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Hardly accurate reporting by Yahoo! This man cannot by any stretch of the imagination be described as one of the world's leading equestrians.
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That is a very good point. However, he's still an arse
I know that everyone gets angry at some point with their horses..But that gives him no right to punch his horse..It was only a race..he needs to get over himself!! Maybe we should all chase him with whips??
Thought this was in relation to the vet who punched his horse in the face after failing to get a fast enough time in a hunt relay race in Wales.
According to the report he went clear but was furious with the horse, rode it at a crowd including children then got off and thumped it really nastily in the head.
Would you want him to treat your animals?
no way would I have him near mine!
Thats a better version. He lied in that article, he did hit his horse but definately didn't punch it! How many of us at one time have slapped our horse with the palm of our hand if it misbehaved (by no means condoning hitting a horse because it wasn't 'fast' enough), a slap is probably nicer than using a whip, which I've seen a certain well respected lady rider do at hickstead and not in a nice way and nobody even mentioned it.
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two witnesses for the RCVS - Mrs Karen Archer and Mrs Diane James stated at yesterday's hearing that they had seen Mr De Smet hit his horse's head with his fist, just below its right ear.
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his fist? That's not a slap.
I'm not perfect, I've lost my temper with a horse before but I'd never hit one in the face.
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two witnesses for the RCVS - Mrs Karen Archer and Mrs Diane James stated at yesterday's hearing that they had seen Mr De Smet hit his horse's head with his fist, just below its right ear.
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his fist? That's not a slap.
I'm not perfect, I've lost my temper with a horse before but I'd never hit one in the face.
your saying it wasnt a fist and 2 people are saying that it is. not exactly corobarating evidence. either way he seems to have been let off with the offence, be it a slap or a punch. to be honest, smacking a horse for being naughty i can accept, slapping/punching a horse because the horse was not fast enough? buy a faster horse. if it looks like an idiot and acts like an idiot chances are he's an idiot regardless of what qualifications and posistion he holds
If you saw it would you call it a slap or a fist? did it appear to be misbehaving?
All of us me included have lost our tempers with our horses at some stage, but the description by the hunt members made me feel it was uwarranted as the horse had jumped clear.
Either way I wouldn't use a vet who loses his temper like that, as vet's above all else have to keep their cool in difficult situations.
Silly man to get so much bad publicity, it's bound to have an effect on his business.
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your saying it wasnt a fist and 2 people are saying that it is. not exactly corobarating evidence. either way he seems to have been let off with the offence, be it a slap or a punch. to be honest, smacking a horse for being naughty i can accept, slapping/punching a horse because the horse was not fast enough? buy a faster horse. if it looks like an idiot and acts like an idiot chances are he's an idiot regardless of what qualifications and posistion he holds
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"The witnesses added that the event had been "blown out of all proportion""
And I can definately say there are more than two witnesses who would contradict Mrs James and Mrs Archer.
Definitely a slap, though to my mind you have to make a fist to punch something, maybe others disagree.
No, not misbehaving but yes 'hot', as most are during inter-hunt relays.
I agree, if the slap was due to him losing (none of us know what the horse may have been about to do) then I personally feel it was completely unwarranted.
Slap, fist, doesn't matter if you lose control and take your agression or temper out on an animal, best not to have an animal, or children for that matter
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Slap, fist, doesn't matter if you lose control and take your agression or temper out on an animal, best not to have an animal, or children for that matter
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From what I've seen at local shows I don't think there are many people who should have horses or ponies then. Even a 4* rider denied a horse of hay for a night at a 2* event, because it had reared in the dressage....
Well, we are all human aren't we? Teeny bit of sensationalism going on here perhaps, there could be more to this than meets the eye me thinks...
I just have to say that when he put my horse down for me he was brilliant and I couldn't fault him.
Like Enfys, I also know him and his family. He is my vet, and a damned good equine vet too. He only lives 5 minutes from me and will come out at the drop of a hat in an emergency. They are a good, decent family and in all the years I have known Lode he has only ever shown true love and compassion for animals. The family often hack through my land and we regularly stop for a chat.
I wasnt witness to what did or didnt happen, but I do know (and perhaps Enfys will agree) that there is much envy and backstabbing involved.
I've written several replies, deleted them all, and will now just say that if I needed a Vet in any circumstances I would be more than happy to have Lode attend and would have complete confidence in his abilities.
Think on this, you are at an event, it could be anywhere, your horse injures himself badly enough to require urgent attention, but ............Oh Dear, xxx is the attending Vet, are you going to turn him away because of something you once read in a paper that may have been blown out of proportion?
I agree Enfys....not that I know this vet personally mind you.
When I call a vet, I want the best vet in the area; I honestly am not interested in whether he (allegedly) slapped or punched his own horse - I know he will not slap or punch MY horse......but what he will do, is perform a competent job for me, for which he is paid.....and that is to try to help my horse.
For goodness sake, there are plenty of people in the world who smack their horses - it doesn't mean that they go around, as a matter of course, smacking everyone else's horses.
I would far rather have the best vet who may hit his horse from time to time....than have a useless one who doesn't.