Is this as wrong as I think it is...?

Shantara

Shantara

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I went to a dog show yesterday in Lincs, which is a whole other drama in itself...organisers were rude, an extremely skinny dog was placed above mine, it started 1hr 30mins late...I could go on.


Anyway, when we got back to the car, the dog decided to do her business, so I bagged it and went back into the show ground to get rid. On my way back, I noticed a horse standing strangely in a field across the road. As I walked closer (back to my car, not across the road) I realised it had a pessoa on, very very tight! So tight that it was very over bent and chomping at the bit that it had on, which was clearly extremely uncomfortable. It was very tight around the back end too and it kept lifting it's legs, which could easily have got caught. There was no one around, it wasn't supervised in any way.

My friend and I didn't really know what to do, so we just waited. We were there about 20mins before someone came to release the poor animal, I have no idea how long it was like that before we arrived.

So, is this as wrong as I think it is, or am I being my usual fluffybunny self, I'm finding the whole situation very hard to process, I've never seen anything like it.
 
I did get some bad pictures, it doesn't really show much as we were across the road and my phone camera is pants! Thanks for the suggestions! I might talk to the BHS, I'd forgotten about them, I think they're more likely to take it seriously.
 
It is worth talking to the NHS welfare officer for the area .
The Horse is clearly in the care and control of someone very high up on the idiot scale .
 
Think you might meant the BHS? The NHS isn't likely to be able to assist! Even badly taken photos will be enough for the welfar officer to have a word at least.
 
Could it have escaped? Was in the middle of working in the arena then buggered off? Took owners 20 mins to find it?

Probably not, but just a thought.
 
tallyho! said:
That is rolkur. Needs to be reported.
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Rolkur is in it's self not outside the law . leaving a horse in a field in a training aid is not rolkur which is a training system people do mounted .
Leaving a training aid a Pessoa on a horse in a field is stupid and dangerous and will achieve nothing good and the person needs advice if the horse where to be injured the owner could be prosecuted however it highly unlikely that would ever happen .
CHan are sure the horse had not just got loose of its lunge line .
 
alainax said:
Could it have escaped? Was in the middle of working in the arena then buggered off? Took owners 20 mins to find it?

Probably not, but just a thought.
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That was my thought but even if correct sounds like a very harshly/incorrectly fitted pessoa and a call to BHS would be in order.
 
I think you must be VERY certain of your facts before you go reporting people. Could it have got loose and got the pessoa hooked up making it tight? If it was tight in front and loose elsewhere (you say it could have got its legs caught) it sounds like the pessoa was caught somewhere. Are you sure it was unsupervised? Could someone have been keeping an eye on it? Do you have exact times written down?
I let loose a horse on the lunge once when I slipped on a pile of poo. The line trailing behind made it panic and it galloped off round the set-aside. It was a good hour before I managed to catch up with it, with the rope wrapped round a tree stump, looked like it had been tied there. Things arent always quite what they seem...
 
Sadly this is still quite a common practice. How do you think show horses and ponies 'appear' to be on the bit when the rider has little or no contact and is riding with their reins in loops and their hands up by their ears.
I thought it had died out years ago, but I still see it. It makes my blood boil. The people doing this have no real skills as horsemen or woman. Its a very short term 'fix'. I liken it to someone tying my head to my knees - miserable and painful and teaches nothing. You end up with a horse petrified of its mouth and its hocks trailing in the next county.
 
On my phone so apologies for typos or bag grammar.

It was definitely left like that on purpose. No lunge line attached and it wasn't panicked, just uncomfortable. I don't know how long it was like that, but it was at least 20mins.
After 20mins 2 people strolled over and calmly removed the pessoa and it went back to grazing, like it was a normal thing.
It was tight all over, on its mouth, across its back and round the back. It was close ish to a house but I couldn't see anyone watching, the fields were open on all sides and I couldn't see anyone out there.
 
