"Lukas' repertoire now includes nodding "yes" and shaking his head "no," kissing, catching and fetching, giving curtsies, waving, performing a Spanish walk, bowing, playing hide-and-seek, staying and coming, rearing, pushing a barrel, spelling (five-letter words), counting (up to five), identifying shapes, distinguishing among three colors, and putting a hoop on a cone."
On a related note, Lukas claims to have found the World's most gullible human, who he trained to feed him whenever he does a simple trick. Look for this pair sometime soon on Stupid Pet Tricks.
A Colorado man found out that it doesn't work to steal an ATM with your truck by hooking it up to a chain and dragging it away. I always wondered about that. The more you know... A donkey in Zimbabwe figured out that doing the same thing with a man doesn't work either. Go eventing.
Happy Thanksgiving Eventing Nation! Today we celebrate that incredible moment in US history when, as the story goes, the members of a fledgling nation celebrated their first harvest at Plymouth Plantation in 1621 with the help of their friends the Native Americans. Thank you so much for joining us for Eventing Nation's first Thanksgiving.
I am thankful first and foremost for my incredible friends and family; I am nothing without them. I am so thankful for my horses, who I consider both my friends and family, because they have led me to so many great friendships and experiences in the eventing community. We are all united by an incredible and innate love for the horse, and that is an extraordinary feeling. Horses serve their riders unconditionally and selflessly, and we all are inspired by their partnership.
As always, a special thank you to our friends in the armed serves who are working to protect us in some very tough places around the World.
With respect to Eventing Nation, thank you to the thousands of you who have welcomed us into your eventing lives. It may seem like a small thing for you to log onto Eventing Nation, but we put a great deal of time into developing the best eventing content to serve our readers, and every single visitor means a great deal to us. Thank you all so very much and go eventing. -J
-British TV show "I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here" receives outrage from viewers about making horses swim across a river with celebrities on their backs. The horse part begins at 4:24, swimming at 5:30. Read more
Can somebody get these guys helmet covers? "I'm up to my nips!"
-Horse painting sells for $120,000, later bucks new owner off repeatedly. Owner sends horse painting to trainer to 'fix' the problem. Trainer has hocks injected, gives the paining UlcerGuard, doesn't ride it for three months, and then suggests that owner sell the horse and look for something more suitable to his 'style of riding.' Painting is now for sale for $60K.
Click here for Eventing Nation report on the FEI's decision to allow bute and other performance enhancers at competitions.
So what exactly is now legal? "The progressive list allows phenylbutazone (bute), up to 8 micrograms per millilitre in plasma or serum. This is three times the level permitted in the 1980s before the powerful anti-inflammatory agent was banned. The progressive list also allows salicyclic acid (similar to aspirin) up to 750mcg/ml in urine and up to 6.5 mcg/ml in plasma or serum. Flunixin, a common anti-inflammatory and painkiller in horses, will be allowed up to 500 mcg/ml in plasma or serum. The new rules allow for a horse with levels below the prescribed limits to pass a drugs test provided the drugs are not used in combination." Read more.
We quoted a vet earlier today as saying the new allowed levels are "definitely performance enhancing." The major equestrian federations, including the United States, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and Great Britain all publicly opposed the proposal. The FEI shocked delegates by announcing the new doping proposal on Wednesday and then repeatedly changing the contents and name of that proposal up until the vote on Thursday. No one has announced who started the "progressive list," who supported it, or why the progressive list is tolerable to a zero-tolerance policy.
My take: Is there doping in eventing? Absolutely. Typically, people either give traditional treatments such as Cosequin or Legend during the competition, they inject magic untestable drugs, or they get really fancy and use special methods to directly treat a problem area. And all the vaulters do H. The $64,000 question is whether or not the FEI wants to change that or just look like they are changing it. I have a friend who is a professional cyclist, and he tells me that cycling officials work with drug companies to deceive competitors into thinking a drug is untestable, a bunch of cyclists start to use the drug, and then they test for it. Lance is tested nearly a hundred times a year. If the FEI suddenly got that serious, scores of top riders across many disciplines would get caught.
Why do riders give their horses performance enhancers? I feel that the reasons are more psychological than related to any calculated medical decision. The pressures placed on riders from owners, sponsors, trainers, and particularly the hundreds of hours they have dedicated to preparing for each three-day makes doing everything possible to pass the jog appear reasonable. If the probability of being caught, multiplied by the perceived cost of getting caught outweighs the perceived benefits of breaking the rules, riders will stop doping.
I support a policy that is zero-tolerance for anything that the FEI can and will test for. In some cases, such as Cosequin, FEI vets will tell you at the beginning of competition to please take your horse off Cosequin and other related supplements, despite the fact that you will not fail a test for being on normal levels of Cosequin throughout the competition. This policy is ridiculous because the rider is faced with the situation of having no external incentive to comply and the knowledge that his/her competitors have no incentive to comply. In the case of Cosequin, they should just comply and save their money because Cosequin is a marginal joint supplement to begin with, but I digress. For drugs that the FEI can test for, such as bute, and even for medications that riders do not know can be tested for, just keep things simple and stick with zero-tolerance. The increased comfort for horses during competition is outweighed by the discomfort some horses will feel later after being competed through a mild lameness. I spoke with a top FEI official about the matter, and he said something in French that I couldn't understand. Go eventing.
