HOYS today - shocked at 'professional's' behaviour

As the OP of this post I just want to say that I posted to comment on my horror at the way the horse was treated - I am a bit shocked by the personal comments it has generated and agree that efforts would be better directed to complaining to the powers that be - as I have done to HOYS via their contact us facility on their website.
 
Last edited:
I am another person who previously thought ben was a nice quiet rider and one to be emulated. How wrong was I. This is not a good example to set anyone let alone at one of our top shows. Terrible lack of self control mr maher and very poor horsemanship. I hope you are ashamed of yourself.
 
On facebook by a supporter of Ben? Does this really say it all? We think not.

Murdoch Sports Horses He does not need to justify himself to a jealous crowd of spiteful people who have nothing better to do Bens horses have the very best of care and live a life of luxury I suggest you time would be better served doing something about all the starving and neglected horses around the country
13 minutes ago · Like · 2

https://www.facebook.com/vanah.hors...0577236327965/817461771639505/?type=1&theater
 
Vanah have been blocked and all comments deleted, even when requested that Ben issues a statement.

Contact has been made to FEI, HOYS, Ben and his sponsors asking for a statement
 
The whole affair is very distasteful and shameful- showjumping is a hard and money driven 'sport', and no doubt many horses are abused in their so called 'training'. No wonder show jumping is no longer televised much, and has plummeted in popularity. If Mr Maher doesnt get red card/fined/banned/publicly reprimanded then the showjumping powers that be are even more corrupt and careless of welfare than I thought.
 
Vanah.Horses said:
On facebook by a supporter of Ben? Does this really say it all? We think not.

Murdoch Sports Horses He does not need to justify himself to a jealous crowd of spiteful people who have nothing better to do Bens horses have the very best of care and live a life of luxury I suggest you time would be better served doing something about all the starving and neglected horses around the country
13 minutes ago · Like · 2

https://www.facebook.com/vanah.hors...0577236327965/817461771639505/?type=1&theater
Click to expand...

Ooh yes I'm so jealous I haven't mastered the art of jabbing my horse severely in the gob...
 
Elbie said:
Ooh yes I'm so jealous I haven't mastered the art of jabbing my horse severely in the gob...
Click to expand...

Perhaps BM could teach you this professional method of his in a clinic, he seems to have mastered it. Of course, hauling your horses back teeth out is just the basics, you must also learn to cause enough pain/distress to make your horse fall over backwards. Then just to make sure you are highly experienced in such training, you must prove you have the mindset to follow this through publicly, say in front of thousands. One has a reputation to maintain.

It's important for people to know horses are machines and if they disfunction, they must immediately be rewired by flipping them over, it's the only reboot that works.
 
I am just posting to say disgusted I am with this , and I think the HHO should keep this thread going , and keep complaining , until some action is taken . I cannot believe that this has been accepted by the competition hosts , and that he has not yet been called up for his actions .
THIS HAS TO CHANGE !!!!
 
oh dear!! you cant tell what happened from that video!! yes the horse fell but my god ive seen much much worse videos than that one!
I'm guessing you are all top riders who make a living from riding and competing and have never told a horse off ever??
 
sammy0878 said:
oh dear!! you cant tell what happened from that video!! yes the horse fell but my god ive seen much much worse videos than that one!
I'm guessing you are all top riders who make a living from riding and competing and have never told a horse off ever??
Click to expand...

All the eye witness reports say the same thing, and the video shows the same thing. that's consistent enough for me. If that behaviour is something you would do to your own horse then I'd seriously consider taking up a different sport that doesn't involve living animals.

I've competed for years and never has 'telling a horse off' involved making it fall backwards to avoid pain i'm inflicting on it, regardless of it it was a rider error or not. If that's the way you ride then you really need to take a hard look at yourself. And for a professional rider to do that and not acknowledge it is 100 times worse - he's saying it's acceptable. And it's completely not.
 
sammy0878 said:
oh dear!! you cant tell what happened from that video!! yes the horse fell but my god ive seen much much worse videos than that one!
I'm guessing you are all top riders who make a living from riding and competing and have never told a horse off ever??
Click to expand...

