Is it just me???

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LauraWheeler

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Or are all the horses in the dressage at olympia over bent?
I thought the poll was ment to be the highest point but on watching some of the tests on you tube it seems to be a contest on how close you can get your horses chin to it's chest!!!
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I know dressage is about more than where the horses head is but it makes me sad to see horses going like that it looks so unnatural.
 
No, I noticed it too. I don't know why they aren't marked down for it. tbh I wasn't that impressed with some of the riding and some of the movements. Surely the Spanish horses can do these much better, but simply don't compete at this level?
 
Glad it's not just me. Dressage to me is a horse moving in a natural outline with good self carrage. The horses arn't in self carrage it all has a smell of rolker to me. The other thing that annoys me is extended trot these days seems to be about the front leg action and the back legs just seem to trail along behind. I thought the power was suposed to come from behind but the horses with the extravegant front leg action seem to get 9's for it.
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I wasn't saying my oppinion counts i was mearly making my observations on dressage today and wondering what other people thought. I just find it sad that dressage has become about flashy extravegant movements and it all looks so unnatural and to be honest quite uncomfortable for the horse. Everyone has an oppinion and if people like to see horses go like that then thats there oppinion.
 
i must admit the horses look stunning in the ring i know naff all about dressage but must admit i much prefer to see a natural moving horse than one that looks so uncomfortable if you know what i mean even so they are lovely
 
I am in total agreement. I don't know why such things aren't marked down. To hear some of the comments, you would almost think it was a showing class. I would have thought it far harder to get high marks from classical, less flashy but more correct movement. With some of the horses with overbent head carriage, you could see that they weren't fully tracking up. The emphasis seems to be on flashy, extravagant front leg action which does not match the hindlegs. tbh some of the riders looked like they were struggling, many of the piaffes were quite poor, and most of the horses looked tense and strained, not graceful or light. You don't have to be a top rider to see such things and its disappointing for non-top riders that such faults aren't marked down. I was actually quite uncomfortable watching it. It all looked so forced.
 
Even my OH who has absolutley NO interest in horse's and doesn't really know what dressage is said WOW to that!!
 
DR - that's not like you! Any opinions are valid on here and a discussion about an issue that's being addressed as we speak by the best in the world is certainly worth discussion surely?
 
Box_of_frogs if you mean DR as me, no i know its not like me but i'm fed up of various people on here moaning about the professionals when they couldn't do a better job themselves, and also the sudden apperance of posts with people questioning what there vets have told them to do.
 
To be fair, mostly it would be very difficult to keep the horses head correct all of the time.What I did notice, is that a lot of the riders are behind the verticle.They don't sit up straight, but back.One exception is Edward Gal on Totilas.Never seen him ride anything else.I think its because Totilas is quite a light, compact type of horse.Some of those horses are very large and long.Superb paces, but collection must be very difficult.
 
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I watch this vid of andreas Helgstrand and Blue hors matine and think 'yeah, thats dressage'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQgTiqhPbw

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Ive never seen that vid before and that was amazing!!

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Now that's a test! See now I thought, apart from the mistake, that that was a much nicer test than totilas, so much more fluid and relaxed and the horse positively bounced and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying it, and am I right in understanding that it was a mare???

I think I'm in love
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I watch this vid of andreas Helgstrand and Blue hors matine and think 'yeah, thats dressage'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQgTiqhPbw

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Ive never seen that vid before and that was amazing!!

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Now that's a test! See now I thought, apart from the mistake, that that was a much nicer test than totilas, so much more fluid and relaxed and the horse positively bounced and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying it, and am I right in understanding that it was a mare???

I think I'm in love
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I agree, much nicer than totilas IMO. The mare looked like she absolutely loved it and the connection between them is just so amazing even someone who isnt horsey would be speachless, as i was
 
That test has to be one of the most delightful to watch ever, it is amazing and I still watch it with a grin on my face!
I make no secret of the fact I don't like Totilas or his action but I do wonder if better music wouldn't help him; what is used is like a funeral dirge which makes the tests dull and boring once you've seen it once. I've tried turning the music off when I watch both and there is still no comparison, the mare gets my vote every time. Such a great shame we won't see her competing again.
 
