I recall a time when after Totilas completed a dressage tests people were crying tears of joy and giving him a standing ovation. Now, you can here people laughing at him and Rath. Why? Why does this horse must be put through so much? Will it ever end for the king of sport? Will he ever live in peace in a fresh green pasture? Will he ever have one person who loves him and doesn't care about the money or fame or show? One that loves him just for being a horse. I've never seen a video of this horse in a pasture, playing, grazing with other horses. It breaks my heart for Totilas.
Too late now, I hope the world has learned its lesson! These top horses are so sensitive, and deeply resent (literally) changing hands. The one thing money can't buy is horse-sense.
Laughing at him in rath? No love your hearing wrong and the standing ovation of clapping at the end proves that! They were having a little because this stallion is a handful, and he was testing Matthias quick reactions that night! This horse had a lot of fire in his belly but calm at the same time, which is what makes him the horse he was! Everyone there that night was there to see that horse, you really think they all crammed in to laugh, don't be silly! We all have a bit laugh when we see a horse getting the wind up their bum and having a quirky moment, that's no different here! And this horse spent 6yrs retired in a paddock, siring young. We don't all keep horses for paddock pets, some of us like me have competition horses!
I just cannot watch this..... It's not the same totilas. The amazing spirit and confidence in his step isn't there .... Read a report from a while back in the horse and hound about him being isolated and not even turned out..... Breaks my heart x
I'm no expert when it comes to dressage at this level, but I can tell that Totilas' head is behind the vertical and his poll is not the highest point of his neck in general. Although, he seems less energetic than usual. I miss him and Edward Gal together as a team.
Not to speak of how nervous, uneasy and unrelaxed he appears. This tears my heart apart. No matter how highly traded and promising and highly rated he is, I think people really need to calm the fuck down about this horse.
What happen? He has a new rider who has no idea how to ride him. With all the money they spent on Tolilas they should have had Matthais train under Edward. This is just bad, sad. Matthais hasno business showing this horse.
Rosa Posa ...You cannot train anyone who lacks the sensitivity of Gal. The horse simply disliked this guy, that is why it all went bad. The one thing money can't buy is horse-sense. I have watched rich people showing who ruin expensive horse after expensive horse and never learn anything.
This beautiful and amazing horse is completely ruined. He is over bent and the rider is doing Rollkur. I just want to cry. A world class horse is know trained in rollkur. This is awful, terrible.
He's been ridden in Rollkur under Gal prior to Rath trying more gentle attempts to ride him. He failed, so he's now trying - or rather, tried - getting to Totilas via Rollkur, which didn't work either. Now Totilas spends his whole life in his stable - at least no reporters have ever seen him on a paddock or pasture in Schafshof/Germany. The owners also don't make interviews or give information, Totilas' homepage hasn't been updated since 2012. Guess they're biding their time until hopefully his foals make themselves known, but so far there hasn't been a star foal around (except maybe the short hype about Topas), and German breeders are actually prefering/recommending stallions like Belantis to mare owners.
Qunable You can still do Rollkur but no longer than 15 minutes. No one supervises or controls that though, it has a reason why riders leave the public training areas when they see cameras.
watching Edward and Totilas made the chills running down my spine, seeing this combination makes me sick. Totilas left his power in The Netherlands. lets us all donate €1 to give Totilas back to Edward :D
WAAAAAAY too much rein! Good lord, let's review again, the highest point of the neck should ALWAYS be the poll, no exception! The fact that these horses are getting high scores is nonsense, any horse behind the vertical should get docked. Had this drove home to me by scribing for Hilda Gurney.
Sadly what has happened with Totilas happens all the time when horses change hands. It's not just fabulous horses that fail to go as well with their new riders, even a quiet happy hacker can change in a new home. I feel sorry for all concerned, it's a great sadness that we won't see him with Edward Gal again performing like he did at Windsor but it's also sad for the new rider, who will always now be known as the man who couldn't ride Totilas. Mostly I feel sorry for the horse, who always looked very calm and relaxed with Gal.
Gal used rollkur, and even he might be a better rider, Toto was still under stress. Rollkur and heavy hands always had him with foam in his mouth and a dead eye. I truly do believe this horse was always a show horse and was never allowed to be a horse itself
Totilas is probably the most exceptional horse any of us will see in our lifetime. If allowed to show his true talent, we are blown away. I find it hard to understand how these riders think that they can create something better. Clearly they do not realize what they have - how sad - I would have thought that riders with as much experience as they have would be able to recognize perfection.
