Before I begin let me just put out a bit of a disclaimer, since this community tends to be subject to....negative views....
I'm not here to start some war, and talk about how saddleseat is abusive, etc. etc; because I do not believe that it is. I enjoy saddleseat just as much as the person who is riding it. I'm also well aware that saddleseat is not the only discipline that suffers from a-holes within the industry... But I have a few questions.
See, I was reading the rule book from here, and I noticed there were some things that were not mentioned in the book that seem to have become the norm within the saddleseat community (although you could argue that it's simply tradition).
Firstly I always see saddleseat horses with their tails up, whether they were broken, or had ginger or alcohol applied, or they used a tail set to hold the tail up during training. Their tails are always up, but why? If it were just a few people I would understand that that's just the way they do things (because tradition and such); I don't like it, but whatever... But everybody does it! There isn't a single rule stating that these horses tails have to be up in competition, is it just some norm that developed over time? And why aren't there people that just don't bother with the tail?
Second and this is less important, but why do the riders always smile (I know it happens in other disciplines). But I think we're all well aware that it's fake, and it's creepy... When I ride I am focused on what I'm doing, so I don't normally smile unless something cool happens, or my horse does something really well... It's obviously forced, so why? I'm sure the judges don't care...
The rule book also states (and I quote) Results as shown by the performance of the horse are NOT to be considered more important than the method used in obtaining them. Don't you think that a discipline that is constantly under fire, so to speak, not state something like that...? Results are important, but would it not be relevant to consider the method in obtaining them?
Lastly and this doesn't concern the rule book... Can saddleseat horses be trained in the same manner that dressage horses are (you know with collection and all that)? If you exclude the gaits they're both essentially asking for the same thing, so is it possible or does it already happen? And would it be possible to ride saddleseat bitless if you don't plan on showing?
I'm not here to start some war, and talk about how saddleseat is abusive, etc. etc; because I do not believe that it is. I enjoy saddleseat just as much as the person who is riding it. I'm also well aware that saddleseat is not the only discipline that suffers from a-holes within the industry... But I have a few questions.
See, I was reading the rule book from here, and I noticed there were some things that were not mentioned in the book that seem to have become the norm within the saddleseat community (although you could argue that it's simply tradition).
Firstly I always see saddleseat horses with their tails up, whether they were broken, or had ginger or alcohol applied, or they used a tail set to hold the tail up during training. Their tails are always up, but why? If it were just a few people I would understand that that's just the way they do things (because tradition and such); I don't like it, but whatever... But everybody does it! There isn't a single rule stating that these horses tails have to be up in competition, is it just some norm that developed over time? And why aren't there people that just don't bother with the tail?
Second and this is less important, but why do the riders always smile (I know it happens in other disciplines). But I think we're all well aware that it's fake, and it's creepy... When I ride I am focused on what I'm doing, so I don't normally smile unless something cool happens, or my horse does something really well... It's obviously forced, so why? I'm sure the judges don't care...
The rule book also states (and I quote) Results as shown by the performance of the horse are NOT to be considered more important than the method used in obtaining them. Don't you think that a discipline that is constantly under fire, so to speak, not state something like that...? Results are important, but would it not be relevant to consider the method in obtaining them?
Lastly and this doesn't concern the rule book... Can saddleseat horses be trained in the same manner that dressage horses are (you know with collection and all that)? If you exclude the gaits they're both essentially asking for the same thing, so is it possible or does it already happen? And would it be possible to ride saddleseat bitless if you don't plan on showing?