What is a Saddlebred? 

That applies to any horse of course.

Naturaly huh!!!? At 1:21 you can clearly see the horses foot has been artificially modified, the toe is unnaturally long and the foot is attached to a platform. This has got to stop in America, it needs to be banned. Concentrating on soring alone is a mistake. Surely soring is repulsive but any foot modification is too, it puts unnatural angles on the pastern and foot with the ground and the entire horse up the leg through its back which are stressful for the horse and damaging. Any form of foot modification should be remedial rather than to enhance or modify movement to gain a competitive edge. Doing it to saddlebreds or Tennessee walking horses is equally repugnant, an utterly unconscionable act of cruelty.

"Pacing" itself is not natural, it's a genetic fault. A horse usually only naturally paces when its exhausted, just before the point of collapse, or has a physical weakness or has inherited a genetic defect. The same with dogs. Unfortunately man has selected horses that move in this unnatural way due to the genetic defect and selectively bred them. Nothing natural about it at all. They've done the same in India and a few other places. In India it wasn't intentional just their Marwari early stock were afflicted and the gene pool is so narrow (bottle neck) it remained. So this is what they have ended up with by way of breed. Outcrossing would fix it but they now accept this as a breed characteristic sadly, same as few other breeds. Intentionally breeding genetic defects is not natural horsemanship anywhere it's done across the globe I'm afraid. Breaking a tail and still forcing it into shape with a set harness is a repulsive act of cruelty. "Nicking depressor tendons" as far as I'm, and the horse and any vet worth their degree is concerned is breaking it's tail. This is what they do to get the tail carriage. Never mind foot modification to enhance movement!!!!

A horses mouth is not made to hold a bit!!! Heavens alive what kind of misguided rubbish have you been led to believe. Nor is a horses back made to sit on. The most common form of undiagnosed, unseen injury happens in a riding horses mouth, to both its teeth, gums and jaw bone. The bit used is of no consequence in fact all bits can cause damage equally. Of course a horses mouth is made so it can house teeth so it can eat and lips so it can drink, graze grass, scratch itself and communicate. A horses gums are as tender as ours. One yank on them with metal bar bruises them, intentional yank or not. By the time a horse is fully trained it would have suffered thousands of unintentional gum bruising. I'm not going to even start on teeth. Far as ASB and TW's are concerned ......At @ 1:21 you can clearly see the horses foot has been artificially modified. How is this different to TW's exactly? Just a matter of degree. Well far as I and the horse is concerned no degree of cruelty is acceptable. Please don't hide behind TW horse cruelty. It's bad enough the level of cognitive dissonance involved with that lot.

@@equestanton1017 their tails are set naturally along with their legs and head

The provisor "when it is done correctly" is the essence of the concept. A horse does this naturally when presented with those things it likes best, freedom, joie de vivre and socialising etc. None of these things are offered to it while we are sitting on it's back yet we still demand it from them and repeatedly, on command. Training a horse is indeed harnessing it's natural abilities but how we do this has a critical bearing on it's welfare and happiness. It's no use recognising hoses do these things naturally without realising riding a horse is not natural, nor is asking them to do these things without the same natural stimuli natural. So we owe it the horse to gently let it know this is what we wish ultimately for it to do. Coming to that understanding, reaching that level of communication has got to be pleasurable safe and without force or pain both in breeding suitable horses and training them. This's a rather grand claim "This is the essence of saddle seat riding" , surely what you mean is "This should be the essence of saddle seat riding". Unfortunately no equestrian discipline is completely immune to abusive training/riding methods ,not in the competitive sphere nor amateur one. No one can say this. We learn new and better ways to communicate with horses all the time, that should be what we constantly strive to do.

Back legs sore as hell with a pound of rollers = natural ok....before you talk about a walking horse make sure they've not spent any time hanging around a 5 gaited barn

How much do your Nikes weigh?

That sounds like an extremely sensible approach to riding and training any horse. Just never fall for those professionals who use methods that are cruel and damaging to the sports image. Many breeds have naturally high shoulder neck sets and hackneyed movement, they are bred for such. This however doesn't mean we need to go that bit extra higher than anyone else in movement or head carriage or even tail carriage in order to win a silly six dollar ribbon. Force is always at the expense of the horses well being. Far as I'm concerned we should just be happy with our horses natural ability and love them all the same. It's when things start getting competitive the horses are always the ones to suffer. In fact no equestrian discipline is immune from horse abuse from the top levels to the ammateur. Misguided training methods are legendary.