I haven't posted for ages but just had to reply to this post, I am definatly not an expert but I was uncomfortable watching Totilas at Olympia, but everyone else was raving about it so I thought I must be wrong!! I wasn't keen on his neck and the canter pirouette looked really uncomfortable, plus I have to agree with the comments about mismatched fore and hind action, all looks too theatrical for me! Phew, glad I got that off my chest! Would like to know the answer to the original question, shouldn't the poll be the highest point?

I know that it can be said we are not the judges so what do we know but to be honest, judges in every discipline (not just horses) are guilty of causing exaggerations, look at the fat show horses, the german shepherds at crufts who can hardly walk straight and cats with flat faces..... these are all caused by judges making inappropriate awards and setting ridiculous standards.... so sometimes I do think that layman are in a good place to make a criticism, judges are not gods.

Rant over
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Bossdog I couldnt agree more.

As a owner of a fully papered genitically crippled dog, I am also concerned about the exaggerations.
I just hope the horse industry doesnt go the same way.
 
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also the sudden apperance of posts with people questioning what there vets have told them to do.

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If that's directed at me then I don't really see your point. Whats wrong with questioning, it's not like you're NOT doing what they said. My vet said paddock rest, I thought box rest, so I asked on here and got a second opinion from my old vet, and rang my (current) vet just to clarify.

It ended up he meant paddock rest unless the horse continued to be lame or was over-exuberant in the field, o struggled in the mud by the gate.

If I hadn't have questioned it, then my horse could have ended up suffering.

Questioning things means that things get done. Directly going against vets instructions is daft, but questioning and clarification is only in the horse's best interests.
 
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also the sudden apperance of posts with people questioning what there vets have told them to do.

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If that's directed at me then I don't really see your point. Whats wrong with questioning, it's not like you're NOT doing what they said. My vet said paddock rest, I thought box rest, so I asked on here and got a second opinion from my old vet, and rang my (current) vet just to clarify.

It ended up he meant paddock rest unless the horse continued to be lame or was over-exuberant in the field, o struggled in the mud by the gate.

If I hadn't have questioned it, then my horse could have ended up suffering.

Questioning things means that things get done. Directly going against vets instructions is daft, but questioning and clarification is only in the horse's best interests.

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I have also questioned my vet the time Madam had a blood clot on her hind , She told me to box rest for a further 4 week or more, She already was box rested 5 weeks .

I then had physio out and she had lazer and ultrasound treatment, I asked her opinion and in the end she said to let her out .

I went against my vets advice and low and behold, she is absolutely fine . With exercise and arnica and the previous treatment from the physio .....The blood clot has dispersed, I think personally if I had of box rested her ..... it would have just prolonged the whole injury .

I'm glad I questioned my vet . Even though they know their "stuff" ..... they don't actually know a horse as an individual , every horse heals in a different way .
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And my little rant over
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And apologies for going off topic
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No, I noticed it too. I don't know why they aren't marked down for it. tbh I wasn't that impressed with some of the riding and some of the movements. Surely the Spanish horses can do these much better, but simply don't compete at this level?

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For me the SRS are more correct and more enjoyable to watch than competitive dressage. Their horses work at this level, they just don't *compete*. Am having this conversation on another forum... I don't think any of the more classical people tend to compete as they train their horses simply for the joy of the training.
 
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This will sound awful and its really not meant nastily but, seeing as your not a top rider or judge as if you where you'd be there, your oppinion is not the one that counts really.

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Since we, the general public, are the ones that choose whether or not to buy the tickets to show which are the point of this sport in the first place, then I would say our opinion really does count! I don't watch competitive dressage much anymore because for me, the horses aren't correct (I also loathe the training methods that many of them use but won't start a rollkur debate on this thread) yet the judges still mark them well.

Do you really think that a sport can continue without the support and backing of the specators? Of course not. If there are enough people who find competitive dressage distasteful then crowd numbers will fall. The general public have to find the sport enjoyable and interesting, otherwise why put the shows on?

I actually didn't think the horses looked as overbent as they have in the past.
 
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