Well I've never pulled a horse over backwards...

Are you saying you can only ever comment on something if you do it to a top level?

It looks fairly obvious what has happened in that video to me. And I hope the worse videos you have seen were reported?
Just because worse exists does not mean attempts should not be made to make this better.

Two wrongs don't make a right, and I do believe this needs addressing.
 
sammy0878 said:
oh dear!! you cant tell what happened from that video!! yes the horse fell but my god ive seen much much worse videos than that one!
I'm guessing you are all top riders who make a living from riding and competing and have never told a horse off ever??
Click to expand...

Wow! If you think Maher's treatment of the horse in the video is acceptable then I would hate to be any horse of yours! Just because you have seen worse, doesn't make what he did right. And it's the worry that he would do much worse behind closed doors if he is prepared to behave so cruelly in front of a crowd of thousands. And you can see what happened from the video - he hauled on the horse's mouth so hard and long that the horse fell over backwards. Dangerous and cruel behaviour!
 
anothernewbie said:
There was 21 pages on this thread earlier....now there are 18....does that mean this is being deleted too? I'm confused!
Click to expand...

Having had a brief squizz it seems that the personal attacks have been removed and rightly so IMHO. Admin have left people's opinions of his behaviour and one can only hope that future posters will not drag this so far off course that their only resort is to delete it.
 
Also interesting you can't seem to get onto his official website now either ! I was trying to find out who his sponsors were as was going to contact them ! Anyone know ?
 
I wouldn't say it was an overly tight line at all an I don't think the stop was a result of cutting the corner..but we will never know what caused it

That said appalling and unnecessary behavior on BM's part... a quick tap of the stick not as punishment but to back up the leg aids would be suffice if say for example the horse was backing of the leg and offf the bridle.

I am by no means a top level professional but that is my opinion of the situation..I may probably be wrong
In short I agree with the negative response to his riding in this situation but I am equally disgusted by the petty and personal remarks being made with regards to his appearance and voice.
 
sammy0878 said:
oh dear!! you cant tell what happened from that video!! yes the horse fell but my god ive seen much much worse videos than that one!
I'm guessing you are all top riders who make a living from riding and competing and have never told a horse off ever??
Click to expand...

Even from a poor quality video you can see the first "pull" when he is leaning right back.

Fair enough, sometimes you may need to tell a horse off but yanking a horse in the mouth is not acceptable. Looks like the horse didn't get it's striding right into the fence but even if BM felt the horse was at fault I would expect a tap on the shoulder. Not dental extraction work!
 
sammy0878 said:
first pull?? The one that stopped the horse running into the steward, was he meant to let the horse run the steward over??
Click to expand...

A half decent rider should be able to stop his horse running someone over without yanking on it like that!! The video might not be the best quality but you can quite easily see when the horse chucks its head up in the air in pain as Ben leans back and 'socks it in the teeth!' We may not all be top riders, but we are not complete idiots!
 
The horse isn't about to run anywhere. Where it is heading is towards another jump so not like it was going to 'run' far.

Seems like the horse has a surge forwards when he yanks it in the mouth.
 
so now i am a horse abuser and dont deserve my horses!! Jesus!! I am not saying yanking a horse in the mouth is ok and no its not something i do. Do you have any idea the amount of training, money, time, blood sweat and tears that go into achieving the results that BM has! You all seem to think its easy. Ive seen cattle prods used on horses to make them jump and I lost my job for speaking up so I am against any kind of ill treatment of any animal. My point is that there are lots of things that go on and you are all over reacting because he pulled his horse up, looks to me like the horse took more offence than was intended stumbled back and fell, more of an accident than an intention from the rider! We all have our own opinions but dont attack me for having mine!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top