No one cares anymore.
A horse died at luhmuehlen and all the coverage was about how amazing an event it was, what a success it was, how great blah blah. Nevermind a horse died from snapping its spine. Ben Winter died in a similar fall there in 2014. Doesn’t seem to bother a whole lot of people anymore 
@Jealoushe, I haven’t seen how you curate the list on page 1. Is it strictly deaths at eventing competitions or would you consider adding this one, given it was a combination, who evented, who were competing at a competition aimed at eventers and it was at a XC obstacle? (Mary King’s horse Call Again Cavalier at the Express Eventing competition in 2008 fits this criteria and is included in your list.)
I did want to add this…but not sure how everyone feels. Perhaps some posters can chime in, or maybe I can make a separate list for xpress events since it happens there too (can’t believe I have to even section these things there are so many )
I’d like to see an xpress/arena section. I think if it’s being used to “showcase eventing” it should be tracked, because it reflects on our sport. That said, accidents there will almost certainly have different factors/drivers than an accident on true xc, so as you say a different section may do the trick for looking at trends (similarly, if accidents happen to eventers in phases other than xc, that’s something that I think we should note, though you cover that off pretty well with your summary notes now).
I also wish we could have some data on how many horses run/start vs. how many WTF accidents occur, and while there are fewer xpress events than real ones, I think that’s still asking way too much of one person who does also have a life. I just always wish we could know more…
This is part of what is frustrating for me (and many of us posting on this thread, I’m sure). Horses are dying, hell people are dying too, but apparently we’re all supposed to prioritize the feelings of those who are still alive as opposed to actively trying to prevent future deaths. Obviously, this is not across the board, but there is enough of this undercurrent that it derails the conversations that need to be happening.
I understand that losing a horse is devastating, I truly do. But then shouldn’t we want to prevent other horses and riders from experiencing similar fates? And as much respect as I have for many professionals, some of them will oppose safety measures aimed at preventing accidents if it interferes with their livelihood. I have a problem when the sport takes precedence over the horses that make the sport possible. I am all for having a “less challenging, less elite” competition if it means more horses cross the finish line and live to tell the tale.
There’s too many factors to isolate and not enough information going around to tell us how this sport can be made safer. I fell in love with eventing, and I’m sure if you’re on this thread, you did at one point too. I did not fall in love with a bloodbath. Another poster mentioned, I think in this thread, that they now watch the jog before dressage and think about the chances that they all make it home safe. I can’t understand why so many people seem so opposed to at least looking closely and critically at this problem. We need to understand why this is happening so often. Are they afraid of what they are going to find?
I know I’m not saying anything new with this post. I am just getting really sick of people getting desensitized to horse deaths.
No, it doesn’t seem to matter. Maybe it never did matter, we just didn’t know about it. Don’t buy the protecting feelings excuse. Hard boiled Pros and long time owners have lost horses and are used to making difficult, business based decisions regarding their horses. They may grieve privately and make the appropriate press release but don’t need their feelings protected and are already replacing the one lost. Some don’t give it a second thought, say it’s part of the sport and just take the reins on the next one
Not sure what your point is. That’s 1 show jumper that had a catastrophic injury at a competition, as opposed to how many eventers? I can count ON MY HAND the number of hunter/jumper horses this has happened to OVER THE YEARS, not in a year. It is sad regardless of sport but not the topic at hand: how to make it safer for eventers.
“This is part of what is frustrating for me (and many of us posting on this thread, I’m sure). Horses are dying, hell people are dying too, but apparently we’re all supposed to prioritize the feelings of those who are still alive as opposed to actively trying to prevent future deaths. Obviously, this is not across the board, but there is enough of this undercurrent that it derails the conversations that need to be happening.”
It is entirely possible to do both—show empathy and concern.
If you don’t think change isn’t happening you are not paying attention. There are all sorts of safety changes that have been incorporated in course design and building.
Do we need more?
Yes.
Do people need to be better prepared to answer questions being asked at their level? In many cases,Yes.
do horses need to be better prepared to answer questions at their level? In many cases, Yes.
There are many people, worldwide, that are working on this, and they care.
One of the solutions is to not compete compete at a higher level unless you are overprepared. Another solution is to recognize that maybe your horse is t going to keep up with your ambitions and move it on to a more suitable situation and find another horse that is able.
if everyone that moans and pulls their hair on social media would raise $100 for further R & D it would be a big help.
Everyone being seriously injured or killed isn’t doing so because they’re underprepared. Was it last year or the year before that two of the top three were laid up with significant/possibly career ending injuries simultaneously? Seriously be a better rider isn’t the solution that saves eventing.
(LAZ, I agree with much of what you say but am singling out these points for discussion as opposed to disagreement.)
You mean like how Lindsay Oaks sold the 4* horse Enchantez on as a schoolmaster? Didn’t save him, did it?
There are a number of ex-top-level horses on our Death List. Some died from injuries, others died from the nebulous ‘cardiac event’ designation.
It seems to me that horses who are stepped down are just as vulnerable as the others.
