Comments on: Letter To Princess Haya, FEI President

By: whitewolfe001

whitewolfe001 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:04:38 +0000

Xuna makes an excellent point about Courtney King-Dye. She was disqualified from the Olympic competition because her horse tested positive for a trace amount of a substance that clearly came from the gel put on his skin for an ultrasound. While they believed her, she was disqualified nonetheless because of the “zero tolerance policy” (which I think is absurd and needs to be rethought in light of the fact that current technology is able to detect such tiny amounts of substances that give no performance enhancement).

If the FEI staunchly stands by it’s “zero tolerance” drug policy, why does it not also have a “zero tolerance” policy towards abuse?

By: elaine

elaine — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:45:16 +0000

Thank you BHS lets help put an end to this abuse …. For the welfare of the horse !!!!!

By: Chris Sakoutis

Chris Sakoutis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:49:40 +0000

Thank you to the BHS for having the guts to take a stand.

By: enlightenedhorsemanship

enlightenedhorsemanship — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:11:41 +0000

I have re-posted this letter on my blog. Thank you so much for making it public. I too am interested to know if there is a reply.

By: Tanya Atkins

Tanya Atkins — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:09:35 +0000

Yes it is not just riders that are responsible for animal abuse. If I owned a tack shop there would probably be less than a quarter of the variety of stock that they sell now. I quite frankly would rather die than sell torture items to unknowledgable horse handlers.
And by the way…..the simple eggbut snaffle can be just as torturouse in cruel hands.

As for this very diplomatic letter….it is a pity we have to tippy toe arround the hierachy to get justice done.

By: Another Sally

Another Sally — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:44:42 +0000

Very well written – what response did Patrick receive (please post if you can, once you hear back!)

By: Nina

Nina — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:45:35 +0000

Well Said Xuna, except Kittel is not a rider-victim.He knew what he was doing, he just did not care. He was chasing the Almighty Dollar with points attached. For years I ,apparantly dilusionally, was under the impression that these Top Riders of the World would never in a million years resort to such cruelty.. Was I Wrong! Where was the TD and the Stewart during all this? Why were they not doing their jobs? and the Trainer of this rider..God forbid, needs to be prohibited from ever being allowed to train another rider. Heads need to roll starting from the top down.
The thought comes to mine of an American Rider having her medal taken away for a forbidden substance that was given/applied to her horse. The embrassment that followed was not easy for her, now a Black mark on her reputation. This is far worse than that incident. This is in humane.
I have sent the links to my local TV station with a note. Perhaps others can do the same.

By: xuna

xuna — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:10:43 +0000

Why don’t each and every one of us send letters to the FEI? This blue tongue video is,hopefully, the drop that will spill the bucket over. The FEI surely cannot ignore the worldwide reaction to this video. Enough is enough. Only a personal opinion, but Kittel is not a horseman in any sense of the word as I understand it. Kittel is just a rider-victim of a certain so called modern training method – putting the tongue back in and continuing on and on in the hyperflexion, the horse seems to be some sort of machine for this man. Having seen and ridden horses that have been trained in the methods of the classical masters – at 20 years of age, they have no signs of wear and tear on the limbs, a suppleness that has to be seen to be believed, trot extensions that you have never seen in the dressage arena since the time of Reiner Klimpke and the only time I have ever seen them voluntarily put their nose on their chest was to chase a fly!!
The sooner the trainers and riders get back to respecting the mental and physical integrity of their horses, the better and perhaps more of us mere mortals will feel happier about entering a competition rectangle.

By: ELD

ELD — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:53:16 +0000

Well said whiz on ted & Sarah. For decades I’ve said draw reins should not be sold in tack shops (or all the other ‘hold in the front end’ gadgets). Of course these ignorant people will make their own, but surely tack shops should not sell torture items?!

I also do not understand why so diplomatic, but all the same, I’m very glad the BHS have written. I will comment “on the aesthetics of seeing a competition horse contorted in a way it never appears to choose for itself when in its natural state.” (Because I don’t have to be diplomatic). Its horrible to watch. There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about watching this abuse, particularly when you know the physical biomechanics of a horse and understand the true nature of these animals of prey. Prey to the likes of Kittel. When a horse prances in nature it is only for seconds at a time in either mating behaviour, defensive behaviour, fighting or playing. This is what the old, old masters wanted to imitate. Seconds only in nature & with years of training, maybe minutes. Always, the horse holds his head UP with pride – never would he contort himself like this unless beaten down by a predator.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:30:38 +0000

Well said, there are many out there who have been advocating for this kind of change for years, maybe we can stand together on behalf of the horse and work towards educating and erradicating these methods of training that place only the bonds of servitude upon our noble horses and in turn destroy what it is we loved about them in the first place, freedom, true power and an opportunity to connect with a source of beauty and wisdom beyond our limited imagination. So much can get lost in translation, I am not sure I understand the need for so much diplomacy, just my opinion, time to state the facts, pure and simple, who’s feeling’s are we protecting here?
Every horse owner/rider needs to request of themselves ‘do I really need to use this much force to control this animal’ Developing a relationship based on trust with a horse is so much more rewarding than trotting around on top of one, with bated breath, hoping your horse will just keep it’s head in so you dont feel embarressed about your lack of ability as a rider, it is time to face the truth and see our inadequecies instead of covering them up with bits of tack and ignoring the silent screams of our ‘beloved’ horses.