Grooming for friend at BE90 yesterday - quite shocked!

[fine_and_dandy]

I helped my friend take her lovely new pone to Wokingham to Wheatlands Farm for their first BE90 together; it was my friend's first ODE in about 18 months (due to health issues with her last horse) and new pone's first ODE.

They were fantastic and we had a brilliant time! They eventually finished 11th out of 37 which was fab!

One thing which really shocked me though was the number of very obese horses competing, especially given the heat of the day. I cannot stand obesity in horses and what is considered 'show condition' angers me. I was so shocked to see horses in a similar state at an event where the physical exertion would be more telling on them. It almost bordered on cruelty to see the state that some of those horses finished in, with one not in control of his legs coming down the hill and almost climbing over the last jump. Most of them ended up either not finishing as they were not capable, or if they did, they had a immense number of time penalties as they just had nothing left to get roundin anything more than a very laboured trot.

I would have thought that it would have made more sense to get your horse fit for something like this before expecting them to go round a ODE when they obviously were not fit enough to do so.

On a separate note, some of the combinations I watched were fantastic! And the ponies who knew it all like the backed their hoof were just great to watch it has almost given me the bug to get my jumping nerve back, and if nothing else, go and hire recourse with friends to show Bailey a bit more of the world!

 

[star]

it wasn't a BE90 at Wheatlands yesterday - that's not an affiliated venue.

Because it's unaffiliated you will always get a huge variety in standards and people trying to take unfit horses round. You dont tend to see that anywhere near as much at BE events.

 

[fine_and_dandy]

Apologies, showing my lack of eventing knowledge here! On the paperwork my friend had it was headed up as a BE90

No, I can appreciate there would be a difference, but it stil shocked me nonetheless. I would have thought common sense would have prevailed, particularly with how warm it was.

Really nice venue though, was impressed by the quality of it.

 

[angelish]

hi well done for your friend

i have witnessed obese horses at affiliated BE events on more than a few occasions ,yes they are more common at UA events but do still happen affiliated

ill never forget a colored horse going around the BE90 at hutton in the forest a couple of years ago ,it barely made it round the sj
i was JJ at northalerton BE event last year and the amount of unfit/fat horses there was shocking but the worst example was when i spent two days spectating at burgham this year

there was a black/v dark bay welsh cob type past me on the xc course that really should have been pulled up it was so fat it could hardly breath
it wasn't the only one i saw over the weekend but it was certainly the worst

i can understand horses are maybe not as fit this year as would be normal out eventing because of the extreme weather and the lack of runs because of canceled events but these were extreme and in my opinion should not have been allowed to start the xc
should BE be doing more to stop obese horses starting the xc ?
i think so and i don't think enough is being done as it is in my opinion cruel and dangerous to allow these few idiots out onto the course

 

[fine_and_dandy]

hi well done for your friend

i have witnessed obese horses at affiliated BE events on more than a few occasions ,yes they are more common at UA events but do still happen affiliated

thanks they were mega, they really were!

I'm a relative newcomer to the eventing scene from a grooming/spectating view (only ever been to Badders previously on a few occasions) and it was a real eye opener.

 

[Jane_Lou]

We were at Solihull for the RC areas a few weeks back and I saw a good few that I considered to be too fat for eventing and one pony that I seriously considered speaking to the organisers about, I must say that I have rarely seen this at affiliated level.

 

[Jnhuk]

At a BE event a few years ago when I was jump judging, a rather unfit and fat pony going round the BE80 course was causing concern listening to the commentary over the radio as it went round the course. The officials listening to the FJs comments were alerted and the combination was stopped from continuing. At a BE event, with the radio communication it is easy to do this but at an UA it is not.

 

[orionstar]

I can completely agree with you on this one, having just been to two days at Burgham watching the BE90 and BE100 then Novice on the second day. One jump judge on here said the going was deep because of the number of horses finishing tired. I walked the whole course, and the going was great, but I was really shocked by, as the op put it, overweight and unfit horses being asked to compete at that level, and I'm talking apple bottomed, wobbly bits, gasping at the fifth fence unfit. I dont compete affiliated, but I wouldnt take my horse to a local xcountry schooling day in this condition, let alone compete in BE!

 

[millitiger]

We were at Solihull for the RC areas a few weeks back and I saw a good few that I considered to be too fat for eventing and one pony that I seriously considered speaking to the organisers about, I must say that I have rarely seen this at affiliated level.

I was jump judging at this and was at fence 3- the amount of obese horses who were blowing by the time they got to me was surprisingly large; lucky riders having such genuine horses to take them all the way around the course!

 

[mtj]

At a BE event a few years ago when I was jump judging, a rather unfit and fat pony going round the BE80 course was causing concern listening to the commentary over the radio as it went round the course. The officials listening to the FJs comments were alerted and the combination was stopped from continuing. At a BE event, with the radio communication it is easy to do this but at an UA it is not.

Slightly alarmed at the idea of any event running without radios. How do they communicate falls/accidents etc?

Assuming course is not all in eye line where flags can be used.

