Dressage Disaster: Cathrine Dufour Eliminated From Grand Prix Special 

Hirse said no and the judges said no not her

Horses are COMPLETELY mistreated in the horse community. ENOUGH SAID!!

She did what she could to calm him but she was timed out and eliminated by the judges.

Checking bend? That was the rollkur training coming out. He had his nose on his chest at several moments. Then he violently shook his head up and down. That is a clear signal of great discomfort or pain. He had finally had " enough ". That horse didn't spook. He refused to go forward and endure any more pain. The problem with rollkur training is how cruel it is. When a rider has to resort to these tactics then they should be banned from competition. Isabel Wirth is another example. Has anyone really watched her ride? She is bouncing in the saddle & her horse is a rigid yet she is considered the " queen " of dressage and is a user of the rollkur method. It's abuse sanctioned by FEI.

@@jonjonwp Granted she seemed patient and kind. BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Now take a real close look at the hyper extension of this horses neck. It's a tell. The horse does it even when he isn't asked too. That horse was trained with rollkur and he simply said he wasn't going to take it anymore. If there is nothing wrong with rollkur, why not use it in the ring? The Europeans (Dutch, Germans) keep using Rollkur. I'm getting sick of it. I see Isabelle Werth taking all the awards and quite frankly she doesn't ride have as good as other riders and her horses are not nearly as nice. She rides stiffly, bounces in the saddle and her horses do not look relaxed. There are so many riders who ride correctly, keeping their horses trained in traditional dressage methods. They use careful training methods which takes time to strengthen muscles. But traditional training builds muscle with repeated, steady, kind and ethical means keeping a horse happy and comfortable in his work. People who use rollkur should be banned from competition. Horses should not have their necks cranked around in a cruel, unnatural position. Reminds me of western methods where they tie a horse's head up inside a stall for hours at a time in order to make the horse lower his neck. Rollkur, falsely and inhumanely makes a horse put his neck & head in painful positioning. It's disgusting. It keeps cropping up throughout the video.. additionally right around the 40 second mark of the video, he violently tosses his head up. That is a sign of anger and pain. I think in his case it's both. There is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional and should not have that severe a reaction. Excuses are being made for his behavior, when,the horse is aactually a victim. It is a sign of the abuse horses are continuing under. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Watch the horse carefully. Once the initial so-called " spook " took place, he etermined he was going no further. He was not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward, towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore; just as a child who is abused begins to act out, horses will do the same. But they have no voice except if we listen. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. They take years to develop horses because you can't have a true dressage horse overnight. Nor can you manufacture the look: c4 qThe horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

Well, she wasn't listening because he wasn't all right.

@@janets6474 From the back of a horse, that feels like spooking. She did the right thing by asking the horse forward. She didn't push or punish, she asked softly. Checking for bend is NOT the same thing as rollkur. Rollkur is not a moment in time where the chest meets the nose, it is a prolonged training style. Otherwise, my horse would be rollkuring himself when he uses his teeth to scratch his chest. She clearly checks left and right bend. She asked, he gave his answers and she backed off. In a moment lioe that, you always try to give the horse time to settle down. She did good. Had the horse actually been in pain, the behavior would have continued even after she turned away from the trigger. Let's not pretend like we see something that simply isn't there. 😉

Was it because of her standing on the road to the Olympics? (I'm not a dressage or competitive rider)

Maybe because it took so long for her to decide to call it a day. Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

@@beannamated No. Maybe because it took so long for her to decide to call it a day. A rider shoukd make that decision before a judge makes it for you. CLEARLY there was something not right with her horse. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. He/she is not looking at one particular thing. The horse just wants nothing to do with going in the ring. While she tried to regain control, the horses chin is almost touching the neck. It was an indication something was really wrong. When a horse is extremely sore, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a minute or two, if her horse continued, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what many competitors do is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

Maybe because it took so long for her to decide to call it a day. Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

It's a series title used by the channel when things don't go well.

enjoyable video but why the distracting music. in order to watch i had to shut down audio

Agreed the music is distracting and adds nothing to the video a job for the mute button

Why the disgusting noise that some have the temerity to call music?

