Sunday, June 7, 2009

I'm FLYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found an ad on dreamhorse and it sent me to youtube to see the videos of this horse. The horse is a nice warmblood, BUT, watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIy6f-hfm9o of it jumping. Going over EVERY jump for the whole minute and half or so, it flips it's tail STRAIGHT into the air! There have only been a few circumstances where I have seen a horse react like this.
  1. It's nervous. Maybe it is jumping higher than it feels comfortable.
  2. It's anxious.
  3. Or it could have had it's little behind beat to high hell for refusing.

Either way, the video was cracking me up! However, it's important to know that horses use their bodies to the best of their abilities to express their feelings. Tail ringing is a huge sign of agitation, nervousness, being spurred or whipped a few too many times. But, flipping the tail straight up? Judges do and will look at that sort of thing as a negative, so let's hope he is a jumper and not a hunter horse. Aside from the very horsey ILLEGAL tail blocking, there isn't much you can do to fix a tail like that...

24 comments:

GoLightly said...

Nor would you ever want to.
There's nothing wrong there.
Many horses will do that.
That's not a wringing motion. It's a "flip".

Watch some more jumpers. Some hunters are amazing tail-flippers too.
It's to do with the suppleness and athleticism of the horse, imo.

Ever hear of the "Horse with the Flying Tail?"

Nizfela?

Jeepers, many do.
that.
I mean.

Oh, and FIRST:)

cattypex said...

the "Horse with the Flying Tail?"

That's exactly what came to mind! : )

I do agree that a *wringing* tail means the horse is not happy about something. And an irritated flick combined with pinned ears... well, duh! Get away from his butt!

But sometimes they just like to waggle it in the air!

kestrel said...

Horse is a little over flexed and a tad heavier on the forehand than I'd like to see, so he's using the flip to help raise his butt! The tail is just a spine extension, and the horse is using it to get the job done.

cattypex said...

Kestrel: I agree. Finally watched the video.

That rider isn't releasing enough, and is all up in that horse's grill!

Looks like his stirrup's too long on a ... is that a dressage saddle??

How come men & boys always stick out their elbows, regardless of discipline?

That's a VERY nice horse, and an OK rider who needs some lessons. Maybe a bunch of trotting around in 2-point and ground poles, get that crest release going. Sorry if he's supposed to be an advanced rider - he just needs a lot of back-to-basics.

True true about the tail as extension of the spine - so sad when people numb it, it must feel very awkward to the horse. Like if you got a partial epidural.

cattypex said...

PS I looked at one of the dressage videos for that nice Rio horse...

I'm getting annoyed by the heaviness that's so prominent in top-drawer dressage now.

GoLightly said...

Uh, ohhhh. catty-p is gettin' annoyed....

Hey, I wasn't talking about the rider!!

he could be worse.
A lot worse;)

cattypex said...

HA HA I do like that Rio horse in the video!!!

He's really pretty, great mover.

I just wonder how to get to the Sweet Spot somewhere between no contact and leaning on the bit.

cattypex said...

(and when you're out of shape, not riding much, and have short chubby legs, it doesn't make it any easier!! ;) )

It figures that the awesome steamy titles would stop just when I started reading this blog. ; )

Trainer X said...

You guys are right he is REALLY heavy on the fore and seems that he almost wants to stride out a bit to get some momentum to get over the jumps. BUT, the rider isn't letting him.

CCH said...

he looks incredibly short strided on the hind to the point of near four beating. Either he's being collected really wierd, possibly sore in the stifle/hock, or just a real goofball.

But, the lines to the jump aren't the best and his take off points do vary. It struck me as very similar to primarily western style riders showing english for some reason.

cattypex said...

It didn't help having other folks wandering around the arena....

That novice rider needs a lot of lunging without reins.

That'll learn him!!

SweetColonel said...

i think that's sandy skafgaard...at any rate, he looks pretty good to me, possibly he's holding the horse back to show its form over fences better for this video. he is an extremely talented rider and trainer. definitely not a novice! probably just trying to make the horse look its best for the video. i doubt he looks like this when he shows.

GoLightly said...

Sweet Colonel, thank you.

The horse is lovely, the rider is very capable, riding softly, the horse is in self-carriage. The take-off spots are lovely.

Heavy on the forehand?

Maybe in the western world, because, gasp, his head isn't between his knees.

He's riding a big horse in a small arena.
A Big Horse.
Try it sometime.

sheeesh.

cattypex said...

Sorry, maybe the rider just has reeeeally long legs, but I keep wanting to close up that angle on his lower leg for jumping!! He just isn't "forward" enough for my taste for jumping.

And he IS sticking out his elbows! Whether it happens at shows or not is another matter, but I tell ya, it's a Man Thing.

