Vive L'equine!

[erastes]

Which is probably ungrammatical. *Gallic shrug*

Happy Birthday vashtan! May there be dog tags and vests in your day.

I was watching the MEASLY 2 hours of Badminton Horse Trials the BBC patronisingly managed to squish in between wall-to-wall snooker and a Frenchman won it. I wasn't particularly pleased at first (Pah!) but when he reacted after jumping the last fence clear by being so fantastically over-emotional I wept a small tear myself. He was literally SOBBING, his arms flung around his horse's neck, bless him. And the sign of a true horseman when just about the first thing he said was "I am pleased because there were people who didn't believe in this horse and I hope I have proved them wrong."  HUGGLES HIM.

Why the blinkety blink can't the ruddy BBC open a dedicated sports channel or four so we can watch the sports we want to?  What's most annoying is that Badminton is the largest attended event in the world bar the Olympics. over 150,000 spectators turn up for the cross-country day alone, so it's not like, just ME that likes it.  Of course only about six people attend the dressage phase. *g*

gehayi told me about the horse at the Kentucky Derby yesterday, in fact she frightened me to death saying "Did you see what happened?" and I thought that the Martians had landed or something.  It was very sad, but not at all unusual.  Of course, broken limbs are more often seen over fences, but even over the flat it's a disgustingly high statistic. I don't think any horse should be racing at two or three years old. As I told gehayi, in civilian life a horse is never "backed" (given a rider) before it is three, and you'd never consider doing much more athletic with it for a year at least. Baby bones just aren't up to it.

It's one of the reasons that, whilst being a horse-lover and someone who will sit and watch dressage for hours, I don't like horse-racing as a sport. I don't like the people involved, the doping, the cheating the gambling (which perpetuates it all, I guess - after all you don't get rabid gambling on dressage) and the underworld element that it's notorious for.  Whilst I understand the concept of selective breeding it seems to be going to same way that dog breeding did here until the animal welfare associations clamped down on it. They bred cats with short legs for apartment owners (banned), shortened the snouts of bulldogs for "appearance" making them prone to breathing problems and.. well the list goes on.  When it comes to other horse disciplines, there isn't the rapid turnover of breeding for several reasons:  1. A racehorse can be assessed very early on as to whether it's any good and if not, it's glue (the throwaway rate for racehorses is phenomenal and disgusting - which is why you can pick them up for peanuts at sale rooms) 2. A horse in other disciplines has to be a lot older before it's proficient. Any horse can run! Whereas an eventer is generally 8 before it's experienced enough to do well and the amount of time, money and effort needed to get that horse to that position is just huge. Ditto dressage, ditto show jumping. Hell, in England we didn't even HAVE a breeding programme to improve our show jumpers (as the French have had for years) until quite recently. 

There's nothing much I can do about it, I know but often people ask me "you're a horse lover, so why don't you like racing?"  and this is why.

And just randomly, Sean Bean could sell me ANYTHING. His voice sends me into a puddle.

Less randomly: Raider of the Lost Ark on tonight!  WHEEE!!

Comments

[schmoo999.livejournal.com]

The breeding is a big problem in Thoroughbreds. Someone on my flist said that Eight Belles was extremely inbred and one of the big problems of her line was shattering bones.

I think that is a huge reason there has been no Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and the those days of Settle Slew, Man O War, War Admiral, and Secretariat has passed.

And now with what happened to Barbaro in the 2006 Preakness which ended with his life ending last summer and now with Eight Belles maybe racing should end.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

There definitely needs to be some positive breeding out of the elfin legs. And stopping of racing so young. Thoroughbreds grow up to have very strong legs (they are now the favourite breed for three-day eventing, when many people said that their legs wouldn't stand up to it, but they have) but not when they are so young.

You probably know that all thoroughbreds can trace their bloodlines back to just three stallions, so the gene pool isn't that big to start with!

