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can someone please for the love of all that is holy tell me

40K views 269 replies 73 participants last post by  Idrivetrotters 
#1 ·
Why do men that show walkers sit like their back is broke and their necks stick out like a crane. You dont see the women sitting like that but ALL the men do.
 
#3 ·
They look like vultures, don't they? I have no idea, but I would guess some guy from back in the day won everything riding like that & the trend followed like most trends in the show world. Looks awful and to me, they remind me of child molesters when I see them riding those big lick classes, first thought that always pops into my head. I am hoping none of them are but I can't shake that association.
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#4 · (Edited)
Some of us call that the "turtle position" because that's exactly what they look like:lol:

I wish I knew the answer to your question; many of us (all women) have asked the same thing.

We have come to the conclusion they probably have lousy balance and that's the only way they can balance themselves but that's just one of many very unsavory theories "we women" (that's the same as the "you people") have come up with - lol lol

If any of the men would like to chime in on this, "we women" would be more than happy to hear your reasoning behind that gawrsh-awful-you-need-shot-for-sitting-like-on-a-horse position:-p:-p

EDITED TO ADD: Hmmm, I like the word "vulture" too. How about "the vulture head sitting in turtle position!" :) :) :)
 
#6 ·
I have asked and asked and asked again and i cant get anyone to tell me an answer.

Tell me women have you tried it?
I have

after about 30 sec of it my back starts to hurt. And then i start getting leery like if he spooks im gonna go tompaling forward and his neck is going to become my breakfast.

next time you are on your horse give it a whirl see if you can tell anything that might give us some insight
 
#11 ·
Here's the 2009 WGC.



1. Look at how all those men are sitting like turtles, waiting for the announcement.

2. Watch the winning rider grab hold of the mane as he brings the horse forward to claim his spoils (further to what I said about poor balance).

3. And of course look at that turtle shell, on top of the horse, going around the arena:-p
 
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#18 ·
I, of course, was kidding .....

I would guess that these guys have probably never had a proper lesson in their life and don't care that they look like that. Riding a jacked-up horse can certainly put your body in unique positions.. I'm certain that the women have to work REALLY HARD to look that proper riding those ... um ... gaits.
 
#19 ·
In the video "Walking Horse Championship Stake Canter" I had a bigger in-the-name-of-all-that-is-holy moment....that CANTER? It's like sllllllooooowwww moooootion and not in a western pleasure way but an overly animated and then slowed down way, on the roan horse....sorry not trying to thread rob.


Totally have noticed the guy's equitation and always wondered about it!
 
#91 ·
ME, TOO!!
We have threads about Big Lick TWH abuse on this forum. I'm surprised this thread went 2 pages talking about bad rider posture, instead of the unnatural movement. It reminds me of crippled German Shepherd show dogs. =/
 
#21 ·
Oh Texasgal.Ok i thought you were being serious.

Zeke that is Folsum Prison Blues and he is known for that canter. I dont get it seems like the slight pause like that in between steps would make the horse sore but i guess he is already sore so who cares right?

As much as i think he is one of the ugliest walkers ( am not one for roans or all that white on the face) i love this horse and wish to rescue him one day. I dont care if he is 30 and needs a home he will always have a place with me.Never met the horse.Nor do i really care to meet the people who have him.Its just one of those things. I will continue to fallow him. I saw that he is with a diffrent trainer this year and at this years celebration did not appear to be as sore then last so that made me feel a bit better.
 
#22 ·
You can see that the horse's exremely manipulated way of going makes it VERY uphill. the rider must be angled forward in order to not slide off the back of the horse (as someone else said). If a man does this, his "goods" will come into sharp contact with the saddle, therefore, I conjecture that he rounds his back to bring the "boys" off the saddle.



However, more importantly, in my mind, is WHY is this kind of riding ever liked? How is it even admirable? The way of moving is extrememly artificial. No horse moves like that normally. It can be nothing but very damaging to the horse's hocks, knees and in fact , all of his body, being jacked up on those platforms.

Why is this still practised? It has to be THE ugliest form of horsemanship I have ever seen. I know this will really anger many of you, but I will just have to speak frankly here.
 
#33 ·
Agree 100% but that wasnt the reason for the posting.If you look at the horse he is not sloped like the big licks so there for if the argument of the horses are sloped so the men have to ride like that to protect their goodies isnt true in this case.That was the reason for the video to show most men ride walkers in show like this because why? Habbit? Its ow they are supposed to ride? Is it how plantation owners back in the day when the horses were created rode?

