TarrSteps
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
We may not have had such sophisticated bitting contraptions in the 60's & 70's but horses were certainly ridden in horrible bits and gadgets. Plenty of twisted snaffles, magennis snaffles, horses & ponies ridden in curbs alone etc etc.
Horses were maybe not prepared for young horse classes but they were expected to be out competing and working hard when youngsters, (I was Open TC & hunting my 4 year old
)
The Germans in particular were a complete nighmare for having jumping horses overbent and bitted up to the eyeballs. It was only when the Americans arrived on the scene trained by George Morris and demonstrated that horses could physically jump in a snaffle with no martingale and free head carriage that things changed. That wasn't till the early 80's.
[/ QUOTE ]
A clear eyed view of the past (now that I'm old enough to remember it I'd agree I can't remember it being all roses, sunshine and happy, good jumping horses) AND a pro-American Jumping School comment.
Yikes!
Not really just George's work originally, although he's arguably the most famous practitioner. Interestingly a lot of that thinking was a combination of the American hunter ring practices (Gordon Wright, Raymond Burr, Cappy Smith), military trained influence (Woffard, later Wright etc.), and imported Europeans (de Nemethy, Littauer,) which came together in trainers like George, Rodney Jenkins and Bernie Traurig in the '60s. But at that point the "schools" were still pretty separate - it took modern improvements in transportation and communication to really kick off the far more homogeneous modern style.
Interesting that William Whittaker has received a fair bit of education and experience in the US - he certainly rides quite like some of the American kids. (Who in their turn have either spent time in Europe or have trainers who have European as well as American influences.)
Just if there are any other geeks out there with interest in this stuff. (I do think it's important though - if people are going to make sweeping statements about how things are or how they used to be it helps to have all the facts.)
I don't think anyone is saying particular bits are "wrong", they are simply specific tools for specific circumstances. Everything that has been invented exists for a reason.) I think the real issue is that they are NOT to "fix" problems or to deal with basic issues, they are to put the finishing touches on a performance that requires immense feel and precision, especially in today's technical competitions. Just because a GP horse uses something doesn't mean, quite frankly, it has any other application.
And it's quite possible to rush a horse's training in a snaffle.
We may not have had such sophisticated bitting contraptions in the 60's & 70's but horses were certainly ridden in horrible bits and gadgets. Plenty of twisted snaffles, magennis snaffles, horses & ponies ridden in curbs alone etc etc.
Horses were maybe not prepared for young horse classes but they were expected to be out competing and working hard when youngsters, (I was Open TC & hunting my 4 year old
The Germans in particular were a complete nighmare for having jumping horses overbent and bitted up to the eyeballs. It was only when the Americans arrived on the scene trained by George Morris and demonstrated that horses could physically jump in a snaffle with no martingale and free head carriage that things changed. That wasn't till the early 80's.
[/ QUOTE ]
A clear eyed view of the past (now that I'm old enough to remember it I'd agree I can't remember it being all roses, sunshine and happy, good jumping horses) AND a pro-American Jumping School comment.
Yikes!
Not really just George's work originally, although he's arguably the most famous practitioner. Interestingly a lot of that thinking was a combination of the American hunter ring practices (Gordon Wright, Raymond Burr, Cappy Smith), military trained influence (Woffard, later Wright etc.), and imported Europeans (de Nemethy, Littauer,) which came together in trainers like George, Rodney Jenkins and Bernie Traurig in the '60s. But at that point the "schools" were still pretty separate - it took modern improvements in transportation and communication to really kick off the far more homogeneous modern style.
Interesting that William Whittaker has received a fair bit of education and experience in the US - he certainly rides quite like some of the American kids. (Who in their turn have either spent time in Europe or have trainers who have European as well as American influences.)
Just if there are any other geeks out there with interest in this stuff. (I do think it's important though - if people are going to make sweeping statements about how things are or how they used to be it helps to have all the facts.)
I don't think anyone is saying particular bits are "wrong", they are simply specific tools for specific circumstances. Everything that has been invented exists for a reason.) I think the real issue is that they are NOT to "fix" problems or to deal with basic issues, they are to put the finishing touches on a performance that requires immense feel and precision, especially in today's technical competitions. Just because a GP horse uses something doesn't mean, quite frankly, it has any other application.
And it's quite possible to rush a horse's training in a snaffle.
