tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post8982700964196308952..comments2024-02-29T09:31:25.294-05:00Comments on camera-obscura: wrapping up this week's discussionbilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-47465111223013379862010-03-01T15:07:17.492-05:002010-03-01T15:07:17.492-05:00jme, thanks for adding your thoughts, which I beli...jme, thanks for adding your thoughts, which I believe are important to consider, and true.<br /><br />The top trainer treating horses like expensive cars being garaged in between competitions makes me physically ill, and the idea that they should not get more b/c they would then expect more... is in my mind evidence of a demented mind.<br /><br />I know this is not uncommon, and yet it seems so alien to me it's hard to believe such a mentality even exists outside some kind of horror movie. :/<br /><br />The saddest part of it all is that it is ultimately so illogical.<br /><br />Surely anyone with half a brain can see that a happy, healthy, naturally kept horse is going to perform better, have less injuries, and live a longer, more productive life. And yet the garaged mentality persists. It's almost as if people who keep/use horses this way WANT to throw money at expensive bloodlines, expensive vet bills, and the costs of competing - in exchange for a few ribbons, trophies, and some notoriety, which surely can't be all that widespread. Most average people couldn't name a winning rider if their lives depended on it.<br /><br />I'm heading back out to the barn to rig up the wheelbarrow with new nuts and bolts, representing the $10. or so I spent today so I can move manure into compost piles, move some trimmed tree branches, and perhaps haul some mature compost up to top off my waiting piles.<br /><br />While I do that there will be four horses and two donkeys milling around, trying to investigate everything I do, in between grazing hay, walking around the back field and paddock and arena, and being equines. <br /><br />I hope some day this kind of life is the norm for horses. Thanks for your contribution - I'll look for more as you get a chance!billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-84574108685442318852010-03-01T14:43:13.718-05:002010-03-01T14:43:13.718-05:00hey, i'm just catching up (i have to admit wit...hey, i'm just catching up (i have to admit with some guilt that i mostly read and comment on little breaks at work, and with the non-stop snow all last week, i never made it into work!)<br /><br />i'll have more to add, but i'm struck by the association of inhumane (imo) management practices and inhumane riding. they have always seemed to go hand in hand, and perhaps it is more than a superficial connection...<br /><br />sure, the logic behind keeping horses imprisoned 24 hours a day in a stall is because they are too valuable to risk injury (not to mention, you can pack a lot more horses onto a farm when you don't have to accommodate them with pasture, which of course means more $$$.) <br /><br />but what makes these horses so 'valuable'? showing. my horses may not be olympic stars, but they are very valuable to me. yet, even when we were competing, somehow we always managed to turn our expensive show horses out for most of the day, and have even competed horses straight from the field. in fact, in my experience, particularly when i was doing rehabs on those same valuable horses, it was the very fact of their confinement that predisposed them to injury, either because they lacked the constant movement that conditions the body better than any intensive 1 hour session could, or because they would make the most of their hour of turnout freedom by going nuts and stressing themselves.<br /><br />but one 'top' trainer (and one who used questionable training methods as well) gave me a disturbing insight into the no-turnout mentality. he told me he didn't turn his horses out because then they'd come to expect it when, in truth, they existed only to travel the show circuit where that was a luxury they didn't have. so they might as well get used to it all the time. he concluded that the horses should live to be ridden, and find the only relief from their imprisonment in work. he treated them like expensive cars parked in garages until it was time to take them on the road. they were nothing more than his vehicles to fame and fortune. <br /><br />i think the two philosophies spring from the same flawed mentality: the ends justify the means and the the good of the horse matters only so far as it affects performance. trainers that don't turn out immediately send up red flags for me for that very reason, because it usually follows that the training will also be about ends justifying means.jmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04295140724737185132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-54470813917145042412010-02-28T20:40:01.405-05:002010-02-28T20:40:01.405-05:00Nacho, love the photo and also the paddock paradis...Nacho, love the photo and also the paddock paradise. We have considered that method of keeping our horses, and may still do it at some point. I love the way yours sounds!<br /><br />Thanks for the birthday info... :)billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-57802610040332402922010-02-28T20:37:21.325-05:002010-02-28T20:37:21.325-05:00Kate, thanks for your comment AND the award - I so...Kate, thanks for your comment AND the award - I so appreciate it.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-66766751397735388762010-02-28T20:36:50.632-05:002010-02-28T20:36:50.632-05:00Claire, I know there are times when some horses mu...Claire, I know there are times when some horses must be kept in - I think when it's the regular routine, it's not a good thing.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-40886046492781701062010-02-27T08:11:54.188-05:002010-02-27T08:11:54.188-05:00I have been following the comments this week but a...I have been following the comments this week but as a back yard horse person and having no experience in dressage I felt it best to leave the discussion to people who know what they are talking about. In my limited experience with showing, I felt the comments showed some very good steps to take to better the life of these wonderful animals.<br /><br />I have been keeping my horses outside for the last ten years. I have a small acreage which is made into a "paddock paradise". The property is made into a track around the perimeter that leads into the shelter of the trees. The trees stop the wind and they have a run in shed they can go into if they choose. I feed bits of hay all around the track so they are constantly moving. I got a horse two years ago that had navicular and with a barefoot trim and constant movement has been sound for a year. No more thrush or colic.