Please sign the petition against the use of Rollkur in Dressage. Making a horse carry his head in against his chest is cruel and should not be associated with correct training. I find it disgusting that top level trainers and riders think that this sort of abuse is necessary just to win a rosette or medal. Hopefully if enough signatures are gathered the FEI will have to take steps to eradicate Rollkur from the sport.
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I’d never heard of Kladruby horses until I saw this photo. I think I’m in love. It’s a pity they’re so rare.
withabigblackhorseandacherrytree:
“Kladruby” Source
(via fuckyeahbaroquehorses)
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Got to love dapple-grey Andalusians! It’s just a shame they don’t stay this dark a grey for long. I’m guessing this must be a fairly young horse.
(Source: caterpiii, via fuckyeahbaroquehorses)
I read an advert the other day that talked about training your horse to shut its mouth when the noseband is loose. It’s sad that people think horses can’t be ridden without a drop noseband. Now perhaps the ad was badly worded but it seems the way nosebands are used has changed over the past 10 years. Horses used to always wear a plain cavesson noseband unless they really had issues that required a drop noseband around the lower jaw.
It’s really important to think about your bridle and ask why you use the noseband you use. Nearly everyone uses flash nosebands now. Most bridles are sold with them so people don’t think about it. As long as the noseband is fitted correctly, its fine but why not just use a plain cavesson noseband instead? The only real use of a drop noseband is to stop the horse opening and crossing his jaw. Truthfully, there aren’t that many horses that do that enough to need a drop noseband.
The sad part is trainers are encouraging students to tighten the drop noseband as tight as it will go and some are tightening the top part of the noseband too. Why? It doesn’t make sense to do this in dressage. The whole point is to show the horse is trained correctly and accepts the bit. Closing his jaw with a strap is admitting that the horse DOES NOT accept the bit and, worse still, has to be forced to accept it. I have a hard time believing that most horses are genuinely in need of the drop noseband. Its not that the flash is evil, its just unnecessary most of the time and poorly used.
Ok rant over, I just had to get that out!
(via like-a-unicorn)
Anne Gretta Jensen riding Marzog in the dressage at the 1984 LA olympics. The pair went on to win the silver medal. Watch for the beautiful flexibility that Marzog demonstrates in Half Pass. You can really see the bend both right and left.
(by tle48)