I always heard that totilas was "ruined" but I didn't know what happened or what people meant by it. after reading comments on here and watching totilas with gal vs him here it brings tears to my eyes. in this video the rolkur is so harsh and totilas just looks almost broken. compared to other videos when he was being ridden by gal, totilas is a completely different horse. it breaks my heart that this happens and continues to and I hope one day totilas will be looking down from heaven (I know he's not dead) and see horses as happy as when he was with gal, but for now we have to face the reality of harsh riders.
Alex Alex ...I don't think it is rollkur, the rider is heavy-handed and the horse is trying to compensate, looking for a way out and can't find it. There was no escape for him, no respite. Horse lost his joy for the work.
Edward also used Rolkur, and even he might be a better rider, Toto was still under stress. Rollkur and heavy hands always had him with foam in his mouth and a dead eye. I truly do believe this horse was always a show horse and was never allowed to be a horse itself
There is no mistake about it Totilas isn't the easiest horse to ride for everyone. At 17.1 hands and being for all intensive purposes a hot blooded Trakehner he packs a lot of energy into a very big package. An unusual combination. However the worst methods of training are insensitive domineering handling, where compliance is commanded rather than asked. He requires extreme tact and waiting aids then he is surely the most delightful horse in the world to watch and ride. All too late now I think.
I read in a German magazine that Edward trained Totilas with Rollkur and Mattias is finding it hard to ride him without Rollkur, hence why he is now on a big break and will be re-trained after his spell...
I agree with you 100%. Totilas looks angry, upset, and all jammed together. It looks like he's been being ridden totally front-to-back at home---look at how behind the bit he is, and how tight he is in the neck and base of neck. He's all but going backwards. This is a travesty.
Totals was so much better with his old rider. His old rider knew him and understood him. Matthias Rath doesn't know this horse. They don't make a great team...
i've watched totalis for some time, he is my all time favourite stallion, he looks so different now, its horrible to watch, he looks so tense and angry, he doesnt seem to be enjoying his work anymore, when he was with edward gal, he was at his peek and a young age, he throughly enjoyed his work, its such a shame too see him so down, he needs a break, he looks so sad now, hes swishes his tail now, he never did that with edward gal, only when changing leg, at it was natural from it, poor horse :(
This makes me sick. With Edward, you could see Totilas's PASSION, his LOVE for what he did! The way he worked was perfect, but now... It's horrible. Totilas is crying for help, but nobody can listen, simply because he doesn't speak our language. Now, he is simply going through the motions. The Totilas we know is gone. Goodbye, old friend. We hope to see you again someday.
I used to cringe when Salinero under Van Grunsven couldn't stop doing the piaffe at the end of her tests. He couldnt even do a halt, he used to tremble lower his head and his neck into a horrible bend, his legs buckled under him and piaffe and piaffe as though he was too terrified to stop. How judges never saw past these horrific training practises all those years I will never know. One has to make a silent wish Totilas after everything and at 14Years old doesn't end up like that.
This breaks my heart. Matthias just doesnt ride him the way Gal did. Such a disappointment. I thought Totilas was going to become one of the greats. Doesn't look likely anymore.
It's totally meaningless to hold Mathias Alexander Rath responsible for the way Totilas is falling apart. This was doomed to happen from the very first moment the horse was subjectet to hyperflexion.
I hate how everyone says he's ridden in the wrong way by both Edward Gal and Matthias. Gal and Totilas didn't break the world record for nothing, they did it because Totilas has amazing movements and Gal rode him real well. When you look at the rides that they did togheter Totilas doesn't look at all stressed. It may not be how you want to ride but it sure did impress the judges at the world cup. And if you read interviews about Totilas you get to know that he's not that easy to ride.
I read in a German magazine that Matthias is having trouble riding him because his previous owner trained him in Rollkur. Matthias is trying to re-train him with classical dressage.