Exactly, it’s just a video of a horse having an off day and his rider trying to calm him down. No need to sensationalise it with a click bait title and awful music.

Let him be a horse?? Maybe

love the you-tube trainers.... :/ I think we all know this. The horse was spooked by something. (judges booth perhaps?) and she handled it well.

The only thing this horse was telling his rider is that he was going to be a complete tool.

Yup. That horse is in pain. Mine acted very similar when his back started aching. Ive retired him now as its from years of previous owners using ill-fitted saddles on him and theres not really much to do about it

@@lottejensen5028 girl this was his first competition after a year. Bohemian is/was not in pain, he was just spooked. Cathrine adressed this, their last show went great and they got second.

The way he throws his head, is not just a little spook

I respectfully disagree. Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

@@janets6474 I May not know all the details as I wasn’t there with them but yes, it was a refusal for sure. I don’t agree with you though, she handled it very well. Most professional riders push the horse forward, kick them, pull on reins and make them go further. She, however, gently asked him to go anyways, didn’t fight with him as most would do. She’s also stressed and cares for the competition, but she didn’t fight with the horse. You don’t know what happened - it seemed that something was hurting him, so it may not necessarily have been a training issue but rather something that happened there, some ache, maybe an unexpected injury. How do you know they didn’t call a vet later?

@@annalatrocka680 you have valid points. But the rollkur method of training could be the cause of that pain. At around 1:38 on the video she's pulling pulling not yanking) his head all the way to the left then right and the horse reacted immediately Ina negative manner. At approx 1:50, she turns him back going toward the judges stand again. But the turn was made in the rollkur. You are right I don't know they didn't have the vet check him later. My point was the decision to scrap this part of the completion happened far to late. I suspect by looking at him the warm up may have also had indicators of potential problems.

@@janets6474 I rewatched this. It’s not rolkur. She’s pulling him to the side, look at her hands, she’s giving him space. The horse is in clear distress, it’s hard for him to listen to her commands at that moment and most likely put his head closer to his neck from the stiffness and didn’t want to look in the spooky direction nor go there, therefor his head ended up in that position. Mind that it’s just few seconds of the video, if she would constantly do that I would react differently. Also see that that was one of her “last chance” reaction, she was in distress herself and a lot of pressure. For that pressure I think she reacted well. Why she reacted so late? I do agree that was a mistake, she should have reacted earlier, dismount or whatever. That was too late. But also let’s remember that horses will be horses. And the same applies to humans, she’s only a human, they make mistakes. Such pressure, big competition, something goes wrong - maybe even she had a bad day as well and it ended up that way. I wouldn’t hate on an actually good rider for one minor mistake. I’ve seen many riders riding horses in such situation and she’s the very first one I just feel sorry for, not angry at.

@@annalatrocka680 I don't disagree with your observations. I also agree that we are just looking at a couple of minutes in time and yes we are all humans. I'm sure she could have felt insecure with a horse reacting like that. But I stand by my conclusion the horse was not spooking and the rider trains under rollkur. Granted, her trainer may have guided her using this method and maybe not as severe. It seems like with anything there are extremes ( Isabel Werth for instance). But pulling on the horses head like that with two bits in his mouth was certainly not helping. Maybe part of his problem was bitting (?). Anyway, we agree on some things and not so much on others. But enjoyed the conversation!

We’ve all had similar experiences. Horses gonna horse

She did, but it was in a public and tbh I've never seen a horse act this way without a reason, usually some king of pain.

