Amazing horsemanship

I have three thoughts:

1. Amazing horse, beautiful and stunning to watch. SO athletic and powerful, yet still full of grace. (note the careful aviodance of the rider/riding/bull...)
2. Why was he wearing brushing boots? I think when faced with a baited bull, brushing boots may not help a huge ammount if an accident happened ;)
3. How was his mane plaited in the video of him fighting the bull? It looks lovely!
 
I understand that the bullfight horses are "de-voiced" so that when they scream in terror in the bullring, they don't upset the crowds. Go figure.

That certainly was true of Picador's horses in Spanish bullfighting,. They also wore a black gauze mask across their eyes to limit their view of the bull!

This is Portuguese 'equestrian bullfighting' which is a bit different.
 
Love to watch great horses and riders BUT no way am I going to watch any footage including the barbaric torture of any animal (thanks for the warning in OP). Bull fighting makes me sick to the stomach.

The other vids (cutting horses) however were a joy to watch.
 
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I dont know how you think that's good ..it's not amazing you daft fecker .. just cruel and barbaric !! you're obviously not a annimal lover !!!! hopefully he will fall of his horse one day be gored and spend the rest of his days in a wheel chair...

what a terriable thing to wish on any one, i think you have just shocked me off this forum actually. and you are a veteran member setting an examlpe to other ( possiably much younger ) board members. you disgust me.
 
I can't watch the video, just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.:(

I have a very simple view of this, what horseman wants to put his horse in a position of great danger and fear? Even worse, for what? Entertainment and to prove he is brave? To me admiring the skill of the riding is of no consequence when animals are put through such suffering and pain. Don't forget the bull. :(
 
I certainly don't! The horse is brave and athletic - but he's also scared stiff. I suspect he's more scared of the rider - and his curb and spurs - than he is of the bull!

No-one with ANY respect for their horse would force it into such a dangerous situation where - with one tiny slip - the horse is disembowelled! And what for?? So a bull can be tortured and weakened prior to the MAIN entertainment!!! :mad:

Totally agree with this.
 
[/I]If you think the curb is terrible and the rein is tight, look at this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-U3qvyXCwA

But we are not talking about the horse and rider in the above video clip. You posted about a horse that was put in danger by his rider and was scared. There is no doubt that the horse can move but having big spurs jabbed in his sides, someone yanking on the curb and a bull running towards him is animal cruelty. Not even mentioning the poor bull.
 
I dont know how you think that's good ..it's not amazing you daft fecker .. just cruel and barbaric !! you're obviously not a annimal lover !!!! hopefully he will fall of his horse one day be gored and spend the rest of his days in a wheel chair...

Blimey, I've just joined the ranks of button pushers. That is completely out of order.
 
I was lucky enough to be able to buy a horse like this - palomino Lusitano, really because I didn't want him to lead this kind of life, where he would be dodging bulls until he was too old to move out of their way!
He is my dream horse, he was 2 when he came over from Spain, and has turned out to be such a wonderful horse.
I think whether there is good horsemanship or not, the horse is only a wrong movement away from a nasty injury from those horns on the poor bull.
 
May I suggest that we calm this conversation down. It really undermines peoples arguments when they are rude to one another. As I have said before I think the majority of people on this forum find bull fighting distasteful but what I was considering was the riding and training of the horse which is why I warned people at the outset that it was a scene of bull fighting. As I have said before sadly cruel things happen to horses all the time some more subtle than others eg. 'blue tongue video', no right minded person condones cruelty to any animals. But this thread was about the riding and this wonderful horses ability.
 
I think whether there is good horsemanship or not, the horse is only a wrong movement away from a nasty injury from those horns on the poor bull.

I completely agree.
Its not that hard to find the 'You Tube' video that also supports this quote. Its horrific to watch :mad:
 
I completely agree.
Its not that hard to find the 'You Tube' video that also supports this quote. Its horrific to watch :mad:

Whilst I fully respect your views on bull fighting I did not intend this to be a thread about bull fighting it was intended to show very skilled riding and a beautifully capable and well trained horse. I did state at the outset that it included bull fighting so why watch it? :)
 
Whilst I fully respect your views on bull fighting I did not intend this to be a thread about bull fighting it was intended to show very skilled riding and a beautifully capable and well trained horse. I did state at the outset that it included bull fighting so why watch it? :)

Because I am entitled to my opinion, thats why:rolleyes:
 
mearas, unfortunatley I do not agree; I do not think that is highly skilled Horsemanship. Yes, the horse can move, but so would you if you had a bull on your tail!

I am not against bull fighting; every country has it's tradition - here is racing and hunting (imo) and lots of people think that is barbaric!

