HOYS today - shocked at 'professional's' behaviour

"so now i am a horse abuser and dont deserve my horses!! Jesus!!"???

where did that come from?

Looks like you have your opinion which you are perfectly entitled to, but I have mine - which I am also entitled to.
 
sammy0878 said:
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
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So because it has taken training, money, time, blood, sweat and tears to get to that level it makes it ok?

I'm not denying that a lot of work goes in to producing horses to that level but I don't ever think it is acceptable to yank a horse in the mouth like that. Yes I've had to have a heavy hand at times like when my horse tries to step out into the road before it's clear or when she has had a spooky moment and been about to take off but I have never, and never would 'pull a horse up' like BM did.
 
Bustermartin said:
"so now i am a horse abuser and dont deserve my horses!! Jesus!!"???

where did that come from?

Looks like you have your opinion which you are perfectly entitled to, but I have mine - which I am also entitled to.
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Someone commented that they wouldn't want to be Sammy's horse if they think what BM was ok
 
I give up!! you have all made your minds up that he is now a horse abuser from one incident. Before i go though have any of you ridden that horse?? is it an easy ride that doesn't react to the slightest little thing! is it normally a rearer? a bucker? I myself had an accident a few months ago when i was run down by one of my own horses that was in a panic, I ended up with the air ambulance in my field and was rushed to hospital, an experience I hope i never have to repeat, so unless you know the horse you cant say what is was going to do. Maybe the pull was a little hard, i wasnt there but this public slating is just rude and ignorant. Im not saying its ok to yank a horse in the mouth at all so dont put words into my mouth and start attacking me!
 
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sammy0878 said:
I give up!! you have all made your minds up that he is now a horse abuser from one incident. Before i go though have any of you ridden that horse?? is it an easy ride that doesn't react to the slightest little thing! is it normally a rearer? a bucker? I myself had an accident a few months ago when i was run down by one of my own horses that was in a panic, I ended up with the air ambulance in my field and was rushed to hospital, an experience I hope i never have to repeat, so unless you know the horse you cant say what is was going to do. Maybe the pull was a little hard, i wasnt there but this public slating is just rude and ignorant. Im not saying its ok to yank a horse in the mouth at all so dont put words into my mouth and start attacking me!
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The pull was a little hard ?????? My god - he pulled the animal over! Whatever sort of horse it is to ride it doesn't justify it I'm afraid, and if Ben Maher is such a wonderful horseman, he doesn't need to resort to hauling horses so hard that they are on the deck! I'm speechless that anyone is even attempting to justify it to be honest!
 
Fair point?? You don't know me bustermartin so how dare any of you suggest I don't treat my horses well!! They are spoilt rotten although why I'm justifying myself to a bunch.of bunny huggers ill never know
 
I'm not saying it's right touchstone but one minute youre riding a good stride to a 160 fence the next your horse is heading towards a person on the ground. What did you want him to do? Let go of his reins and give the horse a polo?? I'm pretty sure when he pulled that horse up it wasn't to make it go over!
 
I couldn't remember my login details so had to create a new account!! Not that it really has anything to do with you if I'm honest and I wish I hadn't bothered now because I'm being attacked and so is the care of my own horses which is low really low....
 
Oi, calm down!

The thread is not about how forum members treat their horses, but about BM's loss of sanity and what he did in pulling his horse over - which undoubtedly is wrong and totally unacceptable whether professional or not. The fact that people are condemning him for such action is not bunny hugging - it's showing compassion for the horse and he should be disciplined by the powers that be and if necessary taken back to basics to teach him that 'pro' he may be - 'God' he isn't. I just hope that there weren't too many people present who found his actions an 'impressive act of retribution' who will now be tempted to also act in such a way, sadly some people do think that the so-called pros walk on water and if they do it then it must be ok to do themselves.
 
Perhaps everyone would care to read the extract below that is taken from every schedule for an FEI Show and then fluffy bunnys through to top professionals can make their own decision as to whether the incident at HOYS contravened this ruling or not.

"The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) expects all those involved in international equestrian sport to adhere to the FEI’s Code of Conduct and to acknowledge and accept that at all times the welfare of the horse must be paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences."
 
sammy0878 said:
I'm not saying it's right touchstone but one minute youre riding a good stride to a 160 fence the next your horse is heading towards a person on the ground. What did you want him to do? Let go of his reins and give the horse a polo?? I'm pretty sure when he pulled that horse up it wasn't to make it go over!
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I am not going anywhere near how you treat your horses , and neither is anyone else from what I can tell . All people are pointing out , is that if you think that BM's behaviour is accpectable then I do not want to see what you think is not acceptable !!