@@SuperLucifix Hello from Kansas! Someone downthread said that it was their first test in an outdoor arena since 2019, and that it was one of the judges that he was spooking at. I am so very, very impressed which how tactfully and kindly she handled his spook. I loved that she kept giving him encouraging neck pats. My (halter-bred, sigh) beloved gelding is very smart and sweet and affectionate and agile but is VERY hot and reactive and spooky. I think that maybe I relate a bit too much to this video, LOL

@@californianinkansas the young horse did indeed spook at the judge. Because of his age he is more prone to that

@@animallover4101 well, if that was the case he would’ve done it before right? And his mouth is closed and quiet, wouldn’t he at least open it when it hurts or discomforts him ? This horse is obviously scared, seeing how and when he reacts.

@@claudia273 His mouth is most definitely not closed and quiet. Zoom in and see.

@@jonjonwp the moments that matter are 0:16 and somewhere around 1:55 , that’s where he starts. On these moments his mouth and her hands are calm. It is common sense that whenever the panic is already there, any pressure at all results in more panic. That’s how every animal and human reacts in case of panic. So when she seeks contact while he is panicking, to get him towards ‘the scary thing’, he starts rearing or whatever he thinks is necessary. There is another moment where she sits forward and pets him, where there is contact between her hand and the bit, here he doesn’t panic. That’s because he knows at that moment he does not have to do the thing he does not want to do/is afraid to do. If he had pain somewhere he had reacted there and before his ‘rampage’.

@@claudia273 Don’t agree at all. I made my assessment.

@@jonjonwp that’s fine, but it is simply how horses react. Like I said, why didn’t he do it before and exactly at that moment? Why did he stop when he went the other way and started again going towards that side of the arena?

Totally unrelated question and out of curiosity since I keep seeing this more and more (and I'm not a native English speaker): is this a new thing to use "should of" or "couldn't of" instead of "should have" and "couldn't have" or is this an auto-correct feature that just happens?

@@angelikakoch-mehrin406 It is a colloquialism; not really considered correct.

It’s a mistake that a lot of people are making now. It definitely should be HAVE not OF

@@angelikakoch-mehrin406 It's a mistake, people hear should've as should of and believe that's how it's written.

Sorry to see the horse so upset bless

Shut up & troll another page

Saying you know nothing about horses without telling me you have zero understanding about horses. 😂

Pretty shit choice of music to put the video to. Silence or the sounds of the show itself would have been a better choice

Exactly. The amount of people who can't see that and even praise the rider is depressing.

Das sehe ich auch so, aber sie bleibt stur sitzen.

The horse spooked. He is young and that happens. She handled it lovely. You know nothing about horses.

But this horse is a very seasoned professional. I respectfully disagree. It took to long for her to decide to call it a day. Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

@@janets6474 this horse is young. Not a prof yet

@@janets6474 I understand what you are saying. However, without being able to see the warm up, the horse on other days, etc. I can't necessarily agree with you. I would think that most top level horses are treated like gold. With so many amazing treatments available (horse chiropractors, equine body workers, state of the art diagnostic equipment, shockwave treatments, ice boots and healing blankets, aqua therapy, etc., etc.) I believe any physical ailment would have been noticed, diagnosed, and treated. I don't ride at Olympic level, but from personal experience I loved and rode a horse that had serious physical talent but would sometimes reach a point where he would say "no". It would be as another person commented, 'trigger stacking', which term I never heard before but, but I understand because this describes my horse. For example, at one show, we went to our warm-up arena on day 2 (day 1 and day 3 were fine). On this day there was a roping dummy (looks like a fake cow with horns but no legs) along our route, and my horse took exception to that-he was terrified! I calmed him down, and we took a different route to our arena. We started warming up, no problem. After a few minutes, a clinic started in the arena next to us, and suddenly there were 3 or 4 horses galloping around at liberty. Yes, this worried my horse again! I let him have a few minutes to assess what was going on, and we were able to continue our warm up. I could feel that he was tense, but we were working through it and he started to relax again. At this point, a man came out of a nearby barn with two very fuzzy miniature horses; they looked like little bears. The man tied them outside the barn and left. My horse had enough. He halted, got light in front (lifting his front legs in preparation to rearing), and started trembling. I needed him to go forward, but he decided to back up, and back up, and back up. I didn't fight him, and he backed almost the entire length of a large arena, out the gate, past a restroom, and past several barns. I got him to stop, and walked him forward a little. He was still tense, so I walked him around the showgrounds until he calmed down and we were done for the day. After the first two 'upsets' we were still able to regroup and could have continued with our show. This behavior wasn't a physical problem- he was checked, re-checked, vetted, taken care of on a regular basis, etc. This was my horse's personality. He got better with time and was able to handle more pressure. So, if this horse is like mine, I think this rider was giving this horse a chance to calm down, and continue. Simply giving up at the first instance of the horse being upset wouldn't be beneficial training. I guess I'm saying that while I agree that horses will balk at working if they are in pain, they can also balk for other reasons.