<br /><br />We live in southern Ontario and they are quite happy and healthy without all the things I used to put on them....bandages, blankets, shoes with corks (no need when they are barefoot), hoof dressings etc.<br /><br />Billie, just to let you know, my fiftieth birthday was the most difficult. I thought as you that half my life is over but gradually started to think that the second half was just beginning!! Sixty was a breeze!Nachodonkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977220686379376054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-77777004802844531092010-02-26T15:22:00.491-05:002010-02-26T15:22:00.491-05:00Award for you over at my blog - no obligation!Award for you over at my blog - no obligation!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-64378316298504407892010-02-26T14:48:56.481-05:002010-02-26T14:48:56.481-05:00Very good series of posts - and you're correct...Very good series of posts - and you're correct about horsekeeping and competitive practices, too. Thanks for taking on this FEI dialog - I think it was very productive, if only to keep a conversation going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-68371195379962514352010-02-26T14:33:04.363-05:002010-02-26T14:33:04.363-05:00on the turnout front - when you have no grass, and...on the turnout front - when you have no grass, and are not allowed to put any hay out in the field, which is in any event also a mudbath....<br /><br />you keep them in.<br /><br />perils of not having one's own place... :-)Clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02888698683201580237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-7943352005833644502010-02-26T12:20:07.741-05:002010-02-26T12:20:07.741-05:00Arlene, being a grandmother comes first!
Perhaps...Arlene, being a grandmother comes first! <br /><br />Perhaps you should make a little video to go along with Baby Einstein that shows j and yourself riding correctly, kindly, and beautifully - indoctrinate from the very beginning! :)<br /><br />And feel free to add comments later on, when you are not taking care of young people!billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-12242225654543875632010-02-26T12:13:27.904-05:002010-02-26T12:13:27.904-05:00Sorry I didn't get a chance to comment yesterd...Sorry I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday. Things are rather hectic here for me as I'm watching my 9 month old granddaughter for this entire week while her parents are away. I'm trying to keep up but it's a struggle. I've got a break now as we're watching Baby Einstein.<br /><br />I like your take on everything and agree with you completely. I especially like your thought of 'do no harm'. If we are to be our horses caretakers we should all strive to do no harm and advocate for them as much as we can responsibly and through the right channels. Yes, I get very angry with the way horses are treated before, during and after competitions. I think it's not a great life for a horse and we should make it the least stressful for them as possible. I'm sure they would rather be home with their buddies playing in the fields. As for the mistreatment of horses at show and beyond if we can educate more young riders the way you have with your daughter, I feel that's a good start. We should keep the dialogue open with the FEI and other organizations and if we treat them with a modicum of respect and keep a civil tongue some things may change. I'm always hopeful, but skeptical about most governing bodies. <br /><br />Great series of posts, sorry I couldn't add much this week.Grey Horse Mattershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05837575441967937196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-63330011971882722342010-02-26T12:03:22.163-05:002010-02-26T12:03:22.163-05:00Lynda, although the issues in dressage competition...Lynda, although the issues in dressage competition and dressage riding in general have taken up most of my "advocacy" energy these past months, humane horsekeeping is probably equal in my heart as an issue that needs our attention and focus.<br /><br />When I see horses in stalls for more hours than not in a 24-hour period, I am reminded of those beautiful little Siamese fighting fish I often see in pet stores, in tiny containers so small they can only swim in little circles.<br /><br />It breaks my heart. I always want to buy all of them and give them big tanks filled with plants and whatever it is they encounter in a natural habitat. But of course that would simply drive the breeders (who in the world is it that breeds those little fish and packages them in those tiny containers?) to breed more.<br /><br />So they swim in circles until they are bought or they die. I always see many floating dead. And I always force myself to look b/c I need to remind myself, as painful as it is, that we as a society have SO MUCH TO LEARN about how to treat our animals, our children, our elders, and to be honest, each other.<br /><br />Sorry to get maudlin here, but maybe since it's week's end and I'm getting ready to turn 50 (which I am seeing as the exact mid-point of my life for some reason) I can be forgiven! :)billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-88408709982076275342010-02-26T10:52:47.840-05:002010-02-26T10:52:47.840-05:00I'm so with you on the issue of turnout. My li...I'm so with you on the issue of turnout. My little TB was a racehorse, who came from a trainer who believes in allowing horses to be horses & turns them out in herds together. <br /><br />As a result, Dennis has always known he's a horse & how to behave around other horses. While he can be a little toad about testing rules, he has no issues about being caught, stabled or travelled to shows; coz he knows he's always coming back to hois safe base.<br /><br />I compare him to a friend's top class showjumpers; who only ever get turned out for an hour a day & always alone, coz they are "worth too much to risk injury." Sure, compared to mine, they are all immaculately groomed & schooled. They also all have weaving bars above their stable doors and shared tendancies to bite, kick and barge at both people and other horses.<br /><br />I know which I prefer!Dougie Donkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01581014133834593015noreply@blogger.com