I was thinking this the other day when a vaulting video came up on social media.. Correct, I don't know much about either sport, but I do know that repeated and significant asymetrical strain on a spine will do damage over the long term, it's doesn't require a genius to figure that one out.
Vaulting - we are told not to sit behind the saddle (or I was as a kid and mucking about on ponies) as it causes undue stress on the kidneys or lumbar spine, but it's okay to stand on the top of their pelvis and do a somersault and land directly on the spine.. Showjumping - consistent repeated sacro and hock issues, on a surface, with tight turns to screw up everything else.. Polo - more constant tight turns, loads of tack, asymmetry (I cannot spell that word and I'm too lazy to google it), Dressage - wide spread cruelty and repeated overload on just about every soft tissue and joint there is at higher levels, Cross Country - harder and harder questions, rotational risks, ever bigger jumps, Hunting - boggy ground, cantering on roads, bad ground for jumping..
If you think hard enough into it, it's a lose lose whatever sport you look at. You just have to mitigate what you can and listen to the horse if they object at any point.
These photos have really made me think. I have a bad something or other and i know if I'm not thinking about it my weight is probably not quite even and this worries the hell out of me. I've even questioned wether i should ride. I mean we are talking really minor, I've asked other people if its obvious and they say no.
Then you see stuff like that, which I'd never really thought about.
That first photo How is the horse even upright!
Not in the pony club I was in. The age limit for Prince Philip Cup was 14 and the kids in the team were all at the upper end of that. Of the ponies in the team only one was over 12hh. They were fit and athletic like most kids were but average not tiny. Tall enough to pick up dropped things from the floor.Mounted games on the list? Have you seen a mounted games rider? They’re all tiny and athletic!
Oooh, I just love it when people decide to criticise sports they know nothing about……whilst happily doing sports that have just as many questionable implications.
No, we shouldn't. It puts the natural balance of the horse's body and skeleton at too much risk of immediate pain and possible long-term damage.An advert for people to join the UK Horseball team training squad has just appeared on Facebook.
While we're busy talking about abuses in top level dressage on another thread, should we really be using live creatures as a mobile climbing frame like this?
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I think we need to be very careful here. Gratuitous cruelty we should all be ready to speak up about, across all equine activities, from the retired pony in the field to top level competition, I agree. But I still want to ride my horse.
No, we shouldn't. It puts the natural balance of the horse's body and skeleton at too much risk of immediate pain and possible long-term damage.