@@GoToPhx Horses never lie. My experience taught me to watch h the horse. If horses refuse in any manner, if their behavior or attitude is altered, there is ALWAYS something physical behind it. It's our job to figure it out, know our horses regular behavior to get to Health issues before the escalate. I would make note of each horses urine output & color, poop output & texture, how they ate their meals, how they behaved in the field, what was their behavior with other horses and how they were when handled. In almost all cases I figured it out. My boarding barn was known for its care of horses. When you SEE bad behavior there is something wrong; especially to this degree. That's why I am so emphatic with my opinions. While spooking can happen to any horse, st times, that is even a sign. We had a horse that hot " girthy " & after sometime the owner figured to call the vet. The vet came and diagnoses epm. The horse rec mess & is healed.

... Are you stupid? The horse spooked at the judge. He is very young and she handled it fine without pulling on the reins. Not even a little

@@ShikadaiNara10 I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with horses.

@@jeanwierzbinski7610 I'm guessing that you don't ride at anywhere near this level?

Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

He is inexperienced. He is still young and they were off show for awhile so it was his first in a long period of time

@@ShikadaiNara10 then she should still have not put the pressure on and let him leave. Obviously not ready and not coping with situation.

@@allisonhulley5970 no because the horse Will take advantage of that the next time. Thinking he'll always be allowed to leave if he refuses. She is a Grand prix Rider. She knows her horse better than your internet trainer ass does.

@@ShikadaiNara10 no actually, he is not that young of a horse if he is competing at that level. He is just out of his depth and should be allowed to retire. Tomorrow’s another day and she can work on the problems she’s having another day.Horses retire/leave the ring all the times in shows. What happens if he’s eliminated? Does he get to stay and sort things out? I have trained many actual young horses and it’s not always the answer to make a horse perform until he gets it right. Sometimes the answer is to let the horse do something more relaxing and let him keep his confidence. This is the equivalent of “over facing” a horse just the same as what happens in jumping horses of which I am also familiar with.

It's not the bridle that's the issue - if his mouth was that sensitive to having two bits, he wouldn't even have made it to this competition since the bridle is mandatory at this level (and therefore, the horse would have already been trained in one) - the horse was having a bad day and didn't want to go in the ring. Happens to human athletes of all levels, too.

The rider handle her horse kindly and with respect. For those who think that these horses are treated badly, you are way off base. They are loved, cared for, and respected for their talents and enjoy working and doing their best for their riders . This was just a day when this horse was spooked or upset about something and the rider was kind enough to listen.

My thoughts exactly. It's almost like we shouldn't be rewarding riders for breaking FEI rules and jacking their horses' heads behind the verticle.

@@GilraenTook She didn't

@@ShikadaiNara10 She did.

@@Cassado98 she didn't.

@@ShikadaiNara10 When the horse went back his head was behind the vertical. Also in walk. That‘s a fact.