[zipcity.livejournal.com]

in civilian life a horse is never "backed" (given a rider) before it is three, and you'd never consider doing much more athletic with it for a year at least. Baby bones just aren't up to it.

Unfortunately I am seeing more and more people backing their horses at 2, and galloping around on them doing spins and chasing cows etc. at 2 - 3. :( When my young ones were 2, I kept looking at them and wondering how on earth anyone in their right mind could possibly think of riding them. They were still such babies!

Anyway, yes, agree with you completely about racing. Poor horses.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Argh - that's awful. Even when we did back horses at three, it wasn't even with an adult!

They are babies, and they deserve a baby life before they have to grow up.

[zipcity.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

And a lot of these are not only adults, but large, heavy men. So awful.

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

I saw that this morning and it made me just sick. I'm really not a horse lover, not a hater or anything, I've just been fairly indifferent. Still I wonder how something that seems so obviously senseless and cruel to an outsider can have continued for so long. I don't mean racing per se, I mean trying to race horses that are too young. I guess I always thought that race horses would be venerated and cared for like the amazing athletes they are and I feel stupid and naive right now.

I like dressage too. But maybe not for hours. Oh, it sounds like your Frenchman had a 'National Velvet' moment... sigh. I love those.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It surprised me that it got so much attention, as it's not at all the first - that Post article says that there's a high percentage of deaths, but I find it wrong that there should be bone problems rather than problems we can't anticipate like a heart attack or burst blood vessel.

I think they are cared for - in fact I know they are, for the vast proportion of the trade, at least. Most particularly by the stable boys and girls who worship the ground they walk on, but it's the mind-set - framed long ago (back in the 1700's) - that it's ok to race horses so young. The early thoroughbreds were very different horses to the elfin creatures we have today.

I know. I'm a dressage geek.

He really did - it was EXACTLY like that. He galloped around the ring about four times (which is really not done, old bean) and then burst into tears. I loved it. :)

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

oh, sigh... makes me almost... clears throat.

[tharain.livejournal.com]

Oh, love the emotive Frech horseman story. =-)

And lovely icon!!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It was very... I shed a unmanly tear.

And I KNOW. Sex on TOAST.

[ermyne.livejournal.com]

Huh - Badminton. Also, did I blink and miss the Frenchman's cross-country round? Were they too busy filming English riders falling into ponds, perchance?

I feel guilty watching it, I admit. The courses are so fiendish I wonder whether morally it's really any better than racing (the commentator's drivel about the prize money in the show-jumping was a disgrace to the sport, btw). I saw Zara practically carrying her horse at the end of the cross-country phase - I couldn't watch for fear he would fall but the youngster got her home safely, which was more than she deserved. I noticed quite a few horses pull up with exhaustion - or fall at fences because they were too tired to judge the jump. So while I wish it was televised properly, I can't help thinking horses are being put at risk for the sake of the prize money/ gambling/ sponsorship / television rights, and for that reason I'd rather it was taken off altogether.

As an aside, what is it with totally moronic dog-owners allowing their animals to run amok on a cross-country course? Either barking their stupid heads off or actually chasing after the horses? Are we seeing dog-owners going the way of parents, acting like discipline and common courtesy are optional extras?

And I can't help finishing with a dressage-related rant (channelling Conversano Dagmar): they don't televise the dressage because the vast bulk of the audience take no interest in it - and the few that do would suffer severe heartburn watching a British dressage competition. The over-bending! the dragged-in noses and the trailing hocks! But why bother learning to do it properly when no one cares anyway, and it takes so much longer? I don't know if Rollkur has reached these shores (probably not, since dressage seems to be regarded as a dreadfully namby-pamby sport in the UK) but I receive the impression that whatever the discipline, a horse is expected to start paying for itself as soon as possible, regardless of wind or limb. And regardless of the individual horse's ability. Probably the shortcuts they take in dressage are the least harmful instances of this.