 

[Andalusianlover1]

In defence of chubby ponios, I have a 15.2 Andalusian who is short backed, chunky and can sometimes appear to be a bit podgy in places. I love to do HT and have done a couple of unaff horse trials/ODE and have managed the odd Open HT. He lives off fresh air, doesnt get fed much and gets loads of exercise including plenty of galloping on good gallops. Can I get and inch of weight off him? not a chance in hell. He can easily do the times and always gleefully leaps the last fence like its the first. I do laugh at us in the collecting ring with all the lean long legged TB types, but he regularly gets placed.

I have resorted to a muzzle 24hrs per day with the odd day off and I might soon be able to feel his ribs, something I've never done before.

My point is, is that there are probably more of my boys type around, chunky chubby looking ponies that are quite possibly fit and healthy underneath that les than lean exterior!

 

[Santa_Claus]

It def happens at BE as well. On Sunday although I didn't see any criminally overweight horses several were struggling badly with the hills and heat as were lots of riders. Yes it was roasting but there was ways to cope. I cut down my dressage warm up and went xc literally straight after sj to save a warm up for my horses sake.

The unfit riders annoy me as well especially when combined with unfit horses. One at Mattingly this year I wished to pull off her horse. It somehow got round through sheer genuineness but was literally on its knees at the finish and rider was not just unfit but very overweight. Lastly the point I wished to pull her off her horse was when having finished she didn't get off and walk her poor horse back to the lorry no she stayed on board as she was to tired to walk back herself!

 

[BeckyD]

This has triggered my post about how to keep the weight off my fattie. He also lives off fresh air.

It's embarrassing!

 

[fine_and_dandy]

In defence of chubby ponios, I have a 15.2 Andalusian who is short backed, chunky and can sometimes appear to be a bit podgy in places. I love to do HT and have done a couple of unaff horse trials/ODE and have managed the odd Open HT. He lives off fresh air, doesnt get fed much and gets loads of exercise including plenty of galloping on good gallops. Can I get and inch of weight off him? not a chance in hell. He can easily do the times and always gleefully leaps the last fence like its the first. I do laugh at us in the collecting ring with all the lean long legged TB types, but he regularly gets placed.

I have resorted to a muzzle 24hrs per day with the odd day off and I might soon be able to feel his ribs, something I've never done before.

My point is, is that there are probably more of my boys type around, chunky chubby looking ponies that are quite possibly fit and healthy underneath that les than lean exterior!

The difference I think in what you have described about your horse and those I witnessed on Sunday were that those horses certainly were not doing the times at all and not leaping the fences as though they were the first fence Most didn't look comfortable whatsoever and some were seriously laboured. It was quite painful to see.

 

[fine_and_dandy]

It def happens at BE as well. On Sunday although I didn't see any criminally overweight horses several were struggling badly with the hills and heat as were lots of riders. Yes it was roasting but there was ways to cope. I cut down my dressage warm up and went xc literally straight after sj to save a warm up for my horses sake.

The unfit riders annoy me as well especially when combined with unfit horses. One at Mattingly this year I wished to pull off her horse. It somehow got round through sheer genuineness but was literally on its knees at the finish and rider was not just unfit but very overweight. Lastly the point I wished to pull her off her horse was when having finished she didn't get off and walk her poor horse back to the lorry no she stayed on board as she was to tired to walk back herself!

This is another thing that surprised me given how warm it was on Sunday. My friend's number was the mid fifties, and there were some in her class with numbers in the seventies who had got to the dressage, showjumping and cross country warm up before she did and were working in for a long time before their tests, despite being no where near their start time. Some of them - horses and riders - were pouring with sweat long before they were due to start.

 

[Andalusianlover1]

The difference I think in what you have described about your horse and those I witnessed on Sunday were that those horses certainly were not doing the times at all and not leaping the fences as though they were the first fence Most didn't look comfortable whatsoever and some were seriously laboured. It was quite painful to see.

Thats pretty sad then!

 

[birchave0]

hi well done for your friend

i have witnessed obese horses at affiliated BE events on more than a few occasions ,yes they are more common at UA events but do still happen affiliated

ill never forget a colored horse going around the BE90 at hutton in the forest a couple of years ago ,it barely made it round the sj
i was JJ at northalerton BE event last year and the amount of unfit/fat horses there was shocking but the worst example was when i spent two days spectating at burgham this year

there was a black/v dark bay welsh cob type past me on the xc course that really should have been pulled up it was so fat it could hardly breath
it wasn't the only one i saw over the weekend but it was certainly the worst

i can understand horses are maybe not as fit this year as would be normal out eventing because of the extreme weather and the lack of runs because of canceled events but these were extreme and in my opinion should not have been allowed to start the xc
should BE be doing more to stop obese horses starting the xc ?
i think so and i don't think enough is being done as it is in my opinion cruel and dangerous to allow these few idiots out onto the course

I was at Burgham this year and myself and a friend did notice the amount of unfit and blowing horses on the XC
I also saw the welsh cob you referred to in the SJ, it was struggling then....
It wasn't a hot day, the going was very good so really there is no excuse
very worrying really