Well. I should no better than read the comments but there is total ignorance of ASB on here. When gated horses are shown they were quarter boots to protect there front feet. They trot and that is a square gait. You can’t do much to the front hoof of your horse can’t trot, so you never see very much padding on a saddle horse.

I ride Morgans in many different disciplines including saddle seat, they aren't "gaited" in the rack/pace/toot way, but they have just as much elevation as the saddlebred.. You can also respect the morgan saddle seat horse, they don't get the abuse either.

Saddle-seat is not abusive at all what your talking about the big lick that's when they sore their horses put heavy shoes on them and basically just abuse their poor horses. Look up the difference between them. No hate just wanted to clear that up!

Do not say that to those who own the Mountain Horse - i.e. Rocky and Kentucky Mountain - breeds! Their horses must be shown flat shod and gait is valued ABOVE ALL! They are a very docile, user friendly horse and ride like a cadillac. Greatly prized by beginning horse enthusiasts and trail riders!

Many of those involved with Rocky and Kentucky Mountain horses will argue that point with you.

No. No weights used and the hooves are correct. Get some education before you criticize the breed.

Alabahanoreadasao Albano I don't see either. I don't see any cracks or any curving in the hooves! They looks completely healthy to me!

My boyfriend has shod Saddlebreds and Road Horses for 40 years. He gets very upset when he comes across a case of contracted heels, and inconsistent angles and lengths would cause a horse to be off in his gait so as to be perform incorrectly, and he would never do this to a horse. If you want to see him exceedingly angry, accuse him of mistreating any animal. If an owner wanted his horse shod so as to cause pain, he'd gather up his tools and leave the barn. I'd say many farriers are the same. Farriers are an independent lot and they would not have a problem standing up for doing the right thing. You are only showing your ignorance here and more than likely are a "plant" for animal rights radicals such as the PETA group, who wants no one to have any animals and will euthanize your dog for you to prove it.

You are insulting the expertise of many saddle horse farriers, all of which are far more educated than you.

FoxtrS2 A type of plastic boot that protects the hoof when they perform. Occasionally their feet will touch and to keep away injury, they put boots on them. They strap to the hoof so they are harmless and come off whenever.

CajunSweetTart With ASB horses it is. TWH are the ones who have a clipped tail. Everything with ASB is natural. I work with them and have seen them voluntarily do these things. It’s pretty interesting to see.

Honest answer of why....the wear a set 6 days of the week

they aren't stacked shoes. they are bell boots and weigh .3 pounds.

Perhaps your horse was "flag-tailed"? the leaders in the tail are tighter on one side than the other, so the tail pulls in that direction. My show horse did that, I foaled and raised her, rest assured her tail was never nicked. I stretched her tail daily during show season to try to enable her to carry it straight. I now show Rocky Mountain horses and I see many of them that are flag tailed as well. As to "normal" trail riding, I see many trail riders who strip their horse of tack and leave it to give itself a dirt bath. My show horse is bathed, checked for scratches, all his skin and hair needs attended to and walked cool before stabling. So much for that natural life! All my horses fight to come into the barn and will sneak in if not watched!

Lift her damn tail UP and place the crupper underneath. Flag tailed ir not, that’s all you have to do.

That is a photo of a wedge pad (covers the whole bottom of the hoof) and the white things are quarter boots. Standardbred racehorses also wear quarter boots for the exact same reason, but they are not considered "abused". A pad which is LESS THAN ONE OUNCE per foot adds cushion and protects the bottom of the foot. FYI--my Nike sneakers weigh more than my horses shoe (per foot). So if my Nike weighs a pound each, and my horses shoe with pad is just 12 ounces, how is that an excessive weight? My horse weighs 1000# and I am 120#.

The shoe on the pad weighs how Much? The boots weigh lot more than a ounce and no it's not the same boot as a standardbred

So you are apparently condemning the smooth gaited breeds in the US? Those who own the many and varied progeny of the Narragansett pacer - including the Rocky and Kentucky Mountain breeds - would debate the point of genetic defect. However, you are entitled to your opinion.

And what discipline do you ride?

@@smcstudios8534 Schwinn bicycles lol. PETA sent her!

Susie Lytal Where did you find this information? Do you own a saddlebred and have you seen this “abuse” in person before?