I disagree, what this rider is doing is Rollkur. Totilas is going around over bent, open mouth and wringing his tail. Then, they leave for almost 2 minutes, wonder if they gave him some form of tranquilizer to take the edge off??? Nice canter at 4:43, kicks at the riders leg, swapping leads behind, more fun at the canter at 5:16. Maybe he should try some rising trot for awhile with a softer rein. At 7:26 you can see how hard the hands are, no wonder Totilas is so unhappy. Totilas was awesome with Edward Gal, it's a shame.
mskARin888 Yes I totally agree with you they also found a video of Totilas with his head tied to his chest IN HIS STABLE and my friend's dressage trainer used to work for the mum of Matthias Rath in Germany at the Schafhof and she said it was awful and how mean the lady was to the horses, Edward Gal is such an amazing rider and it's so sad what has happened to Totilas Matthias is definitely not trying to re-train him with classical dressage and Edward most definitely didn't train him in rollkur this right here is Rollkur!!!!!
mskARin888 my mum's horse is at Carl Hester's yard and Carl has decided not to sell Valegro(the olympic horse that Charlotte rode) which I am so happy for because it would be the shame if the same thing happened to him~!
Rock Rose Edward Gal is known for his gentle ways and I know several people who went to train with him and his new star "Glocks Undercover" is very very hot and he is one of the only people that can ride him and trust me it's not because he doped him! If you need proof then watch any video of him riding Totilas and you'll see they r magical together!
Rath is absolute not the right person to ride this manificent horse, he can not even stand in Totilas' shadow let alone ride him. There is just no magic there,, Edward and Totilas were almost one and this is by FAR not even close to the same combination ,just because the rider is just not good for this horse. It is a shame that this happend and that the perfect horse/rider combo is not anymore,.. I feel so sorry for Totilas,..
Imagine. A 100 acre pasture. A few gentle hills. Some trees. Safe fencing. Shelter of all kinds. A gentle running stream. Soft breezes. And this horse free in it.
Totally agree!! In several countries rollkur is forbidden and i´m glad to say that Sweden is one of them! Say anything about Sweden, we might not be the best riders, but we always fight for the horses and their health! :)
Gal did not sell Totilas, in fact, he never owned him. He was simply Totilas' rider since 2006 but knew the beautiful horse like no other. Gal was horrified when he learned that Toto had been sold. Toto is no longer being ridden at the highest levels anymore; he hasn't even gotten close to his FEI scores that he achieved with Gal.
Totilas according to official news sources sustained knee injuries in stud duties, there was also a court action by an international welfare org alleging cruelty in the way he was kept by Paul SCHOCKEMÖHLE . Then Schockemohle inexplicably put Totilas and Rath in training with the king and queen of rollkeur Ankie and Sjef Jansen. Since then nothing not one public appearance. One just hopes he's not been turned into another machine like Salinero was.
This is heartbreaking to watch (( Torilas needs to be allowed a good long rest, where he can jus be a normal horse for once!!! Edward was his ideal partner and always will be, it is so evident to see from this apalling change in his demeanor and performance!
I think "What's happened to Totilas?" is a wrong question to ask here. It's not Moorlands Totilas who has changed, it's the rider. He's not very well at adapting his riding to his horse, he wants the horse to adapt to his riding. Maybe it's time he understand it doesn't work that way. Edward Gal and Totilas were a magical team together, too bad they sold him
Just finished watching a world class performance with this horse and his preferred rider--Edward Gal. The preformance was pure poetry--really elegant, effortless and lovely to watch. After trying to watch this performance I must say I wish Roth would dismount--these two togther are painful to watch! Never thought I would witness such bad riding at this level of training. Gone is the happy, carefree Totilas...what torture to have this man on his back & in his mouth! Poor, poor beast!
some people and horse don't click and they clearly do not. i have a question was Totilas really sold to a different country and was there really reports of his new trainer abusing him?
I read the comments before watching the video, afraid Totilas was going to have a horrible accident because of the title. I was relieved when I read he was fine, but it made me nervous to watch this because I just watched another video with Totilas and Edward Gal and I didn't want to see how much his performance went down with another rider he wasn't familiar with. When I did press play, I only got 0:58 seconds in. Sorry if this doesn't make sense to anyone.
you can clearly see the frustration on the horses part and the riders. There is a comunication block between horse and rider and it is up to the rider/trainer to establish what the rider is doing wrong. In previous competitions Totilas shows that he understands how to perform the movements properly, but the horse is not understanding the cues or the cues are too strong and the horse becomes frustrated. You can tell that neither horse nor rider enjoyed this.
