This was shared on my feed earlier today, germane to this topic:
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Thank you for sharing. That is horrific. How many times does he have to be caught torturing his horses in competition before something is done? Yet he still gets rewarded for it.
The only reason to ride with that much pulling going on is 1. that the training isn’t there or, 2. the rider is not capable of riding the horse correctly.
I am sickened by this, and only very slightly relieved that it wasn’t yet another US “elite” rider. How the hell do we stop this if the FEI won’t step up? How do we get the judges to speak up? It’s like the international riders are on a mission to kill competitive dressage. 
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I ride with a double bridle on lesson horses.
If the horse I was riding ever came up with a blue tongue my riding teacher would yank me off her horse, I would develop blisters on my ears, and I would never be allowed to ride in a double bridle at her stable again. In fact she might be super reluctant to let me ride with ANY bit on her lesson horses.
But then we are not dressage riders or competitors. How come I, with my many physical problems with MS, can ride for years without any blue tongues, gaping mouths, pain faces, or need to spur the horse violently to keep it moving, while these top, non-handicapped riders cannot seem to ride their horses without a death grip on the reins? I also do not use a noseband at all because I do not NEED a tight noseband to keep the horse’s mouth closed.
The blue tongues are obscene to me. I would never let one of these riders up on a horse I owned and trained.
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Yes!
Still, not again.
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you’re right!
Wow, unbelievable. Doesn’t look like he was sanctioned either.
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I mean really, what’s stopping him? Nothing. There are no real consequences or consequences of value to this for him.
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It’s unbelievable that this wasn’t stopped, unbelievable that he wasn’t sanctioned, etc. But I guess not really unbelievable when you look at all the terrible things that have been allowed to continue.
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How do these riders sleep at night?! Are they just raging narcissists or what?
I can’t understand it.
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Omg at the Kittel pics! I don’t know if I’m surprised, more just aghast at the audacity, and just abject cruelty. But even absent any concern for the animal, zero awareness of possible repercussions? I hope the current flood of documentation eradicates those practices, and not the sport entirely!!!
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Same story, different day. And apparently neither embarrassment, nor remorse, from Kittel.
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It makes me absolutely sick! My horse had her tongue nearly severed off in an accident and I got her all new bit/bridles etc to make sure nothing bothered her scarring and full x ray dentals every year. I’m very cautious to be soft with her even though her tongue healed to be completely normal. These people have to be some sort of sociopath to not care they are doing this to their horses. The colour of that tongue is truly shocking.
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How do those judges sleep at night? And they are supposed to be guiding the sport of dressage? 
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Horrific. Charlotte Fry , Isabell Werth and Patrik Kittel all riding in competition on horses with blue tongues. None of them have responded to the photos. The FEI has not responded.
Those poor horses.
I’ve never competed or otherwise ridden Dressage. When I was a kid, I showed Arabians in full bridles. I’ve ridden TB’s in full bridles. I rode my gelding in a full bridle out hacking. I can’t imagine hanging on the curb like they are doing in those photos. How can they do that? The curb is not meant to be used in that manner (that’s not how I was taught anyway.)
If that’s how some dressage riders are taught to use the curb on a full bridle, their instructors need some education.
I don’t know what to say. It’s obscene.
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Yep and if the horses are being bred just SO hot, temperamental, huge powerful gaits that these riders need to ride like this then maybe we should rethink how we are breeding as well. But that starts with the judging as well, of course.
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I don’t think that this is a breeding issue. It’s a training and yes, a judging issue.
Big hot horses don’t require their rider to hang on the curb like these people are doing. Not if the big hot horse is properly trained.
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Not defending this type of riding (! at all!) if the images are real - but we are now in the realm of doctored photos and AI images - and it’s probably pretty easy to shade things. The twisting of the tongue is also quite horrible looking - I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a horse do that and I have a horse who came to me w/ a bad tongue habit - he sticks it out.
So - has anyone actually watched the videos to see this riding in action and to confirm that this really did happen?
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The woman who took the photos was there. I really doubt that she would intentionally kick up a fuss with doctored photos. She’d have nothing to gain, and a hell of a lot to lose.
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But that’s the excuse that many are going to use, I have heard it before.
I think it’s all BS.
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