Had to escape all the negative comments on the horse alcoholic article's page. I get really tired of all the judging while knowing nothing about the animals. I am a fan of 5 gaited as well as Western Pleasure (though I find 5 gaited more fun to watch because you get to cheer :) ). Both are breed carriage picked for different ways of going. That does not make one better or worse. (I picked those for contrast of carriage-never spelt that word and cant find it to check it-. I have ridden top caliber of both disciplines and appreciate both.) There are criticisms that can be made of ANY discipline that does not mean the whole of it is bad. I think that riders and horsemen need to have more multi-discipline interaction and learning. I think we could all learn from one another. We need to make horses a more spectator friendly sport in order to keep the sport alive and well. I hate seeing finals and world shows with empty stands. If there is not more education to the public, horse sports might see criticism such as the carriage horse industry has faced and it could mean hard times.
Why can't the horse's neck be at least level with his withers? This looks so un-natural and so uncomfortable for the horse. A real working western horse could never "work" like this. I wish this fashion would go out of favor and go back to a more natural way of going in this class.
I do not see any tension in him that would suggest that it is hard for him. In fact I see a lot of higher carriages being horses just tensing their neck, shoulders, and back rather than supporting it. How is this different than long and low except that they want less suspension in the gait? As to saying working horses cant work with this low of a head sets, there are cutters with this low of a head set, and some reiners too. To achieve this low of a head set they have to be comfortable enough in their surroundings to not feel they need to keep an eye on everything and be able to relax through the shoulder. If they have any shoulder tension they will carry their head up higher. So in fact carrying it higher can mean discomfort rather than more comfort. How low they can carry their neck is also very contingent on where it connects into the body. These horses have been breed to have their neck connect at a lower angle so to carry it in say a dressage carriage would be uncomfortable. Thus if you are envisioning the conformation of a dressage horse or jumper they would be more comfortable in a higher carriage. Aside from seeing that this looks different from what you are used to what do you see in this horse that would suggest it is uncomfortable? As far as fashion and gait preference I would like to see a more exaggerated stride but not necessarily a faster pace. I think what a lot of people see from other disciplines that leads them to interpret discomfort is that they do not reach as much in their stride, which from an outside prospective could indicate soreness but is because they want a level motion with the joints and to achieve that they reduce suspension and reach.
In fact he does have a little tension in his neck through a good portion of this run but that is because he is checking out the people in the stands. You can see his neck is lower and move more freely when he crosses the center moving away from the people. Likely it is the riders tension about the spectators. In the last cross of the center line and turn around the end of the arena down the center line you can see his neck "jiggle" or "flop" more and his head hang lower. This is a more relaxed carriage for this horse. You can also see the horses ears flop around more. His rider is in the final stretch and has let out his tension. Based on the horses focus I would bet you there is a judge at each of the center crossings so that the rider and horse are coming directly at them when they cross the center line coming towards the camera. And the rider is more concerned about the judge on the right (or this is the location of the single judge, don't know how this particular class is set up). As the horse enters it is relaxed. Low loose neck. As they approach the log, he shows more tension in the neck and keeps peaking over in the corner by the rail but keeps focus on the job. (where I suspect the judge the rider is concerned with is standing.) At the lope relaxed but looking towards the outer rail checking out the posters. This is the horses curiosity, there is no added tension in his body. As they come up for the serpentine the head comes up a little and the first lead change the horse tenses his neck a little for the change. You can see the horse start to look again for what the rider is paying attention to. His chin comes up. Through out the serpentine you can see his right ear tracking the same spot especially near the second to last lead change. On the last change in that serpentine you can see his ear still following as he passes what he is focusing on. Around the end of the ring his neck comes down as his focus is no longer following what I would bet is a judge. The rider feels less stress when the judge is out of sight and so the horse is more relaxed. During the second half of the turn the tension starts to come back as the rider prepares to make the lead change that would be lined up in front of the judge. The horse bobs his head more in that change and carries his neck more straight instead of hanging it. He holds that tension around the turn but across the center line the second time notice his head remains in time with his stride, so his neck is relaxed. As he crosses the cone, over the log, to come around to the third cross of the center line, his ear snaps back to the probably judge that he has been focusing on. Notice the rider focusing hard on the last turn and away from the corner with the probably judge? As the horse is coming to the center line you can see his ear bounce between the judge and the rider. Now the horse licks his lips and starts to really relax at this point. This is the last lead change towards the crowd and the rider sees the end near. After this you can see the horses ears start to wobble more with his gait and move around. Around the last turn and down the center line you can see his face relax more his neck wobble more and his ears moving around more. This is a truly and fully comfortable neck carriage for this horse. The rider is no longer worried and there is no tension. Down the last straight away you can really judge the horses comfort. With every stride you can see his muscle jiggle all the way from his withers up, on the top line. If their was pain or discomfort the muscle would be tensed and you would not see this. For the stop you can see the horse bunch his neck muscles in order to engage his hind end for the stop. This is the only time I see possible discomfort as the horse does not set his hind right foot in his halt. I am not sure if he just stepped odd because he was so relaxed and not ready for the halt or if he has a little soreness in a joint on that leg. That however was not enough to say the horse his hurting in any way as he left without any residual lameness. He was probably just not expecting the stop. But I would bet you they have had him checked by a vet. Seriously though if you think you see something that would suggest pain or discomfort I would be happy to hear about it. I believe though there is a lot of miss understandings and misinterpretations due to people not being used to seeing different carriages. Just as people look at saddle horses and think they are out of control and scared to death. It is not necessarily the case and it takes a little learning to be able to see the difference when you are not used to seeing a different way of going.
Did you know that a horse will put their head down when they're RELAXED? This is a perfectly natural position for them, especially when you consider the fact that they were born to graze 24/7.
Horses now are bred with a more of a level head for wp and you will normally see shorter backs on the well bred horses. My boy prefers to keep his head level and he would stand in his pasture with a level head I have to pick his head up to get him off his front lol. This horse looks very relaxed and has a good flow. I've done a year internship where they are bred and the babies lope very slow and pretty much show ready.
