Here are two images of quite well known horses. I own the rights to neither photo and, for ease of comparison, have flipped image B so the horses are headed in the same direction. I've not posted the source URLs yet since I would like to ask a question of anyone who stumbles upon this site:
What specific typeof trot is each horse performing?
If you have time, I'd like to know how you decided. That is, what are the characteristics of whatever type of trot you assign to each horse. I will appreciate even the briefest of comments though, for example, "both horses - jog trot," which I'm guessing anyone who hit this site will know is wildly incorrect.
HORSE A
HORSE B
This is a rarely visited blog, but when (if?) I collect at least ten answers, I'll post the source URLs with their description of the type of trot.
By the way, I'm just curious. I do not show. I have no vested interests. I'm just CURIOUS.
The video below shows Oberbereiter Klaus Krzisch's featured solo on Siglavy Mantua I, a ride performed throughout the Spanish Riding School's 2005 tour of the United States. The ride was fine, very fine, but of course we could criticize it--sloppy halt, a little overbent here and there--but all told, a beautiful demonstration of quiet riding and supreme equine obedience and relaxation, and all while his rider held only the curb rein in one hand throughout.
The most impressive element though is Siglavy Mantua I himself. This stallion was foaled in 1979. That's right. He was 26 years old, and, instead of being dead or in a wobbly retirement, he was in a spotlight as the featured solo. Full collection, passage, pirouettes, tempi changes. On the curb alone.
Can you tell I'm impressed? I know an upper level rider lucky enough to see this ride in person. She raved more than I'm raving. The horse. The level of riding and training. The level of conditioning.
(Click the WATCH ON YOUTUBE link to watch the video.)
After the 2005 tour, he continued at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the role of schoolmaster. In March 2007 he retired to become a full-time breeding stallion at Piper. Finally, his remarkable body failed him, and he was euthanized on August 19, 2008.
A 2002 son, Siglavy Malina II appeared in London in 2011, but I haven't found anything about sons from the one crop he sired after retirement.
I have however heard rumors from multiple sources that the privatization of the Spanish Riding School hit the school hard, the need for extra shows straining the horses to the point of lameness.
I don't follow SRS news much but thanks to Google, I found out some more old, bad news. Here's part of an article translated from Czech:
At the end of 2009 were "knocked out" two top riders SRS, who are under investigation by Equi-News. Klaus was Krzische and Johann Riegler (both in the highest positions riding hirerarchie SRS).
CEO Spanish Riding School, Dpl.Kfm Elisabeth Guertler, responded to the question Equi-News. as follows: "It is true, as we have explained, that occurred as a result of austerity measures to repeal two top riders. leader boss rider Klaus Krzisch b
yl solely for disciplinary reasons (which was established in December 2007), deprived of services. U boss rider Johanna Riegler, the situation is completely different: He was not ready to support the Court of Justice (our SAI) of the proposed changes and therefore decided to leave the Spanish Riding School. As a civil servant, but it is still a purely formal employee of the Spanish Riding School. "
In an open letter, published end of January 2010 (which was signed by among others, the former head of the Spanish Riding School Dr. Jaromir Oulehla), it is against the leadership SRS states: "The problems caused lameness and injuries stallions, which caused the cancellation of classic performances, and deterioration in the - until now unbeatable - quality on the accuracy of performance, dropping sharply luster performances, among other things, are probably caused by the doubling of the number of terms performance. stallions are thus overloaded and time for the necessary repairs practice agenda items are limited. Moreover, it should be noted that two highly qualified older leading riders (out of four) have been constructed out of service. verbal transmission By "classical knowledge of the 'younger riders like Elévové and younger riders (which is characteristic of the Spanish Riding School), is very limited and in danger of maintaining this type of teaching. "
Sorry about the clipped text and photo. Just click the link.
The tie-in here is that both of these men held Oberbereiter status, and one was the Krzisch, rider of Siglavy Mantua I. The loss of two such experienced riders didn't bode well for the school keeping its elite level. Of course anyone who's read Alois Podhajsky's autobiographies knows the school's been short of truly upper level riders before and survived.
However, privatization certainly adds a new danger. When these two Oberbereiters were "knocked off," the director was a woman with marketing experience. I haven't been able to find out if she had any experience with horses at all.
I don't know who's at the top right now and don't have the time to find out. The current director of the training center is Oberbereiter Andreas Hausberger about whom I currently know virtually nothing. In fact, I know painfully little about the bureaucracy of the institution, but the SRS website now has a special link for sponsorship of the horses.
I suppose a bit of corporate sponsorship could have been rationalized and downplayed, but turning the SRS into a profit maker strikes me as like turning the Statue of Liberty into a Disney-owned theme park. This line brought it home to me: "The Spanish Riding School enjoys an impeccable reputation and is one of Austria's best-known brands." But now, for better or worse, people can use the Spanish Riding School as a venue to stage their weddings There's a link to the SRS "Event Service."
The tab next to "Event Service" is "Tradition." I find the irony nearly overwhelming. No wonder I've avoided this site for years now.