I've been watching the same group of youngsters at the Spanish Riding School for about five years now, from their arrival aged 4. They're the same age, and the same intake. But they're physically very different, and their abilities are different. The star pupil is a star indeed, having already mastered the campagne schools and now he occasionally appears in shows working between the pillars, with skills few horses can master. Meanwhile, after years of stumping round the School going straight forward and looking like he should be pulling a cart, the largest and dimmest member of the class has suddenly blossomed into a beautiful dressage horse. With physical maturity and thoughtful, sympathetic training he has mastered the use of his long, beefy legs, and developed his balance and strength to the point where he is ready to begin lateral work, piaffe, and passage. He is a joy to watch, not the least for the preternaturally serious expression on his face as he successfully executes a half-pass. Der süße!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'm so jealous that you are able to watch the SRS. *sigh*

I think the four star events are a lot safer now than they used to be - they've done away with the steeplechases and the roads and tracks and I think the exhaustion part can only be a fault of the preparation, as you see the horses who are actually prepared by the riders themselves seem to do better than the ones who just have "jockeys" - you never see Mary King's horses dragging itself round. I was furious with Zara Phillips - she bloody well should have been stopped by the judges. I cheered when the other man - who's horse suddenly ran out of petrol immediately leapt off and resigned. That shows a great deal of difference in the two attitudes.

We never see dressage on the tv here - not terrestrial tv anyway. I love it and wish we did. It's like watching a great pianist or something (when done by a master) because I know what's gone into it, even if I will never ever be able to do it. I don't think it's considered namby pamby, I just don't think people understand it. "But the rider's not doing anything!"

Wrong!

[ermyne.livejournal.com]

Yes, Zara was excruciating and I couldn't understand why she didn't pull up. There was no way that horse would have been fit for the next day anyway, considering the state he was in, so why not withdraw? I too was impressed by the other man whose horse ran out of petrol at the same fence, so he immediately stopped. I think an Englishman, but I didn't see his name.

I think you are right about the preparation too - it was baffling because some horses seemed to get round the course without too much difficulty and others were practically passing out by the end. They're clearly not fit (and/or mature)enough to take part. But why let a minor detail like that stop you? @@

I like dressage. No horse was ever hurt performing dressage (well all right I once saw P. Aquileja do a belly-flop when attempting a capriole but luckily he was unhurt, just embarrassed)(and I don't think caprioles are required in competition riding!) You should definitely visit the School. It's much easier now everything's online and I really prefer a display to a competition. The goal being perfection, not prize money :^P)

I'm nipping over on Wednesday and will be attending the training to see how everyone's getting along. Training is fascinating; almost more so than the shows. There's a hard-core of UK/US/Australian bozos who go all the time and right anoraks we are - but it is lovely! One of the Chief Riders has an English-language discussion group with news and photos (see http://groups.msn.com/HorsesAndDressage)

[lyras.livejournal.com]

You've just outlined why horse-racing makes me so uncomfortable while I quite like watching eventing (and you're right, why is it never on telly?). I have no interest in watching something in which the chances are that a horse will be injured, sometimes so badly that it has to be put down. I'll never understand the excitement over the Grand National, and people are the same about the Melbourne Cup over here.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It always used to be shown, and shown over two days too - and with the satellite channels surely it wouldn't be hard to televise the whole lot for people who want to see it - after all the poor commentators sit there and commentate the whole thing that no-one sees.

i don't like the National, either.

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[jean-roberta.livejournal.com]

I am confused, possibly because I'm not British.

I thought the Derby at Epsom was by far the most popular event in the racing year? Where tix are sold almost a year in advance? Where Audrey Hepburn, playing Eliza Doolittle in the classic musical, "My Fair Lady," yells "Move yer bloomin arse!" at the horse on whom she has bet a few shillings (worth more in 1905).

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Possibly it is the biggest event in the racing year, but Badminton isn't racing, of course. But it is the actually (I checked today) the third largest outdoor spectator sport in the world - after the Indy 500 and the Indy trials.