As we all know, for the past few years, tension has been building and bubbling over into conflict in the dressage world between "classical" and "modern" dressage. Modern dressage is characterized most visibly by a very round and low frame, with the horse often worked behind the vertical. Having watched and talked with riders who employ these techniques with varying degrees of regularity, the emphasis is on using the outside rein to encourage the horse to soften, raise its back, and put its weight on the hindquarters. Classical dressage keeps the horse in-front or on the vertical and seeks to transfer weight to the horse's haunches using transitions primarily via the seat aid.
Modern dressage has a relatively small but growing number of practitioners, including the incredible Anky Van Grunsven. Anky's trainer and husband, Sjef Janssen, essentially developed modern dressage, and speaks about the technique in this interesting article.
Modern dressage has been met with passionate resistance from classical enthusiasts who believe that modern dressage is abusive and painful for the horses. Tug of War: Classical verus 'Modern' Dressage by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann is an excellent read and leads the charge against modern dressage. For more info, check out this book review, or I would suggest buying the book yourself.
All of this tension in the dressage world found a catalyst and exploded after epona.tv recorded a video of Swedish Olympic rider Patrik Kittel and his horse, Watermill Scandic, at a World Cup qualifier warm-up. Watermill Scandic was being ridden in the hyperflexion characteristic of modern dressage, and the horse's tongue "was clearly blue, and flopped limply from the horse's mouth." The moments in question start at 1:18, and end a few seconds later, in the video below.
Here is epona.tv's original article on the incident, which sparked the resulting furor. A few days after being released, the video went viral and has led to a full-out movement to ban hyperflexion. Opponents of modern dressage called for an FEI inquiry and the FEI soon thereafter decided to investigate the incident. There is even a petition to the FEI to "eliminate this method of training."
The FEI has stated publicly that "There are no known clinical side effects specifically arising from the use of hyperflexion. However, there are concerns for the horses' well-being if the technique is not practised correctly." There is a litany of people who would disagree with the first part of that statement. Kittel has responded by giving this interview,and most recently in this article, where he says "During the filmed period of my training, [the horse]caught his tongue over or between the bits." Epona.tv just released this follow-up article, which answers some of their critics. This firestorm is ongoing and Eventing Nation will have update's as it progresses.
My take: I prepared this article/post about a purely dressage topic because the same dispute is coming to eventing sometime in the future, mark my words. Modern dressage has some very successful proponents and is growing despite the criticisms. Anky absolutely destroying everyone in her path does a lot to encourage the modern dressage movement. Eventing dressage certainly lags behind full dressage, but there is already a considerable and growing modern dressage influence in eventing. I will be fascinated to see how our sport recognizes and deals with this issue over the next few years.
Now, I am so sick of reading and writing about dressage that I will spend the next 20 minutes watching XC videos, which I would post here if this article wasn't already 6 feet long. Thanks for reading, and go eventing.
Flights to Kuwait International Airport were delayed earlier this week after an escaped horse caused chaos on the runway. The horse escaped from the cargo of an aircraft and was tranquilized by security after a lengthy chase. Horse and Hound
Penny Rowland and Roundabout won the indoor eventing at the Canadian Royal Winter Fair after winning day one and finishing 2nd in day two's competition. Oliver Townend had a rough day two, finishing in last place. Scroll down for video from day one. Recap, Results
News of the Weird: Is it bad that there is almost more news of the weird than normal horse news?
-NYPD Horse "Mr. Biggs" Bites Woman: According to the police report, the suspect yelled "don't tase me, bro!" so Mr. Biggs bit her. I can't wait for that episode of Cops.
Finally, happy Veterans Day. Thanks to all the men and women who serve our great country. Sometimes, as riders, it's easy for us to get caught up in Eventing and forget about the World around us. Please visit or call a veteran you know and tell them what their service means to you.
...Zenyatta just won the Breeders' Cup Classic. We loaned her to the horse racing chaps just to help her develop some wind before she starts serious work in Eventing. She doesn't have a mind for the Dressage, but makes up for it by consistently making the time on XC. Zenyatta finished her racing career an incredible 14-0 by winning the $5 million purse. ESPN Story, NYT Recap
In a related story, the Chronicle Forums are offline until Friday, so the only logical response is to spend extra time at Eventing Nation. Feel free to unleash your pent-up opinions by commenting on EN's posts.
