Dressage at it's best, no force what so ever on the reins. Suppleness. Harmony. This is what it should look like in my opinion. I don't know what's going on in modern dressage, I can't really say that it has "developed", at least not in a good way, take a look!
Pictures from the group
Blue Tongue world cup warm up video on facebook, most pictures courtesy of Matilde Goul Dueholm.
Depicted is Moorlands Totilas:
Comment from FB around the pic, I couldn't have said it better myself: "The neck is short and tight, where is the extended frame required at extended trot?, why is the rider and saddle half way up his neck? why is there a big hollow behind the saddle?, why is the horse sweating so profusely?, why is the rider in waterski position?
We need to learn to look at the whole picture - all of this shows us he is trained using rollkur, not just whether or not he is in this actual moment.
This is an extremely talented rider on an extremely talented horse but nevertheless many of the signs are still there and all of them are signs of incorrect work according to the FEIs own rules-and yet this horse is being marked with 9s and 10s."
Another dressage equipage:
Depicted is a danish warmblood stallion, diagonal pairs not matching, weight on forehand. Look at the hocks!
The pictures speak for themselves:
It's truly awful and quite amazing how this is allowed to proceed!
Entire weight on the pelham bit. I actually read that a famous danish woman competing in show jumping, teaches to tighten the noseband tight enought - so the horse can't breath properly, which makes it easier to turn the horse around. GREAT!
Ring pulling the corners of the mouth upward.
"Depicted a horse in the warm up arena, show jumping. Gas pedal in the side, brakes in the front. Good ol show jumpers with their ever more inventive bits to elicit furthur control on a horse they've never bothered to school correctly....as bad as anky leaning back on her curb bit horizontal to the ground." - couldn't have said it better myself!
Sad!
