Cannot believe what I just saw on BBC1

[Vixxy]

So who ordered him to draw his batton because the only other target would be the crowd! You will see that none of the other officers have drawn theirs. I would rather believe that he drew it to give the horse a possibly deserved slap or two ,than that it was to ride into the crowd and crack heads!

I agree Mike007

I think the horse has a job to do and should have moved forward as it is trained to do. Sorry maybe I am too firm a horse woman but they do have a job to do and have been through so much training for this stuff.

I am surprised by the amount of concern for a horse that is trained to be brave...Hello who has not seen them jump through hoops of fire at displays

When a horse I ride won't go forward if he doesn't listen to my leg he gets the whip on his bum...Sorry but that is how I was taught. I don't like teaching horses it is okay to nap!

 

[spaniel]

oooooh now thats a tricky one.....havent had any trouble with 'tofu knitter' yet.....

 

[Tankey]

Certainly not. Hugging bunnies is in direct contravention of their lagomorphic rights

*Toddles off to google lagamorphic*

 

[nativetyponies]

Oh *******s, well what can I say then?

not a lot TBH....

and for Gawds Sake don't mention the Abattoir..........

 

[Mike007]

That's what it looked like to me as well. I think perhaps some people here are rushing to judgement without knowing the facts.

Have a good look at the batton on the saddle of the nearest horse, (off side ,just behind the saddle flap) That is a solid batton, it is NOT extendable so any movement was to USE it not extend it.

 

[TheEquineOak]

Unless of course we are Ethical Trainer in which case we would all dismount and spend a few moments making daisy chains for each other.

That is actually the funniest thing I have read on this forum.

I GENUINELY spurted my wine over my laptop this time

 

[lastphoenix]

I agree with a horse needing to go forward and giving it a smack behind the saddle etc etc, but maybe its the way the rider raises their arm right up in order to (what appears) hit the horse. its a tough one.

 

[Whoopit]

Unless of course we are Ethical Trainer in which case we would all dismount and spend a few moments making daisy chains for each other.

Hahaha!! Hope they've got a nose net on their mount, just in case it's allergic to pollen!

 

[Cuppatea]

horses read now that a new one on me!

my horse can read, when she sees the big 'STOP' written on the roads, she stops. VERY obiedient. She can also read and obey them in welsh too! Bi-lingual she is!!

 

[spaniel]

Well you learn something new everyday.....we can now refer to lagamorphs......vegetation eating wooly footed bucked toothed individuals.....sounds just like bunny huggers to me!!

 

[custard]

Haven't read all the posts but watched the video several times and will just add my twopenoth as an 'insider' so to speak.

It's debatable whether he makes contact with the horse, those fixed batons are heavy and solid and I think you would see the horse react to it. Even so, one horse had already bolted towards the serial of officers holding the line and the second horse looked like it was about to flatten several officers which in a disorder situation like that just CANNOT happen.

An officer down can all too easily end up dead, think of Keith Blakelock so sorry, it wasn't nice to see but they are there to do a job. Personally I would rather see them use a high pressure hose pipe and send them home cold and wet but with our namby pamby government that's not going to happen!

 

[Mike007]

I agree with a horse needing to go forward and giving it a smack behind the saddle etc etc, but maybe its the way the rider raises their arm right up in order to (what appears) hit the horse. its a tough one.

But in fairness I bet that horse has had harder kicks in the ribs from its mates in the field.In terms of natural horsemanship, that is how a horse disciplines another horse(and why riders so often get kicked in the leg).

 

[Tankey]

not a lot TBH....

and for Gawds Sake don't mention the Abattoir..........

What wrong with an abattoir?
Thats where you take the horse after you have given it a battoning

 

[MurphysMinder]

What wrong with an abattoir?
Thats where you take the horse after you have given it a battoning

You're one of those horse haters aren't you!

 

[sunshine19]

Personally I would rather see them use a high pressure hose pipe and send them home cold and wet but with our namby pamby government that's not going to happen!