I would also suggest watching the video again - he does not just give one tug , he gives the horse MULTIPLE jabs in the mouth - this would hurt a horse enough in a snaffle with no noseband , and my bets the poor horse had a strong bit + noseband combination . So the only way it could escape pain is by going backwards - that is a big horse , it must have been in agony to produce such movement .
 
sport horse said:
"The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) expects all those involved in international equestrian sport to adhere to the FEI’s Code of Conduct and to acknowledge and accept that at all times the welfare of the horse must be paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences."
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Not only this but he is an ambassador for the sport so should be setting an example...it does make me wonder what goes on away from the public gaze if he thinks this is acceptable. Has he spoken out in his defence to tell us we are all wrong and missing something?
 
When I was teaching, especially children, I used to get them to demonstrate on themselves why it was so important to not pull back on the reins, whether because of a loss of balance, or loss of control of their temper - insert your little fingers into the corners of your lips and pull as wide as possible. Hurts, doesn't it?
 
sammy0878 said:
I'm not saying it's right touchstone but one minute youre riding a good stride to a 160 fence the next your horse is heading towards a person on the ground. What did you want him to do? Let go of his reins and give the horse a polo?? I'm pretty sure when he pulled that horse up it wasn't to make it go over!
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From what I saw the horse wasn't running off out of control, stewards do have legs and would have been able to get out of the way I'm sure! I've witnessed more than one event rider shout 'move' at a fence judge before now. I wouldn't want him to drop his reins and give his horse a polo, but to ride appropriately, without aggression and temper.

I agree that he didn't want to make the horse go over - it was an unfortunate side effect of using abusive rein aids!
 
fatpiggy said:
When I was teaching, especially children, I used to get them to demonstrate on themselves why it was so important to not pull back on the reins, whether because of a loss of balance, or loss of control of their temper - insert your little fingers into the corners of your lips and pull as wide as possible. Hurts, doesn't it?
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Yes , exactly , am even better way is to put a Pelham on your shin ( with the curb done around your leg) and then you will see how the feels - I have tried this with just a snaffle and it hurts the hell !!!( BTW I ride without a bit !)
 
Think some one should pull out any old videos from the SJ archives and watch BM's previous rounds on horses, IMO he has a pattern.... If the horse goes well and keeps up the jumps he leaves the ring patting said horse and all smiles but if horse has a fence down he does this thing that I can only describe as mildly socking horse in the teeth, he normally brings them to an abrupt halt and does a few snatches of the bit on his way out now I've seen him do this on numerous occasions on the TV BUT had the displeasure of watching him on Aristo Z at the Longines in London this year, horse came in on first round went lovely and clear, huge pats on way out, came out did JO had one down, went through the finish then grabbed it into an abrupt halt and did the same leaving the ring..... Guy needs to have his wrists slapped for this and hope that it may serve him well in the future not to do it again.....
 
That was not a fall and the 'correction' meted out by Maher had no training value whatsoever. He needs to apologise to the scores of up -and-coming young riders who undoubtedly look up to him.
The take-home message here boys and girls is, 'handsome is as handsome does'
 
It's a big shame he is not named in the title of this thread TBH as it would be coming up every time it was searched for on google if it was. He's had a lucky escape there...
 
Anyone who has any concerns about his behaviour should write in the first instance to his sponsors who if they receive sufficient complaints about his behaviour will 'drop him like a brick'. This will have an immediate effect upon his income and result in future potential sponsors no longer wishing to sponsor him. I would also complain to HOYS, BS, BHS and the good old RSPCA. Make additional comments on Twitter were they can not be deleted. We shall make it quite clear to two of his sponsors that if they fail to fully investigate this incident then we will no longer continue to use their products.
 
Google 'Ben Maher' and it brings up the YouTube HOYS clip first. Have you been on his Fb page and asked for an explanation or put a comment..lots of people have and it's very revealing.
 
I put a comment on his facebook page a couple of days ago, all the bad comments have been taken down, and by the looks of it, anyone who had commented about this incident has been blocked to comment!! Just shows his guilt of this even more in my opinion!
 
There were some negative comments below a picture of Aristo which I added to. I've just seen Mary King's blog and her daughter Emily is going to train with Ben Maher at the end of the eventing season..wonder what she learns?!
 
Elbie said:
Someone commented that they wouldn't want to be Sammy's horse if they think what BM was ok
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It was me who made that comment. I didn't say that the sammy0878 doesn't deserve her horses, not sure where she got that from. Obviously I don't know her or her horses. However, I stand by my comment - my point really, was that I fail to see why someone would setup an account to defend BM's cruelty if they didn't think his actions were acceptable. It's worrying and frightening that someone would defend his actions in anyway.
 
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