Just to add when they took it off - that's all they did. If a horse gets away from me, I check legs first then all over for injury. Tey didn't check it at all.
I'll try and compose an email to bhs. It was in an electric tape field too, so if it took fright it may have just got even more tangled...I dread to think about it
 
I've witnessed similar before whilst viewing a livery yard- they had a Welsh in to produce and he was left tied up in a roller/bridle/side reins combination for the entire time I was on the yard (about 20/30 minutes), poor soul. So it doesn't surprise me. Would a welfare charity really pick this up?! Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning it and think it's a pretty nasty practice but compared to the calls they get about neglected/abandoned animals, surely this wouldn't feature high on their priority list/isn't the kind of thing they get involved in? (Not that this is a reason not to report it but I'm just curious if they do pick these kinds of calls up?)
 
The 'tying in' of show ponies is pretty common but usually happens behind closed doors as people are understandably shocked by the practice

In this situation though I dont think for sure you can hand on heart say you know the full story
 
WelshD said:
The 'tying in' of show ponies is pretty common but usually happens behind closed doors as people are understandably shocked by the practice

In this situation though I dont think for sure you can hand on heart say you know the full story
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Yeah, I can't be 100% sure, but it seemed pretty clear it was done intentionally. The body language of the horse and of the people said to me that it was a regular thing.
 
Maybe you could find the place on Google maps? See if it's an equestrian centre, private house, dealing yard or whatever? Maybe you could find a FB page if you can see their name. You could go from there then.
 
I can't see anything which suggests it's a business. From google earth it looks like it's either private, or a very small livery, as there was more than one lorry, but then there's nothing to say a private yard at home wouldn't have more than one. There's no signage outside, but then neither does my yard and that's a livery.
Hmmm!
 
I would have gone in and taken it off, leaving a note to say why!! Makes me so mad, hate all these gadgets that people seem to think are necessary. Horses are on the whole such genuinely accommodating animals but we still strap them into ridiculous, painful positions to make our life easier when we get on them, rant over.
 
Crugeran Celt said:
I would have gone in and taken it off, leaving a note to say why!! Makes me so mad, hate all these gadgets that people seem to think are necessary. Horses are on the whole such genuinely accommodating animals but we still strap them into ridiculous, painful positions to make our life easier when we get on them, rant over.
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And what would have happened had you been hurt? You cannot advocate going into people's fields taking equipment off just because you don't like it. Go into the yard and talk to them, communication and education is the way to go.
Whatever next- barefoot lovers coming into fields removing shoes?
 
stormox said:
And what would have happened had you been hurt? You cannot advocate going into people's fields taking equipment off just because you don't like it. Go into the yard and talk to them, communication and education is the way to go.
Whatever next- barefoot lovers coming into fields removing shoes?
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Point taken. Guess what, I am a barefoot lover too. Ha, ha. Not adverse to shoeing, depends on the horse and circumstances. I just hate gadgets being used as a 'quick fix'.
 
Crugeran Celt said:
I would have gone in and taken it off, leaving a note to say why!! Makes me so mad, hate all these gadgets that people seem to think are necessary. Horses are on the whole such genuinely accommodating animals but we still strap them into ridiculous, painful positions to make our life easier when we get on them, rant over.
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While I do not condone what the OP saw, to widely condemn all training aids is rather short sighted. Vets recommend the use of a Pessoa/similar as part of regular rehab following spinal injuries, surgery etc. to rebuild muscle in the correct places. BUT always on the lunge not turned in a field!
 
Caracarrie said:
I knew someone who had showjumpers, who used to leave them in the stable in tight side reins for considerable periods.
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Ditto this. I once lasted a whole 5 days working at a SJ dealing yard where the youngsters were left like this in the stables all day "to speed up the process" when they were started under saddle. In hindsight I can't believe I stuck it that long!
 
i would have taken off the gadget if i thought no one was going to come and i was going home rather than leave it there stuck.

and as for gadgets, i would never use any gadget ever, never, i would look to my own short comings as a rider first, and as for vets using them i have no experience of this, but vets are not horse trainers, physios etc are not actually riding the horse in question they are treating it, so something may be lost in interpretation of their instructions to use gadgets to help recovery.

and it could be if the horses needing pessoa `treatment` were trained and ridden better in the first place they may not need to be put through such a process, and anyway there are other ways of improving spinal musculature

but well done op for at least thinking about helping some poor creature that can`t help itself
 
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