We have gotten several questions about the newest safety device in Eventing, called the Point-Two Air Jackets. Basically, it's a vest that protects the rider much like an airbag in a car. The vest uses a gas canister to inflate in 0.1 seconds (it used to be 0.2, thus the name). The vest inflates when a rip-cord that is attached to the saddle pulls free from the vest, presumably during a fall. Point-Two vests were originally developed by a Frenchman for motorcycle racing. The vests had their US retail debut at Fair Hill International 2009, but had been tested by top US riders such as Karen and Phillip at previous competitions. Point-Two Air Jackets are already quite popular in Europe. 7/8 of the top riders at Burghley wore the vests, and all the major European teams wear them.
When that rip-cord is pulled away and the gas is released, the Point-Two vest inflates very suddenly and presses very tightly around the body, enough to knock your breath out for few moments before it starts to deflate. The cord is set to supposedly only pull out with the force of a rider fall. This avoids an accidental inflation when the rider's body position opens, such as over a drop. I heard that Karen was really opening her body up over a few warmup fences at FHI, just to make sure the vest wouldn't prematurely inflate. One rider forgot to unhook the rip-cord before dismounting and you can imagine what happened, but we will be kind and not mention names.
The word is that these jackets dramatically improve safety, but that word is only coming thus far from the company and from sponsored riders. I do not see how wearing the vest can hurt anything, other than your wallet, but the risk of serious injury is far from eliminated. At $750 US for the vest (rip-cord sold separately of course), and $22.5 for replacement air canisters, the added safety comes at a hefty price. As prices come down, and if independent studies show that inflatable vests significantly improve safety, I could see the vests becoming required safety equipment in the distant future.
My take: as all of you know, Eventing Nation has tried to lead the charge to raise money for Cooper's vet bills, and we are proud of these efforts. Eventing Nation walks like we talk, and we have donated every penny that we have earned so far (it's not much, but every bit helps) to Cooper's fund. You can donate at Jennie's site. In times of need, the Eventing community is strong, kind, and loyal, and we protect our own.
However, I wish that we had the opportunity to do the same for Lisa Peecook's horse Chummin, who died while competing at Galway. To my knowledge, no one has established a memorial fund for Chummin, and if such a fund exists, no one is publicizing it. Frankly, this disturbs me. I am concerned about the implications of not showing the same strong support for Chummin that Cooper has rightfully received. Do we as fans not care as much about Chummin because he is not a superstar like Cooper, does the media not cover Chummin's death as much as Cooper's surgeries because they think fans don't care as much? I can tell you that Eventing Nation published both the Cooper and Chummin stories hours before anyone else, and the Cooper news gave us a much higher bump in traffic.
One thing I try to avoid is criticizing something without presenting a good alternative, so I now present what I think should happen. The USEA, or USEF, or both should automatically establish a donation fund whenever a horse is seriously injured or killed at a competition. This is well within the scope and ability of each organization. We can't force people to give money to each fund equally, nor should we, but we can make sure that each troubled horse is treated equally in that each has a fund established for its benefit.
Please understand: my point is not that Cooper has received any undue support, far from it. There are some extremely wealthy fans of Eventing who sit in very large houses and complain about the USA's poor support of young talent, but who have not yet given a cent to support Cooper. I just feel that we should be aware of a double standard if it does exits, and try to give each injured horse equality of opportunity to receive donations. Any thoughts? Please leave your take.
Update: Please check out the comments by clicking on the title and scrolling down.
-British Eventing extends the qualifications for CCI*'s. (USA Prelim=GBR Novice) They now require the rider to have 6 novices, or 4 novices, and one intermediate and CIC* before doing a CCI*. My take: this makes the CCI* campaign harder to do in one season, but I have trouble arguing against this more cautious approach. On the other hand, if they are going to let someone do a four-star once every other week or so, who really cares about qualifications anyhow?
*-Also, a horse taxof anywhere from 10 to 100 pounds may start soon in the UK. My take: of course, none of us wants to see the cost of horse ownership increase, and this might just be a way for government to tax something it considers a luxury. But, if you look at the economics, this tax will probably result in a net positive for the horses. From an economic standpoint, we would expect a flat-rate tax on horses to cause overall horse ownership to decline, but at a greater rate among very low income people and people who do not want horses very much.
Lets imagine what happens with a $100 dollar tax on horses here in the US. For the average horse owner, who rides and maybe boards one horse or keeps a couple at home, this tax will feel like an unfortunate additional expense, but they can and will pay it. For professional horse operations, such as racehorse breeding farms, the expense will be larger, but it will still not be a significant portion of their operating budget, so they will pay it and move on. The point is that for anyone who spends more than $1,000 to $2,000 on a horse per year, a $100 tax will stink, but it will not be enough to stop them from owning a horse. Now, consider the tragic situation you occasionally see driving down some random country road, where a muddy two acre plot contains 13 malnourished horses slowly starving to death.
Clearly this is horse abuse, but animal control has no idea what to do with the horses and the local DA has bigger fish to fry, supposedly. In these instanced, a horse tax should and would prevent horse ownership for those people who don't care enough or can't pay to treat their horses well. For me, this seems like a net positive for horses, especially if we make sure that people can give their horses to caring relocation centers. Thoughts, comments? Hit the oval to the right of the date by the article title and leave your take.
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