We all know the classic type of western pleasure horse, slow moving, nose on the ground, and looking as calm as possible.This is not attained by good training, no. Because you cannot make something this terribly damaging and detremental to your horses through good training. Trainers who show western pleasure often make big bucks, and they (more often than not) will use extreme shortcuts to get their horses at the place they want them to be in a shorter amount of time. This could include harsher bits than the horse is physically or mentally ready for, physically exhausting the horse so he will move slower, and making his muscles in his neck so sore he cannot hold his head up. Western pleasure horses are presented in such a way that the horses look physically crippled. Their gaits are so unnatural there is no way any horse could be comfortable in that position, let alone for hours on end. Along with high shank curb bits and razor sharp spurs, western pleasure riders are also fond of other methods. There have been reports of horses who have been tied up for days with their head cranked to the ceiling, so their neck muscles get so exhausted that they physically cannot hold it up, and therefore have a lower headset and are more "attractive". Here is a video showing less extreme cases of head tying.
Riders often jerk excessivley on their horses mouths, in order to get their head "lower" when they're already kicking their nose with their feet. Having shown in the open show circut for a few years, I have seen this first hand too many times to count. Riders in long shank bits riding in the warm up ring for hours the night before a show, constant loping (or cantering). Yanking on their horses mouths until the horse physically cannot move his head any lower or the horse bucks or rears which leads to more yanking on his mouth. They work them so hard the night before a show so that the horse will be tired the next day and therefore go slower and carry his head lower. Which, again, is "appealing". And according the AQHA rulebook:
441 (c) Inhumane treatment is strictly prohibited. Inhumane treatment includes, but is not limited to:
(4) riding in a manner as to cause undue discomfort or undue stress
(8) excessive jerking of the reins
401 (a) Every American Quarter Horse shall, at all times, be treated humanely and with dignity, respect and compassion.
104 (a) No person shall ever treat any horse in a cruel or inhumane manner.
Here is a video of a typical western pleasure warm- up.
Good job in enforcing your rules, guys. Of course, all diciplines of riding have their "pros and cons". But I think that having the average age of retirement of a western pleasure horse be 6 from being too lame to walk due to his unnatural movements and self carriage inflicted by riders, is a pretty big con.
The photo of the grey Western Pleasure horse was taken by me and published on my blog: http://kelseylynnturnis.blogspot.com/2012/09/western-pleasure-shortcuts-extremely.html. Please ask permission before using other people's photos.
ReplyDeleteHi. May I use this picture for a 'meme' which will say "Most equine disciplines are not cruel"?
DeleteMy western pleasure show horse retired at 15 due to PTSD from a warm up ring accident. He got dangerous as he kicked any strange horse that got behind him and just went nuts. He is 19 and still being ridden. All of his unsoundness comes only from a severed chest muscle from my young guy kicking him two years ago. We never trained or warmed up like this. We did go slow but nothing to the extreme in the video of congress. Go check out the lower level shows. We enforce the rules around here.
ReplyDeleteAQHA rules are SUPPOSED to be used in judging and they penalize or disqualify these artificial gaits and extra low headset: k) Faults to be scored according to severity:
ReplyDelete(1) Excessive speed (any gait)
(2) Being on the wrong lead
(3) Breaking gait (including not walking when called for)
(4) Excessive slowness in any gait, loss of forward momentum (resulting in an animated and/or artificial gait at the lope)
(5) Failure to take the appropriate gait when called for (during transitions, excessive delay will be penalized)
(6) Touching horse or saddle with free hand
(7) Head carried too high
(8) Head carried too low (tip of ear below the withers)
(9) Overflexing or straining neck in head carriage so the nose is carried behind the vertical
(10) Excessive nosing out
(11) Opening mouth excessively
(12) Stumbling
(13) Use of spurs forward of the cinch
(14) If a horse appears sullen, dull, lethargic, emaciated, drawn or overly tired
(15) Quick, choppy or pony-strided
(16) If reins are draped to the point that light contact is not maintained.
(17) Overly canted at the lope. (when the outside hind foot is further to the inside of the arena than the inside front foot)
(l) Faults that will be cause for disqualification, except in novice amateur or novice youth classes, which shall be faults scored according to severity:
(1) Head carried too low (tip of ear below the withers consistently)
(2) Overflexing or straining neck in head carriage so the nose is carried behind the vertical consistently.
Well what to say, what I have to say can not be said out loud. The only thing I can say and keep it family friendly is ....To all of you out there involved with this venue in any capacity You Should All Be Ashamed And Embarrassed by your treatment of these horses. Shame on you and the powers that be that would allow this and have the nerve to call it showing.
ReplyDeletenot everyone does this so shame on you for shaming people that have done nothing wrong. not everyone thats in the western pleasure system trains their horses like this. maybe you should learn a few things before you comment in an un-ture manner. im very disappointed that this artical
Deletehas been published because it shows something thats not true for everyone in the buisness.
It doesn't have to be true for everyone in the business for it to be a common and widespread problem. It needs to be called out.
Delete