This was the first show of the horse after a very long vacation. 😉

Yep, very overstressed..head jammed up even with her light hands. Makes it very hard for the horse to actually see and becomes very unbalanced. I would not allow a horse that is bent like that in the ring. You often wonder when you see them if they have achieved this past the perpendicular in the natural way.

that's actually not true. Horses can still run normal with their head. She just asked him to hold it like that for dressage and it goes back to normal after. The bits don't hurt if you use them correctly

@@ShikadaiNara10 you miss my point, he's being held in an unnatural position which he would not do of his own choice

@@elliehensey7691 you can't force horses to do things. Ofcourse they wont do this in the wild but they have for centuries since dressage was used age's ago in the time of princesses and knights. They also used dressage in the army. So horses are used to that. They aren't thought those movements in the wild but if you look at fighting scènes of wild Mustangs you can still kinda see them

@@ShikadaiNara10 theres a difference between wild horses bowing up momentarily and a human holding so much pressure with harsh bits that the horses chin is on his neck and hes staring at the ground, you're trying to justify this damaging frame for horses?

@@ShikadaiNara10 plus the medieval thinking of using metal in sensitive places for control is exactly what I'm against, just because it's been done for centuries doesn't mean it's right..

He spooked because of a judge :) That's a fact they are not machines and shouldnt be treated as such. She handled it lovely

Or ..... there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

The music was added to the video. It's not actually playing at the competition. LOL. Goodness.

As you said: a dog is not a horse. If they perceive danger, they flee... if they get in excape-mode one has to show them, that there is somebody on their back. She acted as well as she could and one can see the connection between them. There is nothing with pain. btw she used the reins simply as guideposts.

In addition, a panicked horse is looking for for guidance from his leader(the rider) that everything is ok. She tried to avert his gaze from the predatory stare of onlookers going up and down the stairs (could you have waited maybe a minute or two for your hot dog??) and did a good job of assuring him that they were no threat but then, who knows? A fleeting horse is a loaded gun firing in the air - it will injure himself, his rider, onlookers, etc. A career, years of work and talent, and millions of dollars, gone.

@@anschano6575 when I said it was "painful to watch" I meant for me, not necessarily that I thought the horse was in any pain. I just wondered why she kept asking him to perform instead of "releasing" (maybe that is just a term we use in dogs?) him from the exercise and allowing him to walk naturally? That is what I found to be painful. The animal is obviously stressed and she seemed to keep asking him to perform. She had him stand a couple of times for a split second. I feel for her, as I know what it is like to be in the ring and have your animal partner not want to cooperate with you.

@@NikoleTutton If a "fleeting horse is a loaded gun firing in the air" then wouldn't that be all the more reason to release the animal from the exercises and just guide him out of the area? Or was the horse just doing those gaits on his own? Sorry if I sound judgemental, I am just trying to understand the choices that she was making and why. I am a former 4-H kid, so animal husbandry, behavior, training, breeding, etc is sort of my thing that I am into.

@@rebeccaotis8056 it is tough to know what she is thinking but that horse is not cooperating. The one thing I know is that she is calming him. Horses are completely different than humans and canines when stressed they look to the herd for guidance. This horse has no herd. The rider is his herd and is trying her best to say to him "I got you. It's OK." and walk him out? Compete? She knows that horse best. However he was too irrational to listen for a time. It happens. She did what any good rider would. I know that is is very difficult to make a horse walk when he has that much adrenaline running through his veins. I usually point his nose in the other direction and do some big circles or canter, get his mind thinking about other things and blow off steam. But in that enclosed space, sheesh. She's got. my vote for cool head of the year.

maybe you should shut up

When Dressage is done nicely then it should be harmonious and horse friendly but nowadays the Dressage isn't what it use to be.... People should learn about biomechanics first not just try to shut up other people who do not like overpressured ways..

@@helenijuht1938 the horse industrie always has bad sides. But that does not mean the sport shouldnt exist. I ride dressage to. The rider handled his spook just fine so op's comment is out of place.

she didn't yank on the reins at all. The horse calmed down because he was allowed to go back to a place he feels more safe in the end. The young horse spooked

shut up

Like a movie of something

She uses the bit correctly so it doesn't hurt. It's a very young horse and he got spooked by the judge

They're a living being, not a robot.

That's a great analogy

Well, yes, but this was not a green horse's first show by a long shot. Any individual, human or animal, has an "off" day, this was his.