This what happens a beautiful creature is kept and taught to act like a machine. I will not ever believe that this horse ever felt real love, he never had a person stand in a field just being with their horse, because he didn’t even have the luxuries of a field. This horse experienced so much abuse, yet he managed to survive with it, and I feel bad that he lasted so long. I hope people have learnt, horses are not machines, they cannot do everything perfectly, they cannot please every rider or judge, but they still deserve a life, a real life. One with love, a big open pasture, time to be themselves. No horse should be treated the way this legend was, he is an example of what not to do. I hope he is happy now. Rip Totilas.
it just goes to show you can spend a huge amount of money for a world class horse but you can't buy that special bond between the horse and its rider that can't be sold - such a pity
Over collection is part of training. After watching Gal ride in a few videos he is never harsh with his hands. True if you ride a horse constantly over collected and too low it can be painful to the horse. ABSOLUTELY. However Gal rode this horse beautifully, and in the videos I have seen the horse is rarely over bridled and when he is it is at a collected gait. Any horse would not be able to do the maneuvers properly if he was not in the correct frame. Look at how the horse is built.
Guys don't be sad. Totlias Of course will keep being reborn until his home will be the best it ever has been! R.I.P. Totlias. You were never supposed to be a toy. Neither a machine. The people that did this to you are clearly not going in heaven. They ruined a life. And hurt one. We love Totlias forever. People that see this comment, Like if you agree. Please DON'T ever treat any animal like this. As it's heart breaking to watch. We will miss Totlias. This is the biggest comment I've made for him. RIP. 💔💔💔💔💔💔 One of the worst deaths of a horse. Rest in peace. Don't be annoyed of this comment bc its long. This IS for Totlias And IT WILL ALWAYS BE FOR TOTLIAS PEOPLE. ONLY KINDEST ONES STAND UP FOR HIM. Hell will be crowded sadly.
Immer wieder, "zu wenig Vorbereitung". Das liegt weder an diesem zu eng gerittenen Hengst oder an der Vorbereitung. Dieses Pferd wird in der Box gehalten, kommt am Tag für eine halbe Stunde hinaus grasen, an der Hand, und der Rest ist Training oder Turnier. Das ist keine Art ein Pferd zu halten. Matthias und Totilas... kein wirkliches Team. Meine Aussage... Es gibt auch manche Menschen, denen man einfach nicht die Augen öffnen kann. Einfach krank, so mit einem Pferd umzugehen.
It may not be the riders fault. I admit that Totilas is obviously better with Edward than Matthias but sometimes a horse just doesn't click with a rider. So therefore that may be why Totilas is unhappy, however we cannot suddenly conclude that Matthias is using rollkur on him. Don't forget that Matthias is still a top rider but these two obviously don't click and their styles differ. No need to be rude towards Matthias
It's a shame for both horse and rider. Totilas and Gal were the perfect match and sometimes, like we see now, horses don't suit the riders or vice versa. Some of this is incredibly shoddy work - Rath and him don't quite seem to get on.
some shows require it others dont same with mane and tail braiding It depends on show and level you are I have been showing for years now and It depends on the show.thats all.
In Sweden it's illegal to have leg wraps on dressage competitions, it can hide pain, and is not needed. Do you ever see a horse in the wild with leg wraps? If you're horse is tripping on him self, fix it. No short time solutions.
@MagnoliaDreaming Edward didn´t own him, he only rode him for the owner. He was DEVASTED when the owner sold him. He loves that horse, and as he said in an interview the only thing important to him is that he is HAPPY!!
I TOTALLY agree with you! Edward inspires Totilas! I think Matthias expects him to do what he wants, when he wants, and doesn't inspire him. Edward and Totilas have that amazing bond IMO.
Dear me... Totilias just isn't the same horse. Every movement is riddled with tension and anxiety. Look at his mouth, he's constantly mouthing and snapping at the bit, just not a happy guy. Which is sad to see, because contrasting that with Totilias and Carl - the horse was sensational! So relaxed and confident and powerful, full of life and movement and spirit. I mean, put it this way, when Carl and Totilias where in the ring.. you could hear a pin drop. This guy? Not so much.