UPDATE: Krzisch won his lawsuit against the Spanish Riding School. I had to switch to google.de to find the story but here it is, translated once again by faithful Google: "First Chief Rider Klaus Krzisch Baseless Put off Duty." Facts are still thin as to what happened, and I'm sure there'll be an appeal.
In the meantime, anyone want to bet that Kzrisch and Riegler objected mightily and futilely to the overworking of the stallions under the new for-profit model? This story sounds like a great opportunity for a made-for-TV series, doesn't it?
The video below shows Oberbereiter Klaus Krzisch's featured solo on Siglavy Mantua I, a ride performed throughout the Spanish Riding School's 2005 tour of the United States. The ride was fine, very fine, but of course we could criticize it--sloppy halt, a little overbent here and there--but all told, a beautiful demonstration of quiet riding and supreme equine obedience and relaxation, and all while his rider held only the curb rein in one hand throughout.
The most impressive element though is Siglavy Mantua I himself. This stallion was foaled in 1979. That's right. He was 26 years old, and, instead of being dead or in a wobbly retirement, he was in a spotlight as the featured solo. Full collection, passage, pirouettes, tempi changes. On the curb alone.
Can you tell I'm impressed? I know an upper level rider lucky enough to see this ride in person. She raved more than I'm raving. The horse. The level of riding and training. The level of conditioning.
(Click the WATCH ON YOUTUBE link to watch the video.)
After the 2005 tour, he continued at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the role of schoolmaster. In March 2007 he retired to become a full-time breeding stallion at Piper. Finally, his remarkable body failed him, and he was euthanized on August 19, 2008.
A 2002 son, Siglavy Malina II appeared in London in 2011, but I haven't found anything about sons from the one crop he sired after retirement.
I have however heard rumors from multiple sources that the privatization of the Spanish Riding School hit the school hard, the need for extra shows straining the horses to the point of lameness.
I don't follow SRS news much but thanks to Google, I found out some more old, bad news. Here's part of an article translated from Czech:
At the end of 2009 were "knocked out" two top riders SRS, who are under investigation by Equi-News. Klaus was Krzische and Johann Riegler (both in the highest positions riding hirerarchie SRS).
CEO Spanish Riding School, Dpl.Kfm Elisabeth Guertler, responded to the question Equi-News. as follows: "It is true, as we have explained, that occurred as a result of austerity measures to repeal two top riders. leader boss rider Klaus Krzisch b
yl solely for disciplinary reasons (which was established in December 2007), deprived of services. U boss rider Johanna Riegler, the situation is completely different: He was not ready to support the Court of Justice (our SAI) of the proposed changes and therefore decided to leave the Spanish Riding School. As a civil servant, but it is still a purely formal employee of the Spanish Riding School. "
In an open letter, published end of January 2010 (which was signed by among others, the former head of the Spanish Riding School Dr. Jaromir Oulehla), it is against the leadership SRS states: "The problems caused lameness and injuries stallions, which caused the cancellation of classic performances, and deterioration in the - until now unbeatable - quality on the accuracy of performance, dropping sharply luster performances, among other things, are probably caused by the doubling of the number of terms performance. stallions are thus overloaded and time for the necessary repairs practice agenda items are limited. Moreover, it should be noted that two highly qualified older leading riders (out of four) have been constructed out of service. verbal transmission By "classical knowledge of the 'younger riders like Elévové and younger riders (which is characteristic of the Spanish Riding School), is very limited and in danger of maintaining this type of teaching. "
Sorry about the clipped text and photo. Just click the link.
The tie-in here is that both of these men held Oberbereiter status, and one was the Krzisch, rider of Siglavy Mantua I. The loss of two such experienced riders didn't bode well for the school keeping its elite level. Of course anyone who's read Alois Podhajsky's autobiographies knows the school's been short of truly upper level riders before and survived.
However, privatization certainly adds a new danger. When these two Oberbereiters were "knocked off," the director was a woman with marketing experience. I haven't been able to find out if she had any experience with horses at all.
I don't know who's at the top right now and don't have the time to find out. The current director of the training center is Oberbereiter Andreas Hausberger about whom I currently know virtually nothing. In fact, I know painfully little about the bureaucracy of the institution, but the SRS website now has a special link for sponsorship of the horses.
I suppose a bit of corporate sponsorship could have been rationalized and downplayed, but turning the SRS into a profit maker strikes me as like turning the Statue of Liberty into a Disney-owned theme park. This line brought it home to me: "The Spanish Riding School enjoys an impeccable reputation and is one of Austria's best-known brands." But now, for better or worse, people can use the Spanish Riding School as a venue to stage their weddings There's a link to the SRS "Event Service."
The tab next to "Event Service" is "Tradition." I find the irony nearly overwhelming. No wonder I've avoided this site for years now.
UPDATE: Krzisch won his lawsuit against the Spanish Riding School. I had to switch to google.de to find the story but here it is, translated once again by faithful Google: "First Chief Rider Klaus Krzisch Baseless Put off Duty." Facts are still thin as to what happened, and I'm sure there'll be an appeal.
In the meantime, anyone want to bet that Kzrisch and Riegler objected mightily and futilely to the overworking of the stallions under the new for-profit model? This story sounds like a great opportunity for a made-for-TV series, doesn't it?