While I agree in principle, this requires the eventing community having confidence in the governing bodies to actually research and act in the interest of safety and horse welfare.
The governing bodies don’t inspire confidence. The latest slap in the face is the alleged new rules about whips and bloody mouths. It gives the distinct impression that horse welfare is not a priority and that covering up abuse at the top of the sport is a priority.
I’m not disputing your claim that there are people working on this who care about safety - I’m pointing out one very solid reason why the eventing community might want to keep their hard-earned dollars to themselves to spend on their own personal eventing safety.
JER, we see eye to eye on this. In terms of research, it ain’t cheap. Even small studies using retrospective data cost over a million dollars, and the PTB do not have that type of money.
Sorry, this does not provide a solution, but folks should be aware that real, valid research does not come cheap, nor can it be paid for with the small type of donations being provided.
RIP Enchanted
http://eventingnation.com/enchantez-…-horse-trials/
I posted on the EN that this was the 7th horse dead this year (actually I was wrong it was the 8th) and proceeded to get attacked by many UL riders for being so heartless, that this isn’t eventings fault and that I should shut the hell up. Some of the replies were actually even worse…I deleted the comment because I wasn’t looking to start a fight.
Amazing how so many riders want people kept in the dark on these FACTS. Regardless that the horse slipped, it is another horse gone in our sport where we are averaging just above one horse a month dead.
Sad to say, I think that the publicity and the “death count” will be beneficial in the long run, because you simply can’t ignore the grim statistics. I’m also assuming that with the extra safety measures employed now, that the unpublished (and unknown) statistics from the “good old days” were probably worse. I still vividly remember reading about Mr. Maxwell in the Chronicle years and years ago. With one rider still in a coma a month or so post accident and the repeated deaths of horses, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the sport.
Is “Eventing Nation” devoting much time to this same topic, of alarming numbers of equine death/injury and human death/injury? I’ve looked on the site and, while deaths and serious injury at events are unflinchingly reported, I’ve tried to find discussion toward remedying this scary and seemingly fixed aspect of eventing. No luck.
My point being that a dedicated site would likely be a place to find such a discussion.
Nope. They prefer to celebrate the events horses die at saying how awesome they were and just making a small post about the horse or person who died. I get staying positive, but at this point the sport of eventing looks like one big river in egypt.
My remarks were not so much about this particular horse, it is about any horse that places its trust in us. It is our responsibility to not ever abuse that trust due to
ambition. Shit gets real at Intermediate and the ability to size up questions and give proper answers is paramount at Intermediate and advanced. If riders and coaches aren’t willing to say "this horse isn’t ready/this horse isn’t fit enough/this horse isn’t quick thinking enough/this horse isn’t athletic enough (though that is the easiest of the 4 to quantify) then ambition is clouding good judgment. Those same questions apply to the riders.
Another part of this is evolving course building and design so that mistakes don’t cause injury or death. There has actually been a lot done on this in the last 10 years and it continues to progress. More funds would help it progress faster—thus my remark that if everyone who is speaking online about this would raise $100 and send it to the dedicated safety fund it would be a positive step and big help. (And yes, I donate to this every year and consider it money well spent).
Another thing we must recognize is that every time you do anything with a horse you put it and yourself at risk. We all do our best to minimize risks (break away cross ties, shipping boots, snaps face towards the wall) and yet horses hurt themselves and kill themselves. This past week at my event camp one of the participants was taken away in an ambulance at 7 AM—we don’t know what happened but she was in the stall with her horse, on the ground out cold and bleeding. This is an established partnership and she’s been in that stall 1000 times with her horse. Horses=risk.
I guess my point for posting (which I rarely do anymore) is to say we all have a personal responsibility, all of us, to do more than bitch on social media (and I’m not pointing fingers at any specific people). We need to do our best, we need to use coaches that do their best, we need to expect their coaches to do their best to always do right by the horses. We need to contribute in a positive manner to promote safety (raise money, be good horsemen, recognize to event officials and organizers that we notice the frangible fences among others).
And recognize, that in spite of all we do, riding horses is never without risk of serious injury and/or death for both horses and riders. All we can do is be over prepared, well mounted, and know when to say when.
You also kind of have to wonder if our training, feeding, or the courses are resulting in more slips and fractures, or misteps and fractures.
Very well stated! :yes:
LAZ, this point really struck a chord with me. I’ve been looking for ways to memorialize my late TB mare (euthanized due to reasons having nothing to do with eventing) and was thinking about sponsoring an XC fence at Fair Hill because we used to board directly adjacent to the Fair Hill NRMA and rode through the CCI jump fields during the off-season. But eep, that was a bit more than I was looking to spend. A donation in her memory to the safety fund does feel fitting.
I don’t want to gloss over the changes that HAVE been made, because they are important and it’s a lot harder to quantify potential lives saved than those that have been lost. I do, however, believe that we have to keep asking ourselves the hard questions and keep doing more, and bemoaning further conversation in the interest of the memories of the dead is naive at best and disrespectful at worst.
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