In Pursuit of the Perfect Horse

Recently I have seen two important things circulating on Facebook.

One is a commentary in regards to doping in the hunter/jumper industry and how that it is commonplace which no one really thinks twice about.

The other is a photo of an Arabian hunter pleasure horse in a what appears to be a too tight flash noseband, draw reins, and a thin training snaffle.

Both point out that the we are in pursuit of the perfect horse.

How have we created a situation where horses cannot have any bobble?  Too much expression?  Not enough expression for the English Pleasure horses that have had cocaine drug violations! 

Can we go back to the idea where the best horse may really enjoy his or her job jumping the fences?  Maybe the Arabian hunter horse for half a millisecond comes from slightly behind the vertical to almost on or in front of the vertical? 

If a tent blows over, is it so terrible if it's OK if a horse flicks an ear, thinks for a second and then responds to his or her rider?  Isn't that truly the more responsive horse than the horse that requires so much equipment to be subdued that they truly never want to move his head off his chest for fear of punishment? 



There's certainly teaching tools that have proper use in proper hands, but why even permit them on the show grounds?

In this era of camera phones and instant media, more information is being exchanged than ever before. My Facebook is littered with hundreds of friends sharing happy horse selfies, pony hugs, and other such images on a daily basis.  When it comes to show season, I see the show photos, and most bring a smile to my face.

But why even put yourself in the situation where the situation could be misinterpreted in the case of that Arabian hunter horse?  Why use equipment that isn't show ring legal.  There are many that are rushing to the defense of the unnamed rider stating that it is USEF legal to use in the warmup (true), the person loves the horse (no doubt), the photo doesn't show the real situation (perhaps).

But why use such equipment at the show grounds in the first place, except for the pursuit and appearance of a perfect horse.  But to me, that demonstrates that perhaps the horse needs a different job, more training, or a different judging standard where leniency is allowed for momentary bobbles.

I attended a clinic once with an upper level dressage rider who told me he had a horse absolutely blew a movement and received twos, which is basically stating nice try, your horse didn't even really do anything, but great job staying in the ring.  He still won his test and received a respectable score regardless of this major bobble.  I think that's the way these judged events should be.

Helmet Awareness

Today is National Helmet Awareness Day

It began a few years ago in response to Courtney King-Dye's fall and subsequent TBI.

But that is not the point of my post today.

Rather my point is the discussion on why hunt caps are so prevalent in the hunter pleasure ring.  Why is this?

For anyone new to the blog, I have Arabians and primarily show in the Arabian breed circuit, as well as dabbling in open shows, dressage shows, and other random things that catch my attention.  But I am quite familiar with Arabian rules.


One thing that I cannot wrap my head around is the prevalent use and acceptance of hunt caps like above in the breed rings, whether it is Arabian, Paint, or Morgan. 

If someone is going through the effort of putting a cap on their head, why not just add the chin strap? 

I have talked to friends who said that despite knowing it is ridiculous, they feel they can't fall out of line and wear an actual ASTM certified helmet.



Does it really look so different? 

I am scarred for life after seeing a person fall at a show.  She went over the shoulder from a well broke horse that was slowly heading back towards the barn.  I am not sure if she had prior health issues that precipitated the fall, but after seeing her hit the gravel parking lot, the TBI, the Flight for Life, and being involved in way more family drama that I care to imagine, I'll order up one ASTM helmet to go please. 

I don't want to dig through anyone's personal belongings again to find ID, so it can go with emergency medical personnel. 

So if you wear a hunt cap without the chin strap, why?  It takes a group of people to buck the trend and to change.

Dressage has changed favorably. 

There are plenty of cute helmets.

But this also leads me to my next point.  In the land of hunter pleasure where conservative attire isn't even remotely close, where we can wear grey breeches and kelly green coats, why is it that we cannot wear a sparkly helmet?




My current helmet is quite boring and still within rules, but I think that if we encourage more cute helmets, perhaps we can continue a positive trend.

I am not the helmet police, but if you are on the fence about whether to start your own trend of not, come and join me on the dark side!

It's OK to judge me on my turnout.  I really don't need a pink shirt with a red horse.  But I just got a purple shirt, so life should be better.  And maybe I will figure out that the stock pin should probably go in the middle of the collar.  But the emphasize is on the helmet.  And the fact that I look like a dork most of the time.  But my brain is in the bucket, so that's what counts, right?  ;) :)

Running in Circles

I don't particularly ascribe to any one mode of training. 

I do my own things.  This usually means I read, ruminate on things for a while, then do something completely different in my Semi Feral Equestrian kind of way.

One thing I have been pondering lately is lunging.  Or longing if you prefer that spelling.  I'm more of a lunging kind of girl.

If you have read or noticed any one aspect of my blog, it that is features predominantly Arabians.  I mostly handle and deal with Arabians.

I show on the Arabian breed circuit.

However, I don't keep my horses in a training barn.  I don't particularly appreciate a lot of the dark side of the breed shows and trainers.  I do appreciate the natural beauty and joy of the breed.

What does this have to do with lunging?

I was recently at a show volunteering.  I overheard one gal speaking to another about how her horse misbehaved in the class.  A comment about how he would be too exhausted to even pick up his head was made, as the gal had spent a good part of an hour lunging.

At what point is lunging meaningless?

I lunge horses at shows as I can't turn them out to stretch their legs.  My horses are used to being out 24/7 and I like them to be able to move as they would like for at least a few minutes.

I used to lunge a lot before riding.  Upon reflection, I think it was more habit and a desire to "take the edge off". 

But as I continue to ride, there are plenty of times that I can just ride the horse.  Aimlessly running in circles doesn't seem that beneficial to the horse.

I have tried to change how I lunge.  While lunging, I have incorporated more changes of direction, changes in gait, and obstacles.  What I have found is that lunging has become more meaningful while doing it.  The horses take less time to pay attention.

This is just my soapbox.  Not necessarily the right way.

But I challenge anyone that is just lunging their horse for an hour to "get the edge off" to try examining what else can be done with the horse.  Try varying the gaits, path of travel, or anything else to make the time spent on the circle meaningful. 

Stop using lunging as a punishment tool for a horse that is not equipped to handle a class.  I have had less than stellar classes, however, I have never felt compelled to lunge my horse for an hour to push my horse to the point of exhaustion.

So here I am on my soapbox and I'll step off now.

But why do we always spend so much of our time running in circles?