Much controversy surrounds why Thoroughbreds run. Of late, I've seen considerable discussion of whip use and condemnation of horse racing in general. Fort Larned's riderless "win" in the Gulfstream Handicap ought to provide another aspect for discussion, but, considering the mentality of most people who comment on the Internet, I suspect it won't.
In fact, I should stop reading the comments under horse-related articles on the Web. The general level of romanticism and irrationality is bad enough, but the overall ignorance causes me to froth at the mouth.
What's infuriated me lately are a number of remarks complaining about whip use, saying that jockeys constantly beat their horses during a race and that race horses only run because they are beaten.
I complain about whip use too, but I do so because a growing body of research indicates whipping is basically pointless, futile, and hence cruel. Some countries are ahead of us in limiting whipping. For example, many years back, Sweden ruled that a jockey must hold onto the mane when using the whip and is limited to three whacks a race. Some US tracks already allow only padded bats with large, doubled, triangular slappers--literally slapsticks--which create more noise than pain.
Even without regulation, the races I've seen of late don't seem to have as much whipping as they did even a few years ago and certainly much less than occurred during some 18th and 19th Century races when horse beating was generally accepted as necessary. In comparison, today's best jockeys restrain their whip use. Of course, like the rest of us, not all jockeys have great talent or good sense, so stricter rules should pass.
However, I suspect that self-selection reduces whip use. For many trainers and owners it's become clearer that jockeys who use the whip too much lose many more races than they win and, worse yet, extensive whipping merely desensitizes the horses to the pain, making further whip use pointless.
As to whether race horses like to run, I know my off the track Thoroughbred sure did. (My avatar shows him wafting around my fields.) Upon being turned out for breakfast, he swept around our twenty acres, covering at least a mile before settling down to graze. Watching him was a thrill for me.
Watching the riderless Fort Larned sweep by his rivals in the 2013 Gulfstream Park Handicap (Grade II) was a comparable thrill. The favorite, he stumbled badly at the start, lost his jockey, then blew by the rest of the field and disappeared off screen. At 1:45 in the video, there's a glimpse of him after the finish line. He's clearly pulling himself up after "winning" by a distance comparable to that of Secretariat in the Belmont.
Bloodhorse put up this still photo of Fort Larned, close to the rail, ears swept back in concentration, doing his job despite the lack of human guidance. One thing's for sure. No jockey used a whip on him that day, and yet Fort Larned ran a fine race.
No one really knows why TBs run. Maybe this video shows a horse that loves to run. Maybe it shows a highly trained race horse that knows his usual and/or best distance. In either event--or both--it certainly showed a horse running without being flogged around the track.
Post script: The Bloodhorse website reports that the 5 year old caught a quarter coming out of the gate, causing the trip, but his trainer, while still observing him carefully, says the horse looks to be just fine otherwise.
Over the last eight years or so, horses have suffered more and more from the ripple effects of the economy. Now with growing evidence climate change in the form of persistent droughts, the soaring cost of hay and grain adds to the dilemma.
Obviously, the ideal is to shift horses to new homes, but that's harder and harder to do. My neighbor, a well known animal cruelty expert, told me how dire the horse rescue situation has become--full to overflowing, long waiting lists. It looks like the situation is not getting any better as time passes.
The bit about breeding for the agricultural exemption raised a red flag with me, but this owner tried to surrender them, something a number of other owners have failed to do, and a serious illness can push anyone over the edge. It's sad, but both marginal owners and many formerly flush horse owners look to be totally ill prepared for bad times, and their horses are paying the price.
In the last year or two, the more exotic breeds began to show up in the news. In the past year or two Lusitanos and Arabians hit the headlines. What next? Friesians?
I suspect the situation's only going to get worse. Some forty or fifty thousand ferals warehoused by the BLM, a glut of horses bred by hobby breeders, the usual flood of failed race horses, all this points towards a horse holocaust as the middle class shrinks and feed prices edge higher and higher.
UPDATE: The same economic problems afflict Ireland, England, and other European countries. Horror stories abound. For example, a 7 year old Irish Sport Horse was sent to a rather well known rider to be offered for sale. Here's how he was returned to the owner:
Of course, I already knew how bad things were there. Just a few days before this article appeared, English trainer Heather Moffett posted a photo of a highly trained Alter Real stallion on her Facebook page with a plea for someone to grab the horse. Located in Portugal or Spain, the stallion was being offered for 3000 Euros, a fraction of what a stallion of his quality would have gone for a few years back.
While the BLM warehouses some 50,000 wild horses removed from our public land, oil leases proliferate and ranchers continue to hold low-priced grazing leases for their herds of sheep and cattle.
The horses will be gone soon, I suspect, but the land will still be overgrazed. In fact, I'd bet money vast swaths of the already quite barren west will will suffer a fate worse than overgrazing. Gas and oil wells. Uranium mining. Contamination is all but assured. Land poisoned and stripped by such ventures doesn't just regain its pristine nature. In fact, it will likely never recover.
As far as I can tell moderation and balance are no longer American values, and mankind is, as always, hopelessly short-sighted.