I'm no dressage rider but this horse looks sad and burnt out. He likes to show but something's missing. There was a rider change? That would do it. His heart is not in it. I run cattle on Quarter Horses and a horse who's loving his work has a spark to him. Enthusiasm. This poor fellow is a commodity to his owners, not a living being.
I saw it too and although I hate being analytical when I haven't seen them in the flesh, the difference in the two men's styles certainly seems to play a major factor in the deterioration of this horse's performance. The documentary also made me realise that sitting deep and jamming into my horse's back isn't always the right thing to do!
i can confirm, this is totilas..and it isn't even the worst performance under mathias rath...and it happened a few weeks after schockemöhle/lindsenhoff bought him in 2012 therefore after edward gal.. and its a shame!
If Totilas and Rath will be trained by Jansson, Totilas will never be the same again. Please don't make it worser than it already is. They made him already broken enough. Please stop destroying this awesome horse. At the moment he isn't anything of the old world record holder, of the horse we loved so much!
Sensitive yes. But thats different to nervous. It just means that his new Rider isnt as forgiving at Ed and is too harsh. He looks so much happier with Ed. Ed didnt jam his chin to his chest
It doesn't even look like the same horse. He looks so sad... like his love for what he did is gone. There is one horse for every man, and one man for every horse. That man was Edward.
anyone can clearly see that Totilias has lost all enjoyment out of his work now, he looks so unhappy, i bet if horses could cry he would be, he looks shocking, he looks confused and frustrated but most of all sad, he should be given back to Edward, poor lad Totilias was Amazing and soo much happier with Edward
it is scientifically proven that a horse will bond with one human and will always respond better to that person over any one elas even after a spell of 6 years so yay its a bond.
Mouth open, taking off, bucking. This is not a happy Totilas, poor guy. Did anyone else notice how he was cross cantering a lot in the first 5ish minuets?
Schokemohle could’ve bought Totilas and let Gal keep the riding rights. Way back in yesteryear, this used to happen. Paul himself was offered the ride on Milton but suggested John Whitaker because he felt he was the right rider for the horse. I miss the old days. Partnerships still mattered more than countries. You can’t buy a gold medal.
as for hyperflexion. yes the rider may flex the horse more than usual from one side to the other. the horse may be spooking, or really needs to loosen it's neck. however they will never hold it there. and if they do it is considered rolkur
This guy got a horse he was totally unprepared for. When I got my horse I thought he was great but a month later I was kicking myself in the head for getting a horse that was way above my riding capabilities, but what did I do? I went to the gym and got stronger, rode every piece of shit horse I could, took two lessons a week and put every bit of effort I could into becoming the rider my horse needed me to be. Matthais has done nothing to improve himself and it shows greatly in this video
This has nothing to do with your horse. What I am trying to point out is that if you look at the horses shoulder and build you can see his head is fine where it is at. The horse is meant to have the headset he has. (at least when Gal is riding). If a horse is truly over collected it would not be able to do these maneuvers, and would eventually become too sucked back and cross under.
Toti just wasnt moving as gracefully. He was being forced. The horse wants to do it but forcing is just making him not want to =( I feel bad. Im going to watch Ed and Toti insted of this.
he's so stressed, he don't know what to do. something isn't right at Totilias his sight. when he was with Edward it was an amazing horse! still is but in a different way. i know my english is not so good but i had to say this..
Die Begründung des Sprechers warum das so schief lief ist unglaubwürdig. Totilas war jünger als er in flüssigerem Ablauf vorführte und vor allen Dingen sichtbar mit Freude. Es ist davon auszugehen, dass das Pferd ohne Reiter aber mit Unterstützung des Sprechers besser ausgesehen hätte. Für den deutschen Pferdesport empfinde ich solche Bilder als Schande. Besser lassen sich menschliche Minderwertigkeitskomplexe kaum noch zur Schau stellen.
His job description has changed, I don't believe he was a full time breeding stallion in the years that Edward rode him. That makes a tremendous difference.
Why is everybody so angry and upset about this, I mean dont get me wrong Edward rode him beautifully, but so does Mathias. You've all bought a horse and sold a horse before, and you know that the partnership takes a long time to create. Horses and riders have good and bad days, when they are not used to each other a huge crowd full of expectations is a lot to handle, can you imagine the pressure on Mathias? Partnership builds on rides like these, you have to have the bad to get the good.