The vid of the portugeese rider in the speed equtation was far more highly skilled imo - the sideways with out touching the pole was just incredible; much higher skills of horsemanship there.
 
Im afraid i agree, its disgusting that anyone could gamble with their horses life like that. Id be running between her and the bull...

I also have to say, if a bull was tanking after me, i think i might be able to move a little bit more nimble and elegant than i usually would. poor horse.

This guy is a good rider obvs, however i wouldnt give him the time of day and certainly wouldnt post about his skill!!!
 
Im afraid i agree, its disgusting that anyone could gamble with their horses life like that. Id be running between her and the bull...

I also have to say, if a bull was tanking after me, i think i might be able to move a little bit more nimble and elegant than i usually would. poor horse.

This guy is a good rider obvs, however i wouldnt give him the time of day and certainly wouldnt post about his skill!!!

Well said
 
Bull fighting debate, well I'll bight my tongue and put that to one side.

However these horses are put through a lot of training before they even see a bull.


I have no doubt there is a some form of very good horsemanship used when training these horses, all be it different to what many of us are used to or maybe agree with, perhaps because of the nature of why they are trained this way it can blind our judgement? thus question why it could be considered good horsemanship/riding and of course assume the horse is scared to death etc.

I don't actually think the horse is scared, yes they are a different style of movements, survival and quite natural type of movements, but they have been trained to perform these and from what I can see, in a controlled and calm manor, you'd know the difference if an untrained horse was faced with a bull.

The horse obviously trusts his rider, which is just one important element of good horsemanship.

Maybe if people were to spend some time watching these horses train and why they use these horses, they may feel differently.
 
Mearas, I understand that you only wanted to share footage of a marvelous horse & rider team; I agree that it is.

Want to add that those horses do get disemboweled, not infrequently. There's a video online of one of those lovely horses getting ", & I think the rider is the same who rides Merlin, & the horse died.

The horses gain much confidence through their training; confidence in themselves & in their riders. Yet it's not hard to imagine that they know what they're up against when in the bullring.
 
what a terriable thing to wish on any one, i think you have just shocked me off this forum actually. and you are a veteran member setting an examlpe to other ( possiably much younger ) board members. you disgust me.
Oh very sorry it was a horrid thing to say about that lovely brave man and his choice of sport
how silly of me, its his culture init.....
 
Oh very sorry it was a horrid thing to say about that lovely brave man and his choice of sport
how silly of me, its his culture init.....

I'm with you on this one. I have no compassion or empathy for this man. I couldn't give 2 hoots if he ended up with a bulls horn up his ass! :mad:
 
Should the horse be scared? If (heaven forbid) there was a slip and he was gored, would he have been right not to be scared (assuming he actually isn't) and to have put all his trust in the rider?
 
what a terriable thing to wish on any one, i think you have just shocked me off this forum actually. and you are a veteran member setting an examlpe to other ( possiably much younger ) board members. you disgust me.

Um yes, Perfect 11s does tend to be prone to little outbursts...
 
Wasn't going to get sucked into this - I don't agree with bullfighting but I did appreciate that horse - and I am aware I'm adding fuel to a bushfire with this post but I couldn't help myself, in my shock...

I decided to research this de-voicing thing with Picador horses and came across this post in another forum:

"A quick google searched reveled that there are two kinds of horseback bullfighting. One uses a highly trained Andalusian horse (the kind we have ooh'ed and ahh'ed on here), and the other uses a heavy, draft type, that is blindfolded and wears heavy pads. Contact with the bull is expected. They "used to" use old nag types, and it was expected that the horse would die in the ring."

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213811

I'm horrified and so disgusted. Surely it can't be?!

Edit: There is a link at the bottom of that post titled 'poor horse poor bull'. I haven't dared look at it but I imagine it is gory. :-/
 
At risk of stirring up more emotional rudeness, in my mind and through my eyes there is no doubt whatsoever that the horse and bull are scared, even terrified. I have seen enough clips of bull fighting before to know this. :( Horses are extremely sensitive, so apart from the immediate danger to himself he will be experiencing the bulls terror and fight for life in a way so vivid, through his senses, that this will be having another powerful effect on him. :(
I also am pretty sure the rider is frightened too at least at times. Human's may be egotistical, adrenaline junkies but most other animals do not seem to be and who is making the choices here and calling the shots?

Consenting humans can fight each other to the death all they want but using animals to 'enhance the experience' is unacceptable to me. How many of us like dog or cock fighting, badger baiting etc. Oh, but there's no skill in that some cry you can't compare. Just think about it? :( :mad:
 
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