I do realize that a big ol' horse in a little indoor arena with other people wandering around is a challenge.

And I definitely agree that this is a top-quality horse, but I feel like maybe they're doing him a disservice by keeping him so heavy on the contact.

It's not RIGID contact, just very strong on a horse who doesn't seem to be on the verge of taking off. I also feel like his impulsion is greatly hampered in this situation.

Let's just say it's not an ideal venue to show off the abilities of a really nice horse. I'd love to see him in a big outside course, really USING his front end over jumps that challenge him.

He might be young - I didn't investigate - which would make THAT idea premature, but I just feel like he's being forced a little into a not-quite-optimal "frame" (for lack of a better noun) for him.

cattypex said...

(I don't care who he is - as far as I know he's a prominent dude and all, but I was just judging as I saw it. ; ) And the spots where he's not being "overschooled" I think he looks lovely. I just prefer more brilliance over fences.)

GoLightly said...

He looks like he's riding in a longer stirrup than is ideal for jumping, for sure. That's part of his problem, and what you're seeing. Rider loses his balance, here and there. But, the fences are tiny.
He's allowing the horse to do his thing.
IDK, I just don't get why a lovely horse, ridden quietly and calmly, with a very soft contact, is such a bad thing.
He looks green, the horse. The rider's stirrups could be long, because the situation calls for it.
You don't need your stirrups jacked up too much for 2 foot fences.
The rider isn't perfect. Show me one.

But rider sure ain't hurting horse.
The rider is giving the horse a soft contact more than not. and here and there, there is lovely self-carriage.
It's schooling!

SweetColonel said...

agree about the elbows...totally a guy thing. also its a sign that you haven't shown equitation in a while! every time i show eq my elbows are bolted to my sides, and as the weeks go by, they slowly start to come out again...

cattypex said...

" and here and there, there is lovely self-carriage."

Yes, when the rider lets it happen. ; )

And it is true that trainers don't always have great eq., but if you're gonna put it on YouTube... you're gonna get responses!

I still really like the horse. I just want to make sure he's stretching and reaching for the bit, not HANGING on it.....

GoLightly said...

Amazing how different sets of eyes can see things so differently, eh?
I'll repeat.
Schooling does not equal perfection.
That's why he's schooling. Horses learn, through schooling.
Takes a long time.

Hop on up, and do better, girls.

I wonder, where is the link to perfection in riding?
Oh, right.
There isn't one.

Get the crest release going??
I think the guy is justatad more advanced than that.
GeorgeM. wouldn't be pleased to hear that advanced riders should be perching and crest-releasing over fences.
jeeez. Crest-release is for beginners, m'kay?
The guy rides a lot like Michael Matz.
yeah, Michael Matz is/was SucH a bad rider;)
Ever seen him schooling over fences?
Just askin'.

You don't "throw the contact away" just because you're schooling over fences, if you're an advanced rider. This guy ain't no beginner.

sorry, no sleep, berry, berry cranky.

cattypex said...

Well... for an automatic release, it seems a bit confining to me.

I DO get that he's "just schooling" but it's kind of like being a very glamorous movie star caught somewhere without makeup on, just looking like everybody else.

That video was put on the Internet for people to LOOK at. It looks like pretty basic stuff going on, and there's a lot that could be better.

Like I said before, I think it would be awesome to see the two of them on a challenging course with plenty of room for a big-striding horse, and the rider in a jumping saddle.

I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that we WOULD see something a lot more brilliant. I just don't like that the horse is hampered, either by the rider or the size of the arena. When he strides out, he is a really nice mover.

GoLightly said...

"there's a lot that could be better."

Oh, okay then.

Well, no kidding.

that's true forever.

jeeepers.
"Perfection" happens over time, and it's never really, truly achieved, if we remain honest..

I'll betcha the horse is a youngster.
I'll betcha, even though I could be wrong.
An exaggerated release is confusing for a young horse, ya know.

cattypex said...

DUDE!

G L ..... I was mostly agreeing with you! I *get* the whole "schooling" thing... I just think it would be nice to see the horse be older, the rider looking better, etc. There's always room for improvement, and that's why (presumably) people put their stuff out there in a public forum.

If I stuck a video on YouTube of myself riding (gods forbid), it would of course be open to public critique. And I hope I got PLEEEENTY of it! Some good, I hope, and the rest, constructive. Grownuplike.

As the Zen Frog on Little Bear says... OOoooohhhhhmmmmmmmmm

GoLightly said...

(hugs catty-pex)

hey, I'm just a COB, ya know;)

crabby old bat <<<<<<<<
That would be me:)

cattypex said...

Is ok

I thought the C stood for Canadian!

; )