@@abbyb282 I think she doesn't know the difference between Saddlebreds and TWH. Another PETA bleeding heart.

Ok we're talking about Saddlebreds...stop roping in all horse breeds with TWH. Seriously you're making yourself look like a moron. Believe it or not some horse breeds are BORN with their movement. Research before you do another cruelty vomit where it isn't needed.

Cooking Mama I have a saddlebred and none of those thing are happening with my horse....not everyone is the same

Cooking Mama And you Mama are an embarrassment to all around you!!!!!

@@r4bbit729 Yes, they never watch the videos of the Saddlebred babies in the field playing do they? Where are the long nails in the shoes and the cruelty.

Soring via the use of caustic chemicals cause a lameness that is very evident in diagonally gaited horses. Tails are not broken, you'd have to take a hammer to the vertebrae to break them. The depressor tendons are nicked and allowed to heal shortened so the tail will naturally carry higher. As soon as you take the set harness of they go back the way were. TWH are a completely different affair. Smith Lilly, a World Championship level trainer, wrote a book called "Saddle Seat Horsemanship". He uses training based on the dressage pyramid. Perhaps you should read that prior to judgement.

@@radchannel5494 Thank you Radchannel for that information, it does unfortunately leave me sickened, even more so. Breaking a tail and still forcing it into shape with a set harness is a repulsive act of cruelty. "Nicking depressor tendons" as far as I'm, and the horse and any vet worth their degree is concerned is breaking it's tail. A horse needs it's tail why in gawd's name do you think they're born with a tail the way it is. All unnatural modifications and force are cruelty, just as grotesquely modifying the feet are. Any foot modification to enhance movement is unless it's remedial. Americans even do this to Percherons, horrific over grown splayed feet with shoe modifications. I tell you what if "Smith Lily" used dressage as his template for the "saddle seat" he is either completely blind, illiterate or deranged. Forcing a horse into an unnatural gait by any means is not dressage. Nor is sitting on their kidneys and loins. Nor is riding a horse with its neck in a vertical position with a hollow back. If he indeed used training based on the dressage pyramid its patently obvious to anyone even vaguely familiar with dressage that he failed miserably. The evidence is plain for anyone to see. "Pacing" itself is not natural, it's a genetic fault. A horse usually only naturally paces when its exhausted, just before the point of collapse, or has a physical weakness or has inherited a genetic defect. The same with dogs. Unfortunately man has selected horses that move in this unnatural way due to the genetic defect and selectively bred them. Nothing natural about it at all. They've done the same in India and a few other places. In India it wasn't intentional just their Marwari early stock were afflicted and the gene pool is so narrow (bottle neck) it remained. So this is what they have ended up with by way of breed. Outcrossing would fix it but they now accept this as a breed characteristic sadly, same as few other breeds. Intentionally breeding genetic defects is not natural horsemanship anywhere it's done across the globe I'm afraid.

@@equestanton1017 I can see that there is no way to discuss with a hater, all one can do is leave them the hell alone.

@@radchannel5494 Make of it what you will, it's not my opinion, it's the result of scientific research. The DNA of the horse tells you you are misguided. If you've ever seen a racehorse die on the track you will see it suddenly pacing the last few desperate steps before it goes down dead. This lack of co-ordination and ability is the result of life function disappearing of course. Personally I wont be breeding any animals with genetic defects. This is like intentionally carrying a child you know wont be able to walk properly because that's exactly how you want it to be. No hate but plenty of cognitive dissonance on the part of breeders that do intentionally breed dysfunctional animals and the people who desire them. Like dogs that cannot breath, fish that cannot swim, horses with faces so dished they are a grotesque parody of a breed. Of course horses that are bred so that they intentionally cannot or are barely able to trot must be included. My aim is not hate only to educate. Information is key to protecting all animals not so?

@@equestanton1017 Horses such as the Rocky and Kentucky breeds CAN trot, as well as the TWH and they do so freely at liberty. They are slowly brought along in their training so as to display the other gait they are genetically able to do under saddle. They can canter was well. So much for intentionally dysfunctional. However, I can see that you have a righteously narrow view you feel is justified because you give lip service to educating and protecting. So does PETA, but they think no one should own animals and will euthenize your dog to prove it to you. However, I have long ago given up trying to cure stupidity, all I now try to do is get away from it. Therefore adios.

its uh all-natural Susan. haven't you seen the video?