I don’t know, I’m always working for more energy! But my mare produces plenty of saliva without help. As every barn shirt proves 
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As someone who rides PSG, believe me the riders are jsut as tired as the horses if not more so - and also remember that riding a horse is much safer in unknown /unfamiliar places (less likely to get loose if spooked) - and, to top it off, the footing is REALLY hard to walk in in show boots (or any boots). One more thing - we need to get out fo the competition area.
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It’s not that I don’t think the riders are tired/work hard. It’s just that that’s their choice. The horses have no choice. So, I still hate to see riders sitting on horses around the ring, to watch other rides (not dressage specific), etc. After the effort and bit check, get off gyour horse. They deserve that. gYou’re the human with the big cerebral cortex so sort out what to do with walking in your show boots, etc., and give the horse the instant reward of the person off their back.
Again, I feel this way for all disciplines. Riders are tired after cross country, too, but they hop right off. I think they should do that after the dressage and jumping phases, too, and that all other disciplines should as well. With all the people and grooms and stewards and whatnot, I’d trust everyone to work out how to safely walk the horse to cool down, etc. Again, can’t be a bigger risk in the show ring than out on a xcountry course and that seems to work out.
But, it’s just a feeling I have, not a huge deal. I have enormous respect for riders, tired riders especially, who get off the horse pronto.
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Someone at our barn just bought gumbits --coincidentally I had just heard of it here the day before. The horse very quickly had thick pasty foam all over his mouth. If you read the website it talks about helping to prevent performance horses from grinding their teeth. That made me mad. If a horse is grinding its teeth you’re doing something wrong. One of my horses was considered a habitual teeth grinder until I started riding him and disproved it…with out fluff or gum.
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For what it’s worth, I ride FEI and I always hop off as soon as I exit the arena, so some of us do exist!
(I agree with you ultimately - the horse just worked hard, and harder than me. Get off and tell him he’s a good boy. And yes it is ungodly uncomfortable to walk in my show boots but oh well 
)
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That is so lovely! Your love of your horses really shines through. I know it seems a silly detail, but I just love that you do this. 
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Well she’s a spicy mare and it’s taken years to convince her I’m worth working for, so she gets a lot of reinforcement like this for her efforts
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Regardless of how one feels about using the fluff in the first place, I have mad respect for your coach being honest about something like that especially given the ruling. So many people would pretend that they “never did such a thing.”
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They were going to being in a rule that after the upper level tests,v the riders were going to have to go cool down the horse under saddle like most people do when riding at home. Did that happen?
I give mints to my horse most days when bridling, even though he practically puts the bit in his mouth on his own, and I know plenty of other people who do the same. Though Janet does make a good point that at shows it might be best to stick to sugar cubes to avoid concern, given no other details, I’d like to give people benefit of the doubt and assume they’re just trying to be nice to their horses.
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I mean, it’s a piece of metal in their mouth. You’d have to sweeten the pot for me to accept that, too. 
(I totally still give treats to my entire string when they are being bitted.)
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I think there are 2 issues involved here. One being that at most shows, the only warmup ring is already too busy without having people going back in there to cool out, and I’ve also witnessed (and reported to TD) some pretty punitive behavior from at least one upper level rider who’s test didn’t go according to plan when they’ve got back in to the warmup.
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That’s one of the many reasons the warm up ri g is often shielded from public eyes. Hard to crank n yank when you’re on display. Shows they don’t sweat the presence of stewards - gee I wonder why?
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No warm up ring at any show I’ve ever attended or would be likely to attend, as a rider or offiicial, has ever had a warm up ring shielded from.public gaze, just a couple of dumbassed hot heads who needed their heads handed to them on a plate by a TD, and probably a change of hobby.
I think we are talking about different things.
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No this has happened in many FEI venues.
I have stories from those venues.
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In North America? I’ve never seen it or heard of it. In Europe , yes, at some venues in reaction to videos and photos that were shared online of less than acceptable riding techniques.
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I’ve never heard of such a rule at USDF shows, so as far as I know, it did not pass 
And, for what its worth, if I’m working on something new or difficult, I do exactly this - after the last successful {insert new or difficult movement here, e.g., a line of one tempis}, I often get off my horse immediately and hand walk her back to the barn as a reward. Just to make it extra clear that she did well, so what I do at shows is actually consistent with how I ride at home
Otherwise we cool down with a hack around the farm (weather conditions permitting).
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No. Europe.
[quote=“Knights_Mom, post:78, topic:765598, full:true”]
Are you talking about a USEF rule change or an FEI rule change?
As far as limiting public access to the warmup rings, I think this has to be something only from very high level competition. The kind of venue where people buy tickets, and get streamed into the bleachers. And where you’d need an ID or pass to get backstage. It’s obviously not feasible at any of our local venues where the warmup rings are sitting there between the parking lot and the competition arena and you can wander through the barns.
At a high level event with million dollar horses and substantial ticket sales presumably you’d get more audience, and more chance for audience to get in the way if they are loose on the grounds. At most equestrian events there are very few true spectators, other than friends and family. Crowd control isn’t an issue.
If it’s the kind of event where you can reasonably expect to sell tickets and get an audience that really changes the balance of competitor teams versus lookie-loos.
I can see wanting to warm up without a paying audience even if I was doing nothing unsightly in warm up.
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