Off the top of my head, the mere fact that there are timers running and its against the clock gives me the heebie-jeebies, let alone the fact that some of the blokes look WAY too heavy for the horses and there never seems to be feed or water available (possibly because the horses would be too stressed to eat or drink)...
Can you imagine if you dropped off a toddler at kindergarten and were told by some big, burly bloke that you could pick the kid up at the end of the day because he would have been taught some basic manners by then? Any normal parent would run a mile. And can you even begin to imagine the furore if a couple of rival kindergartens said they would each take a toddler for a day and see who could teach the most?
Why would you want to to be able to sit on an unhandled horse in a round pen within in an hour or two or even a day or two? What possible virtue does that have - even if you never want to work the horse outside a round pen? I freely admit I've never seen these demos in the flesh so perhaps I am missing the point. If I am, please do comment :-)
Never mind the so-called training - the fact is that these are young horses - unhandled, unschooled, untrained and undeveloped for ridden work, whose joints aren't going to benefit from a tiny, cramped, confined space where there is no possibility of them moving in a straight line.
So what are the arguments in favour of these events? That they are educational for spectators? The problem is that there is little explanation of what the burly blokes in hats are doing and things happen too fast for people to safely learn from or replicate at home (hmmm, perhaps thats a good thing...).
Is it just a good way of selling tickets - like trying to fill the 02 but without Take That (personally I'd prefer Take That any day)?
I just remember a farrier telling me once that until he saw vets competing in "Who can neuter a cat the fastest" competitions, or surgeons competing for "Who can do the fastest hip replacement" he would steer clear of shoeing competitions, and I feel rather the same way about these things! The burly blokes may (or may not) be stellar horse trainers, but personally I would be more impressed with a trainer who refused to participate in these sorts of events...
I imagine I am preaching to the choir with this post, but do enlighten me if I am wrong :-)
8 comments:
Oh I despise these ¨horsemanship¨ competitions. I am not sure if it is about self promotion and marketing (which it is probably is) but there is nothing positive in it for the horse. They are moved around in tiny round yards with hundreds of predators looking on. There is no where to run to. These horses are hounded around small round yards in an effort to get the horses to face up, join up or whatever is the latest marketable or patentable catchphrase.
I am almost certain that these previously unhandled horses leave these events with mental scarring that the adoring fans don´t get to see once the show is over.
I think that some of the methods out there are complete and utter rubbish and are dangerous for both handler and horse, but there are others that do work. One of my horses, who was a rescue from the horse sales arrived on my property and I was unable to touch him. I got in a ¨reputable¨ horseperson who started to move the horse around the roundyard and succeeding in watching the said horse jump out of a 1.4m roundyard. I sacked that trainer and set about handling the horse myself. It look a long time. From being able to simply the touch the horse, to the horse accepting a halter, and accepting having his hooves picked up.....effective and positive horse training takes time and patience.
My first training session with this horse was over three hours long and ended when he touched his nose to my hand. I walked off at that point...and he followed me. Everything that most people take for granted has been an exercise in time and patience. To pick up his back hooves was a seven hour training session. I now have a horse that while still very sensitive can be handled by anyone. I have an appreciation for well handled and well trained horses and I know first hand that it does not happen in a day.
Did people pay for a ticket to sit on their fat asses and watch the 'cowboys' defeat the horses? THAT'S the reason this nonsense exists.
I appreciate the timing in responding to a horse that some of these types of trainers have, but I still do not agree with the time limit. In fact, I have found this frustrating myself, as people who are into this sort of show are not impressed by anything, but lightning speed progress. I often wonder how they choose the horses for these events and I am certain that there are lasting negative effects.
This isn't good horsemanship, this is showmanship all aimed at massaging egos. I completely agree with everyone's sentiments. Getting to the stage where a youngster trusts you enough for you to be able to touch it all over let alone get-on is such a unique process for each horse it should never be time-bounded or rushed. If the horse cannot trust and have confidence in you, there is no way you should even think of jumping on its back. Doing so would be disrespectful to the horse and I am sure would lead to a whole host of problems later on.
Sounds like we all feel the same way :-§
Nicky, I think you've hit it spot on. It's showmanship, not horsemanship, with a bonus timer to make it "exciting" for the audience. The ONLY reason I could see doing something like this is if it helps get horses that would otherwise be killed (for example, mustangs in the US) adopted out into good homes, but even then, you have to wonder about the long-term effects on the horse. It would be interesting to check up on horses that have gone through these programs on a yearly basis and see how they're doing several years down the road.
singing with the choir? I'm an alto.
Agreed 100%
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