Is dressage a form of animal cruelty?

[magical thyme]

6. I've responded to this insinuation elsewhere. Copy below

First: what the Romney's were involved with -- a horse drugged to mask symptoms -- is grounds for banning from recognized competition and is not in any way, shape or form appropriate to *any* horse discipline, least of all dressage.


My answer to your question here: the purpose of dressage (which is just another word for education) is to create harmony between horse and rider, i.e. to replace abuse with mutual understanding and good communication. I am a lifelong horsewoman, and dressage has been my passion for nearly 50 years.

The historical center of classical dressage training, The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, opens every training session to the public, in front of a full audience. There is no beating, no abuse, not even raising of voice, whatsoever. The arena is silent; trainers and the audience speak in whispers. The young horses *are* outnumbered with 2 trainers to 1 young horse, but that is as much a practical and safety matter as anything, with a dozen or more young stallions learning the basics in close quarters. (I even saw one young horse escape his trainer in the crowded arena! Everything was handled quickly, quietly and calmly...with the other trainers either stopping in place, and adjacent trainers surrounding his horse so he couldn't run loose, which cold have resulted in serious injury to both horses and trainers. It was so quick and quiet I almost missed it, and most of the audience did!)

Do some dressage riders and trainers beat their horses? Yes. Just as with any other horse discipline (western, hunt seat, saddleseat, driving, not to mention racing. haven't you noticed them hitting the horses at the end of each race, trying to get more speed?). Not to mention people beating their dogs, children, spouses, etc.

Are horse people "tough?" Yes, you have to be. Handling horses is not for the feint of heart. There are times when you must make yourself "bigger" than whatever has your horse's attention at the time, for safety's sake.

To put things a little in perspective, if you watch a herd of horses interact, they discipline their young and establish the herd pecking order through nips, bites and kicks. That is language they learn as foals, grow up with and understand.

Also, a 1,000 pound horse kicking another 1,000 pound horse is one thing (but at point blank with full force, can break the other horse's bones). A 1,000 pound horse kicking a 150 pound person is a different thing (can easily break bones). A 150 pound person hitting a 1,000 pound horse is a very different thing (full force with a crop can raise a welt, but not do any real injury except to the psyche. full force with your hand will hurt your hand more than the horse).

Some times a young horse can get frightened and/or out of control, very quickly. However, any hitting *should* be disciplinary, and should not result in injury, or welts, or pain. Just an attention-getting, wake up call, for safety. Say a horse stands on your foot; I promise you will not sweetly ask the horse to move over. You will do what is necessary to free your foot before it's totally squashed. It usually involves yelling and smacking the horse (which makes a lot of noise and hurts your hand, but doesn't hurt the horse).

Unfortunately, there are those who don't get that and do hit for the sake of hitting, hit because they don't know how to guide or teach, hit until they raise welts. That is true in any discipline. They may or may not call themselves dressage trainers, but they are not trainers. They are abusers.