True. Not arguing that point. I’m all for indoor only cats. (Don’t have any at the moment, but I’ve loved and had many cats in my life.) I meant that the majority are killed by ferals, so you take my point.
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You asked me for a citation re feral cats - then you found it yourself and saved me the trouble. I would like to see pictures of these “tight nosebands” “a lot to wince at.” I’m not saying you haven’t seen what you’ve seen. I’m saying that your experience is a small, small piece of “competitive dressage” and you are painting with a very broad brush.
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It’s hard fighting tradition on cropping here in the US. I had a small flock of American Jacob sheep for years. The breeding stock I purchased all had tails cropped to about 5-6” long.
But when my first lambs were born I couldn’t bear to subject them to pain and cut the tails off, and my livestock vet refused to do them in the office under general anesthesia 
. And became convinced I was a little crazy….
All the sheep literature tells you that natural tails collect feces and lead to insect infestations. But I vowed to keep a close eye on the lambs as they grew to ensure I could clean the tails as needed.
Surprise! None of that year’s lambs had a single issue, nor did subsequent crops. It just goes to show that passed-down traditions need to be subjected to critical thinking instead of taking centuries-old recommendations at face value.
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I hate seeing show sheep docked so they have no tail at all. I had Icelandics with naturally short tails
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My understanding is that some bits are more stable in the horse’s mouth - Baucher’s, full cheeks especially with keepers, even eggbutts. I’m not a fan of loose ring snaffles but I’ve had trainers tell me a dressage horse “has” to go in a loose ring. My older mare was much happier when I switched to an eggbutt, and younger is in a full cheek. I got rid of the flash strap in favor of a plain cavesson or Micklem bridle or no noseband at all. Obviously I’m not competing, haven’t since 2014, but I’ve volunteered at dressage shows and hate how tight some riders make their noseband and flashes. There’s supposed to be a rule, but it’s never enforced.
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Just no. I am not a loose ring fan either, and I’ve never trained or owned a horse that “had” to go in a loose ring. That’s dumb. I don’t know who these “trainers” are who told you that, but it’s patently false.
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Agreed. Loose rings can trap the skin of the lips in the hole between the rings and the mouthpiece.
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i have an old bleached out deer skull with big antlers downstairs and it has several NEW nosebands on it. I occasionally use a western bridle on one of my horses, most of the domestics DO go in a bridles with nosebands, (mustangs-generally-have a short deep nose, and nosebands barely fit around the older gelded geldings’ faces) Even on the domestics, the nosebands are there for aesthetics only and a 2-fingers loose. And, not introduced until after they’ve been trained the raw basics of green riding.
It cringes me to see tightened up flashes and snug nosebands. It seems cruel. And just the fact that they can be used this too-tight a way, and seemingly often escaping critical eye of stewards or judge or ringside vets has me wishing for a ban on them. If we can train a horse to be ridden with a saddle and a bridle to follow complicated instructions, we can train our horses to be ridden without. Now, IF people were to always be considerate of their horse’s comfort FIRST and winning after, it wouldn’t be a problem. But … like the topic title says: “What some will do to win”
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This was a problem with the older mare. Morgans are prone to the classic fat tongue/low palate/fleshy lips. I honestly think some of her wild head flinging happened when the loose ring rotated and caught on her flesh.
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When I first got my cat, I tried the double sided tape thing to see if I could keep her away from a fake plant I didn’t want her chewing on.
Found out the little weirdo LOVES tape. She’d go out of her way to get at it. Run over, grab the tape real quick, then run off with it and play with it under the bed where I couldn’t reach her to take it away. She’s… a bit of an odd duck.
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Feral cats aren’t the problem. People are. I agree though it’s much easier to lay the blame on them and not people
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I can’t argue with that. Just like aggressive dogs, people who own domestic animals and don’t care for them properly ARE the problem. 
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