posted Aug 22, 2008

I think it says alot that most people in the UK think this is funny.

I nearly fell off my seat when I saw some woman making her poor animal 'dance' to the Bee-Gee's

Get these Idiots out of the Olypics along with the Synchronised swimmers.

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posted Aug 22, 2008

This is a disgrace blaming the trainers, vet and riders. The real culprit here are the horses. They clearly knew what they were taking and must be punished. First time offenders should be entered in rehabilitation programs while repeat offenders should be banned for life and sent out to work carting people around parks on summer days or worse still, they should be sent to the knackers yard to be slaughtered to make glue.
I for one would like the Olympic committee to get to the source of the problem and find out who is dealing drugs directly to the horses. I'm guessing it is a heard of rogue donkey's with bad attitudes who have somehow lost their way in life.
Remember winners don't do drugs!

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posted Aug 22, 2008

The fact that it is illegal to compete on a horse after it has been given a painkiller is not a cruelty to animals issue. It is to PREVENT cruelty.

The rules are exactly the same in horse racing, in all major racing countries except the USA.

You cannot run a horse on painkillers as it may mask an underlying problem. Surely it is more cruel to run an injured horse on painkillers - the injury could be made worse.

Pain is natures way of telling you to stop doing something, if a horse cannot feel that his feet hurt surely he risks further injury or more and more suffering after the drugs wear off.

As for those people critizing the dresage - have you ever seen a stallion try to court a mare? He will use many of the moves that you see in a dressage test to impress the mare, so they are NATURAL movements for a horse to perform. All that a dressage horse does is perform these moves on command and with a little more refinement.

Most top-class dressage horses are in their mid to late teens, so that surely tells you the amount of time and effort that has been put in to training these animals.

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posted Aug 22, 2008

PrincessNewmarket - right on. The Passage (elevated trot) will often be seen in a field when horses are excited with each. Riding is an very ancient sport( goes back to Greece) and should not be compared with syncronised swimming

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posted Aug 22, 2008

In my opinion, anyone guilty of using a banned substance such as this should be banned from ever competing again.

If they were part of a team as well as individual contenders and the team won a medal - it should be revoked, if the offending rider was using the same horse in both.

If EVERY rider in a team had to pay the price for an individual choosing to dope, perhaps they would begin to police one another in order to prevent it.

This is a cruel thing to do in my mind, maybe the riders using it should have it rubbed in to THEIR legs then someone hit them with a large stick!

Having said that, a few years ago a prominent show jumper was hauled over the coals for racking his jumpers. This is even MORE cruel.

There is too much cruelty involved over all the different disciplines. We need a STRONG governing body to ensure it is stamped out once and for all.

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posted Aug 23, 2008

Denis Lynch and the other athletes have devoted their lives to this, and would never knowingly do anything to jeopardise their professional career.

This is devastating to all the athletes involved in this debacle and the comments here are harsh and completely miss the point.

If everyone adding comments here knew the sheer number of chemicals they absorb, imbibe or inhale on a daily basis, or just willingly rub into themselves the joke would be on them.

Lets hope all the competitors kicked out of this olympics can put this behind them, learn from their mistakes, and we hope to see you all at the next olympics!

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posted Aug 25, 2008

We are all outraged by such practices, but I can remember a time before all these chemical substances when certain countries did not hesitate in using cola bottle tops which were put inside brushing boots, serrated side to the leg, so if the horse hit the bar when he jumped, he was hurt by the bottle tops digging in to the flesh and it was common practice also to use nailed bars which served the same purpose, the horse hit it once, he was more careful the next time - happily and hopefully, I think these practices have now disappeared but unhappily to be replaced by more subtle punishments... SHAME.....the most noble of animals should not be treated in this way.

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posted Aug 27, 2008

To follow on from that:many British riders would commit these atrocities and even use electricity across the hind quarters to encourage horses to clear jumps.It was rife in the sixties and seventies but the law of libel forbids me from naming and shaming, suffice to say some of the worst offenders represented GB at international level. Horses have always been exploited for greed and the glory of humans. Chemical substances are less obvious and probably more widely used than we realise.
As I said earlier if they are used to enhance performance particularly to the detriment of the horse then ban the rider and if necessary the whole team. This has to be stamped out otherwise equestrian sports may well be ousted from the Olympics for good.

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posted Aug 27, 2008

To follow on from that:many British riders committed these atrocities and even used electricity across the hind quarters to encourage horses to clear jumps.It was rife in the sixties and seventies , suffice to say some of the worst offenders represented GB at international level. Horses have always been exploited for greed and the glory of humans. Chemical substances are less obvious and probably more widely used than we realise.
As I said earlier if they are used to enhance performance particularly to the detriment of the horse then ban the rider and if necessary the whole team. This has to be stamped out otherwise equestrian sports may well be ousted from the Olympics for good.

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posted Aug 28, 2008

Talk about Deja Vu, in Horse and Hound today Princess Haya President of the FEI and wife of Sheikh Mohammed of Godolphin Racing) said that if the horse world does not get its act together then it is possible that equestrian sports will not be in the 2012 Olympics. That would be awful but it is still viewed by many as too elitist even though it is ancient in terms of the original Olympic Games.What do others think? Games with no horses - I hope not.

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