But that would infringe their human rights, they might catch a cold and sue

 

[nativetyponies]

You're one of those horse haters aren't you!

see what happens Tanks...i did warn you, you've brought it on yourself

 

[Tankey]

You're one of those horse haters aren't you!

Cant stand the bloody things

 

[PapaFrita]

It's some kind of ESP.

Obviously, I could teach you how to do it, through my series of instructional DVDs (entitled 'Into The Light - a guide on how you can pop out of the woodwork at all the least opportune moments'), but only on receipt of the full retail price of £54,000. I take credit and debit cards, cheques, postal orders, cash, PayPal, and your immortal soul.

Are you straying from the flock???

 

[Tankey]

see what happens Tanks...i did warn you, you've brought it on yourself

Its alright NP...I'm covering for you

 

[S_N]

God, it's like Car Crash TV hits HHO AGAIN!! FFS!!

 

[sykokat]

Had enough of this!! Where do you lot get off criticising the mounties like that. It is not clear that the officer actually connected with the horse. Looks to me like he was trying to flick out the baton in readiness to face the protestors. Even if he had given the horse a smack, then he would have done so necessarily. Have you actually ever been in a situation where a horse has seriously spun on you at an oncoming lorry etc! Well I have and I can tell you that sometimes a smack on the backside can make the difference of the horse stopping and coming to it's senses and being hit by the said vehicle. The police horses are there to do a job and in those circumstances they have to pay attention. Bunny huggers need to stop picking on the people like the mounted police and see if they could actually do any better!!

 

[Walrus]

IMO, it may look a bit brutal but if I was on a horse reversing quickly into a crowd / ditch / wire fence / dangerous thing I would resort to kicking / smacking etc. to ensure that we went in the opposite direction!

 

[Ebenezer_Scrooge]

I have watched this 3 times and I didn't see it make contact. I have had a go with those batons and they take a heck of a lot of force to flick them out. That was what happened . I am more concerned at the idiot student throwing the firework....

 

[Serephin]

In my opinion he did not make contact with the horse - if he had hit the horse with as much force as it obviously took to open up the baton (or whatever it was) then the horse would react.

The horse at the front was very brave!

 

[tania01]

OMG unbelieveable some people.

OH not a horsey person at all,frightened of them if honest.

Showed him this and the comments.

His words.Tree huggers they have the best training there is and they know what they are doing.

I won't put what else he said,as i will get banned,this is mild.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Oh my holy God, do the cops not have enough crap, paperwork and red tape to deal with, without fending off calls and emails from a load of hysterical biddies who would no doubt wet their knickers and cry their eyes out if they were stuck in the middle of a real, dangerous, riot situation.

There are animals not a million miles away from any of us, being neglected, starved, beaten, truly suffering in our own back yards, go try fighting on their behalf instead of erroneously knocking someone in a job that very, very few of us could do.

 

[mymare]

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus!! Seen it all now.

 

[tania01]

Oh my holy God, do the cops not have enough crap, paperwork and red tape to deal with, without fending off calls and emails from a load of hysterical biddies who would no doubt wet their knickers and cry their eyes out if they were stuck in the middle of a real, dangerous, riot situation.

There are animals not a million miles away from any of us, being neglected, starved, beaten, truly suffering in our own back yards, go try fighting on their behalf instead of erroneously knocking someone in a job that very, very few of us could do.

Ditto this.

 

[Tormenta]

There are animals not a million miles away from any of us, being neglected, starved, beaten, truly suffering in our own back yards, go try fighting on their behalf instead of erroneously knocking someone in a job that very, very few of us could do.

Amen to that! But sadly there seem to be quite a few who would rather put their energy into complaining about a couple of smacks on the backside over a sheet.

Unbelievable.

Someone please, show them the real world!

 

[Onyxia]

Certainly not. Hugging bunnies is in direct contravention of their lagomorphic rights

Bugger.
Can we still use cats as portable hot water bottles? Tis all my woofter of a lad is good for you see.....


I did not see riders abusing horses,I did see some very brave combinations.