).
Horses can be trained to do all the things they want them to do if you are willing to take a long enough time. I feel really sorry for the horses that are not physically or mentally mature and are asked to perform beyond their age. Too bad there is so much financial reward for ignoring the horse’s calendar.
Along with the “spurs optional” rule, I wish they would also say “immediate year suspension from drawing blood with a spur”.
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Unfortunately, there is now way too much money tied up in young horse competitions. Those tests are entrenched. It doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal here in the states, thankfully.
I had a TD try to tell me a bit which was pictured as legal in the dressage annex is illegal, so could absolutely happen!
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It is not the tack that is the problem; it is the way the tack is used. It wouldn’t be so hard to say, develop a rule that says you get a yellow card if your horse’s mouth is open for more than, I don’t know, 35% (pulling a number out of the air), of the test. Three yellow cards gets you a bit exam and 6 month suspension, or a weymouth ban for a year (forcing you to go back and train in a snaffle). Or a rule that states if you whip a horse more than, I don’t know, 10 times during a ride, you get a yellow card. Three yellow cards gets you a whip suspension. Force people to ride better by policing the riding, not the tack. Also I believe in yellow card for BTV for more than 50% of the ride (and I now have a horse that is very noodley in the neck and can easily go BTV–guess what I have to do: learn to ride with more leg and less hand.)
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But what is “whipping” more than 10 times? Is it a rhythmical tap in piaffe?
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Changing guidelines to numerically limited but entirely subjective criteria would not only require a small army to monitor but would absolutely be inconsistently enforced. It’s one of those sound like a good thing until you tried to put it in action ideas.
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Not disagreeing w/ the need - at all - just the fair enforcement and then also… horses and habits
I have a young OTTB who I got out of a “situation”. Whether the habit came from the track or the situation, he came w/ a really bad habit of sticking out his tongue and waving it around (a lot). I restarted him and the habit has gotten noticeably better but it is still there. While I know I will get dinged for the habit, it would be a much harder pill to swallow if I was suspended or yellow carded for his habit - even though the bit is mild and very low (ounces) bit pressure… [he is extremely paranoid about being “trapped” by the bit - trust me, I am not ‘holding’ him anywhere by the bit]
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