Horses get spooked all the time. No need to feel sorry

no he did spook. He is a very young horse so tends to spook more often at stressfull things like this

Oh, it's definitely scared, scared of the pain it's experiencing.

This horse is in pain, it is not merely having a bad day. If you sent your child to school and it behaved like that would you simply dismiss it as them having a bad day?

Maybe a months holiday and hacking to get him mentally in balance again.

The young horse just spooked

The young horse spooked because of the judge

The young horse spooked because of a judge. They aren't allowed to go from another side. She handled it well

Duh

Her hands looked pretty forward to me

The young horse spooked because of a judge

@@ShikadaiNara10 sad....but that's horses for you !

@@que2h.690 True. Some spook at nothing but that little thing really does scare them 😂

Kitty my dear, absolutely correct. To me, that is what this horse was saying beyond a shadow of doubt.

he got spooked because of a judge. He is young and still in training it happens

If you really believe that, then I don't believe that you have even sat on a horse.

it's a very young horse. He spooked because of the judge. She takes such great care of her horses and would never push them to far

The bit doesn't hurt if used correctly

@@ShikadaiNara10 what do you mean?

@@vibeskouenborg6842 If you use a bit like it should be used (not pulling on it) and just use it to have clearer communication with your horse it's fine. And it doesn't hurt.

@@ShikadaiNara10 okay yes, but do you mean it is what happens here?

@@vibeskouenborg6842 yes she was very soft and didn't pull on the bit at all. She even moved her hands forward when he was throwing his head around making sure he didn't accidently hurt himself by pulling the bit down.

Bohemian was cleared at the vet check. He was spooked about one of the boxes

Your mouth theory is a good one.Granted she seemed patient and kind BUT clearly there was something not right with her horse. Some riders and trainers seem to be kind and patient yet can ignore simple signs that something is wrong. It ends up being "a training issue ". Also, there is a lot of pressure on this pair to get to the Olympics. This horse is a seasoned professional. So a reaction this extreme should raise a red flag. I don't really buy the explanation the horse " spooked " at the scoreboard. It's not really a "spook" either. It was a refusal. Was the horse sick? Was it the back or hocks? I've seen horses with that kind of reaction with serious hock and back issues. The horse knows what will happen in the ring and what's expected - especially when the horse just went through the warm up. Also, watch the horse carefully. Once the initial " spook " is over with it wasn't going any further but not really looking at anything in particular. The horse just wants nothing to do with going forward towards the entrance of the ring. Horses will communicate when they become uncomfortable and sore. If we don't pay attention, reactions become more severe. While no one seems to be listening, they can rear, take a violent turn - then bolt or buck. Once her horse exhibited this kind of reaction, after a few minutes, and as her horse continued the rejection of moving forward, it's time to get off, go back to the barn and call a vet. Why would you want to push your horse like this? It upsets me when competition comes before a horses wellbeing. That's why I appreciate Charlotte DuJardin & Carl Hester so much. Their training ethic is one you don't see very often. I believe that is the reason Valegro was retired. If you watch his final performance, you can see some missteps and he seemed to be having slight difficulty in performing lead changes and piaffe. But he wasn't pushed any further. That was the right thing to do. To push him past that point, which is what some competitors do, is unkind & frankly unethical. The horses wellbeing should ALWAYS come first!

@@teakoehler6080 actaully it was the judge which she confirmed but he was indeed checked

Thank you. I commented the exact thing! We must be the only two people here that see the problem. I bet his tongue and roof of mouth were very bruised.

no the horse spooked because of the judge. He is very young so it happends

I feel bad for that poor horse... Yeah, you're right, it does look like it could be a bridle/bit problem. I really hope that the rider got that checked when they left the area to make sure the horse is okay...

@@stephaniejenkins7822 its not. He just spooked

the horse spooked because of the judge. She is one of the best dressage riders in the world and knows her horse better. He wasn't looking for release but was more a bit afraid

Schade, dass so wenige Leute das sehen... Richtig gesagt 🙂.