I dont agree with soaring and chains or pads for that matter but that wasnt the reason for the thread. I want to know why the turtle look is considered greatness among men in the industry
 
#26 ·
im with you Tiny. i just dont see the "beauty" in it.

nothing against the horses. My friend has 2 TWH that she trail rides on all the time. those horses do NOT move like that...but they have an AMAZING gait that just eats up that ground on trails....dont see why you would want to twist it around for something like that but thats jmho
 
#27 ·
United States Equestrian Federation

USEF saddle seat, show ring photos

The first one is a man sitting straight. Kind of shoots the anatomy theory out the window. The horses are wearing those ugly built up shoes though nothing like the poor walkers endure.


I used to have an old beater of a saddle seat saddle. Very uncomfortable, very impractical for mountain trails. It was actually wide enough to fit my Belgian mare well. As soon as I got another saddle for her I sold it.
 
#28 ·
I, too , have a friend who has a really nice TWH for trail riding. He is a very grand horse , handsome, smart and excellent on trails. Seeing him, I can see why someone would want a TWH.

I just think it needs to be explained WHY this is acceptable, in this day and age?

Can horses who are trained and shown this way have a normal lifespan? Doesn't this put enormous physical stresses on their hocks and fetlocks?

How in heaven is this horsemanship? Can they take the horse anywhere except the show ring where you go in circles on the rail?

Is the horse happy?

(how can you stand that music without upchucking?)
 
#45 ·
I, too , have a friend who has a really nice TWH for trail riding. He is a very grand horse , handsome, smart and excellent on trails. Seeing him, I can see why someone would want a TWH.

I just think it needs to be explained WHY this is acceptable, in this day and age?

Can horses who are trained and shown this way have a normal lifespan? Doesn't this put enormous physical stresses on their hocks and fetlocks?

How in heaven is this horsemanship? Can they take the horse anywhere except the show ring where you go in circles on the rail?

Is the horse happy?

(how can you stand that music without upchucking?)
I've been doing some research about it and although I can't answer a lot of your questions, I found this article pertaining to the ill effects those platforms have on the hoof:

"The hoof can put up with a remarkable amount of negative influence and the horse stay sound. But the hoof wants to have certain parameters met. Some horses are more apt to have certain changes occur than others. One of the most common is for the frog to “seek” the ground. As the horse’s foot gets longer and lifts the frog out of contact with the ground, the heels collapse in an effort to put the frog back down. When the hoof is being kept long, this can result in the toe becoming stretched, creating a dished appearance.



On top of this effect a long foot delays breakover. The foot stays on the ground longer as the leg goes through the phases (landing, loading, stance, breakover, flight), prevented by the excess toe from leaving the ground at the point it should. This is one of the effects that are sought by applying these shoes. Delaying breakover increases the height of the flight arc of the foot, exaggerating the horse’s action

With the addition of length, the shape of the overall package necessary to fit the foot changes. The hoof becomes narrow as the heels contract the further from blood supply they get. In order to get sufficient weight to produce the action sought, the package is so long as to be an inch to several inches behind the heels. The more material behind the heel, the more leverage is applied to heels, thus further contracting the already over-long heels. The length of toe pulls the heels forward as breakover is delayed. Heel bruises are common, as these horses slam their feet down on these heavy shoes. Increased concussion leads to bone damage and an increase in ringbone, bucked shins, navicular syndrome, and loss of the coffin bone."

He also goes on to explain that horses with overgrown toes are prone to tendon and ligament injuries (which is common sense).

Here is a pic of a platform shoe that was thrown during a show:


The hoof wall was still attached.
 
#31 ·
The more I look at it, the more I cannot help but be reminded of ghoulish little men riding straight from the fires of the earths bowels! :lol:
On a serious note, I personally just think its poor equitation........if you want a horses front end to come up high like that, then why would you hunch your weight forward over it and make it more difficult for the animal.......regardless - I'm not a fan of these practices.
 
#35 ·
He also said those men look like a monkey h*mping a football. Women don't ever want to look like that, hence better eq! :lol:

Baa Ha Ha Ha! I have to admit that when someone mentioned they thought they rode like this to get the boys up off the saddle. I thought "it looks more like they are are purposely putting the boys ON the saddle. Maybe this is why they continue to ride think that?
 
#37 ·
I know what they are. The saddle is the same. It's going to put the rider in the same place regardless of breed. I've posted before about the men looking like the grim creeper. I kinda like the deformed dwarfs riding from the gates of Mordor analogy.
Walkers are rare here. Saddleseat classes at shows virtually non-existent. I've even seen judges at small local shows excuse people from the ring because the judge thought the gaited horse was lame. I've had people ask me if my standardbred was lame when she did the running walk. So I can't answer the question. I think they look ridiculous and even when I was just a kid the shoes on the poor things made me wince.
 
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