Didn't the pom poms on the poodle have purpose. They are placed over the major joints.
Here are some Saddlebred pictures for you. Keep in mind that in the Saddlebred Show World, the horses are most definitely >NOT< Sored. A sore horse cannot trot in form. At all. No way. I have seen lame show horses trot. When they pick thier feet up so high that means they are striking the ground with more force. If they are hitting the ground harder at a trot(where two feet hit the ground at the same time) they are not going to pick thier feet up very high. At the Gait, only one foot is supposed to be hitting the ground at any given time, so a sored horse will not be as noticeable. Saddlebreds are a trotting breed. They are prized for thier exaggerated strong trot.
Saddlebreds, to a lot of people are barely considered "Gaited" horses, as only a few are ever taught the cues to slow gait and rack. The majority of Saddlebreds are shown in Three Gaited, which is Walk, Trot and Canter.
Saddlebreds shown in Saddleseat divisions in general are not shown, presented, or trained like any other dicipine.
If you would like I could go into "entertainment" like our plastic bags, talcum powder, and other shakey things. We want our horses to be alert and knowing of thier surroundings. We want them to LOOK at things not ignore them. A qh person, would use a plastic bag to desensitize thier horse. To make them ignore it. We want to use it to get our horse's attention. For them to look at it.
We do use chains and stretchies, but they are not as harmful as one would think. The general perception of chains is that of cruelty. But I myself on many occasions worn the chains we use, and they are not painful. I can understand how they would be if you were to put a solvent of some kind on thier pastern, but rarely(if ever. in twenty years i've never seen that done) do ASB people ever put any of that on them. I would be glad to wear them again.
We do not put those god awful shoes on them. Our feet are slightly longer than that of, say, a quarter horse, but usually not by much. A lot of horses do not need more than 12 ounce shoes.
This mare is 24 and going to spend the rest of her life on our farm. She most certainly does not look like she hates her job. She looks alert, and happy about doing her job. And my, she looked fine doing it.
This is my LOVE, Harry Cane as a youngster. He is 28 this year and is still in great condition, and going strong.
He wasn't very good(pictures do lie), but no one ever told him that. He thought he was the best five gaited horse there ever was. Dad was telling me how in one of his first shows, at the rack, a horse came up behind him and tried to pass him, and Harry just stepped it up a notch and took off flying down the rail. He would not be passed.
And if you think that they don't pick up thier feet up that high on thier own....Notice, he is on bare ground. A lot of times people will photgraph thier horses in tall grass where they will pick thier legs up even higher, especially when they don't come by it as well. There is nothing but bare ground under this youngster's feet.
I have more.
And also, I would just like to point out that if you ever have any doubts of a Saddlebred barn, let me know and I'll help you find a barn in your area to go and check things out for yourself. As long as you ask, you will be told just about everything you would want to know.