Dressage Interesting Article Written by a Retired International Judge on Whether Potential/Paces Should be Rewarded Over Correctness

[daffy44]

What if these two outcomes are borne of the same thing?

Gillian Higgins - "The vast majority of injuries to horses are the result of repetitive strain".

I'm not remotely surprised if the last two factors I mentioned, (inappropriate care/cant cope with the work) are linked, I think they frequently are, but there is a distinction between the two and as I said before I am asking for accuracy.

 

[sbloom]

But if the vast majority of injuries, even if apparently from accidents, are actually occurring to tissue weakened from compensatory movement patterns...and more likely to occur in hypermobile horses...what does it say about breeding and training? I'm absolutely saying there is little difference between a horse not coping with the work, and one that suffers an accident in the field in terms of causality. We just haven't got our brains around it yet, despite people like Gillian Higgins teaching it for years.

 

[Orangehorse]

Farouche? Stellar as a 4 and 5 year old, (I saw her several times live and she was mesmerising) but stopped competing at 7? I think, because she didn't stand up to it, but was bred from by embryo transfer while they tried to restart her a number of times before giving up. So her weaknesses have presumably, at least in part, have been passed on to her offspring.
.

Yes, I think that was the one.

 

[teapot]

I thnk we are on the same page with this, I am horrified by the high wastage of young horses in sport, of all disciplines, but I think to address it we need to look at it in more detail, rather than making assumptions.

Some young horses, while talented, may not be the best fit for the high level rider, in whch case its preferable that they are sold to a home where their individual abilities can be appreciated. Some of them have unfortunate high level career ending illnesses or accidents which occur irrespective to their working/competition life. Then of course there are the young horses whose careers are cut short due to inappropriate training or care, and the ones whose bodies and/or minds simply cannot cope with the demands placed on them.

I just feel if we start naming individuals we should be accurate and in possesion of the facts before we make assumptions to fit our own theories, this is why I think the details of the careers that are cut short are vital. I also think how upset I would be if people who didnt know me or my horses made assumptions about them without knowing all the facts, and I'm sure we would all feel that way. So I think if we name individuals we owe it to them to be accurate, and of course that accuracy helps build a full picture of reasons behind the loss of young horses from sport.

Or given the issues around social license, individuals need to start being honest with why horses suddenly ‘disappear’ from their yards/string. Keeping things hush hush only leads to speculation, or indeed an attitude of ‘we don’t care’.

Different sector, but I had this argument with an old boss. Even at rs level, you can’t just have ponies ‘disappearing’ off a yard. It sparks rumours, and never positive ones.

 

[j1ffy]

I think the issue here is he is chasing a team spot, though when I read the report front which show the other horse he took, the mare actually did better but the focus was on Jovian.

I think it’s interesting even with CDJ how high the wastage is with the sport. Florentina hasn’t been seen since July at GP, I believe Freestyle has gone back to her owner, Valencia went to Amy Woodhead, horses like River Rise Nisa, MSJ Charmer, Hawtins San Floriana and River Rise Escala have all disappeared yet were all big winners at decent level. It’s a bit the same with eventing and Sjing, it’s a numbers game.

I wonder if CDJ was reading this post ?. Hawtins San Floriana is back and won AM and PSG at Hartpury, apparently she had three years out at stud (though I can’t see why they’d do that unless she had an injury):

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/hawtins-san-floriana-charlotte-dujardin-794768

 

[clinkerbuilt]

I wonder if CDJ was reading this post ?. Hawtins San Floriana is back and won AM and PSG at Hartpury, apparently she had three years out at stud (though I can’t see why they’d do that unless she had an injury):

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/hawtins-san-floriana-charlotte-dujardin-794768

it would be nice to imagine her being given a break with a view to longevity in the sport, too... With the amount of horses CDJ brings on, maybe that's feasible?

 

[j1ffy]

it would be nice to imagine her being given a break with a view to longevity in the sport, too... With the amount of horses CDJ brings on, maybe that's feasible?

Carl and Charlotte are as horse-friendly as elite equestrians get, with plenty of field time and holidays for their horses. However I don't think any competitive rider would give a horse 3 years off in their prime unless they had to!

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

... deleted

 

[eahotson]

I think dressage has been breeding"flash" to win over pure technical competence for a long time now. I looked up this recent video of Jovian, the horse the article is about, and shook my head in despair about where dressage horse breeding and competition is heading. Am I the only one who thinks this is a travesty of how a horse, any horse, is meant to look and move, or am I just getting too old?

Agree 100%