Just Say YES! Taine and Lesage 1932 Olympics

[dressfan]

Great great video....they were heroes from another era, thanx for this!

[reflexnavajo]

Thank you for this video, it's amazing!

[leaowens]

@brokefordstud - excellent comments - 79 gold bats to you ;-)

@fleur4198 - if a horse was free to choose, he might choose to avoid this sort of work, he might choose to run free from humans and be wild, wormy, unrugged in winter, dying of diseases that vet care can prevent and fix, starving in droughts, drowning in floods, etc. I don't know. Maybe he'd choose to be cared for and ridden. (lol - if I could choose I'd choose to not do housework, to not go to work and to do whatever I wanted)

[brokefordstud]

What I find most important is not to compare Taine with the modern dressage horse but to compare the way Lesage rides to todays riding. I find his timing, sympathy, generosity and lightness to be inspiring.

I wouldn't particularly want a horse to work like Taine but I think that Lesage could have asked the horse to work more "over the back" if that had been what was wanted.

But one thing is clear - NEVER is Lesage demanding anything from this horse, they are a partnership at all times.

[droac6584]

That was so amazing, I can't believe that in 1932 they were so advanced in their training! I love the music on this video to, and its so good that someone is willing to post a video like this to thank the people in the past who built the foundation for riding.

[MerlynLover]

Try watching Reiner Klimke's 1984 Olympic ride! Then, if you can find a good quality video of it, watch his victory lap after the medal ceremony. Klimke rides one-tempi changes (changing canter leads every stride) one-handed! That is the true art of dressage!

[fleur4198]

But to say YES to WHAT??? - to the same primitive jerking-movement scheme of horse "training"???

This horse is PERFECTLY in the same "shape"/image as all others today - he shows NO REAL collection. His head is simply put down, and rear is simply just a bit active and under the body due to the spurs...Continually flying tail...Still shoed even if for SURE all those sport horses are perfectly able to walk barefoot, it's known....

[droac6584]

@fleur4198

But that is our fault for not making dressage more advanced today, not theirs. They were doing the best they knew how and what is our excuse today? We know better and yet ride wrong anyway, atleast they were trying their best and cared how it effected the horse.

[fleur4198]

@droac6584 Only blind and totally full of "pink horsie dreams" nowadays can't see that bits in ANY position, level, frequency of use and size ONLY MAIM horse, make it submit, afraid, nervous. To say nothing about health problems. Human needs horse for HIS OWN PURPOSES and USAGE, you can't disagree with this...

[fleur4198]

@droac6584 Not ANY horse would ever run to a human from the field with bridle in its mouth and say "let's bend that vertical" or carry those "bags"(read: riders) on their backs for ENORMOUS amount of time, run those races on MAD and totally overextreme speed that only makes horse break from inside and die slowly during years while its "CARRIER" is going on...

[fleur4198]

@droac6584 They cared how it effected the horse??? In which way? Did they care about healthy hoofs, did they care about back muscules that are SMASHED in ALL of sport horses... or ... did they only care how to pull, push with the spur, bend the neck and "work in the mouth" to get better movements???

Everything IN BASE, in motivations and facts, is the same... before and now... Just the scale is bigger now...

[equinedancing]

Rarely do we see such freedom and enthusiasm in a dressage horse, or a rider so much a part of his horse!

My husband says it is the most beautiful dressage he has ever seen.

To think that this kind of riding is harmful in any way is not based on science, but prejudice.

The horse obviously is not in any kind of distress - he looks positively joyful.

Thank you to those who took the time and care to digitize this wonderful old film and post it here for all to enjoy!

[droac6584]

@equinedancing

I agree, thank you!!

[TheProudHorsePR]

Is the horse calm, keen, attentive and confident? Is the horse supple, loose and flexible? Yes. Is the horse able to perform in front of a huge audience without having to be framed into submission? Yes. Lovely example of harmonious development of a horse by an empathic, feeling rider. And how lovely to see a horse allowed to use his neck and head as part of his overall balance. Refreshing really.

[brokefordstud]

Inspiring stuff. Bit different from what we are used to looking at today but only someone who knows little about how horses CAN be trained would say he was hollow.

Beautiful expression on his face, freedom and eagerness, yet perfect concentration and willingness.

Not a horse with 20 generations of sport breeding yet still doing a wonderful job. Thanks for the video.

[cavalairo]

Poor horse. I feel sorry for it being ridden in such a hollow frame.

By promoting riding in such a manner Horses For Life only adds to the horrific suffering of horses everywhere.

Thank goodness Scientific research has enabled us to ride and train Dressage in a more horse friendly manner nowadays.

[bagb74]

It shows me how much dressage has improved.

[moynzie]

How beautiful to see the horse free to move his head naturally. It only ads to the grace & elegance of the movements. How has it come to be that this grace & beauty (freedom) has been lost in modern dressage?

I hope this video will influence many riders to think about this. Bravo!

[FeeTurbule]

@moynzie The problem is that a few people see the grace & elegance that you are describing. We are not living in a time of poetry, we are living in a time of spectacular technology, horses are not seen as sensitive creatures for many riders, some people talk about their gaits like about "mechanics" or "machines". How many time did I hear that word: "mechanic"...