Breyerfest 2009: Tommie Turvey and Poker Joe

Update 11/28/2011:
Whether it was Tommie Turvey or some one who works for him and used his name, they claimed this video infringed on copyright status. After over a month of waiting on Youtube to respond, the video was restored as this does not violate copyright law.

While I have never addressed comments here before, I will do so now.

Some of you disagreed with the label "animal abuse" and defined it by your literal standards. Others found peace in saying every horse has an off day, or even said it was because of the weather (which was great that weekend, thanks). Regardless of what you wish to chuck it up to, it is abuse. If you go to Dictionary.com, the very first definition of the word is as follows "to use wrongly or improperly; misuse: to abuse one's authority."

While I do not know Mr. Turvey personally, I strongly believe one of the signs of a great trainer is knowing his charges limitations. Whether this be a human or animal. As a trainer, especially an animal trainer, you are responsible for them entirely. While signing up for a event like Breyerfest is a lot of pressure, you should know this already going into it. You are asking an animal to preform the same routine multiple times a day for the length of the event. Now I do not know how often Poker Joe or any of the other horses under his care preform, but speaking from experience, you should always have a back up plan. I do recall he brought another horse with him, but the point of this rambling is the horse was soured. You can see it in all the signs of his behavior. For his sake as well as the safety of his trainer, he should have been given the rest of the day to rest.

I will make one last direct comment involving this video and Mr. Turvey. Referring back to the basic definition of Abuse. The tools which the trainer uses to communicate with the horse were misused, causing the horse pain, as well as using ones authority incorrectly. One of the tools used to communicate with horses is the Bit. However it's like a one way telephone with bad reception. While trained to respond to certain bit ques, it is a programed unnatural behavior. Because they are unable to communicate through the bit directly, the trainer/rider/handler has to be aware of the visual behaviors.

Any one who has worked behind the scenes in a facility which caters to horse entertainment will be able to tell you first hand, it's not all magic and dreams coming to life, and the business is not this awe invoking thing to applaud at. While it is a business like any other, it needs things to run it and patrons to pay. Horses by nature are not a lucrative business. To turn them into one, a persons moral principals often come into question. Sadly one way of making them a lucrative business, is by using them for entertainment. I do not wish to get into too much detail, if I typed everything I have had first hand experience in, you would be reading for the next two days. The point is, these are animals. These are not some kind of personified cinema characters. They also should not be treated so callously, regardless of their use.

I am not going as far as to say Mr. Turvey is a horrible trainer. As I said, I do not know the man personally. However to bring this show to a stadium of thousands of horse people, and make such a poor decision in his actions, one can't help but think what else goes on. For many of us, this was the first time seeing or hearing of him. If this was our first impression, it's going to be a lasting one. Believe me, I was not the only horsewomen to end that show with a bitter taste in her mouth.

Regardless I still encourage you to think for yourselves when watching this video, and as always, comments are open. I may or may not respond to them, it just depends how you compose your post.

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This was Saturday, July 18, 2009. I don't think I'll make any comments on this video, you guys think about it for yourselves and comment as you'd like.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• tommie
• turvey
• tommy
• breyerfest
• breyer
• poker
• joe
• paint
• horse
• animal
• abuse
• Kentucky
• show
• park
• Horses
• Riding
• Theatre
• Equestrianism

[MyHorseylover]

not to get u guise all mad but i have a horse that has a lot of bad habits and i hit her... like me he was probably showing hi who's boss

[Burakkubara]

@MyHorseylover I feel to often our instruments of communication between man and horse are misused. In studies conducted in feral horse populations, the number of strikes/bites/hits were recorded, and what those studies showed is that in a stable family group, most of those strikes did not make contact. It's also important to note that horses do not just come with bad habits. These are all taught to them by their trainers, riders, and owners.

[2bejou]

What a fantastic trainer, one of the best in the world.

Anyone claiming "abuse" obviously knows nothing about horses or training. This was a very professional response to a horse who made a mistake. There was nothing harsh or harmful about the way Tommie reinforced the cues.

[DaisyPanda123]

Like yeah, hes a trick horse but the way he was treated..tht just wasnt nice AT ALL! Could every1 not see the irritation and how annoyed he looked?!? He kept hitting his hooves and smaking him wen he stood up wen the guy yanked his reins to get him up...like wtf?? Poor Poker Joe :'( <3 <3 xXx

[jesirawr]

this is not abuse at all. look at all of the different times they've done this act....and look at tommie's videos. he knows how to train his horses, he knows how they work, and would NEVER do any harm to his horses.

[SaraNightfire1]

Or maybe the horse is having an off day and is refusing to perform because he's already done it so much. He's trying to tell the trainer something, and yes, it is wrong they way the guy was treating him and still forcing him to perform. It is a sad comparison. I can't pass full judgement until I see more videos, but I say either Joe was having an off day, is getting old, getting more sour, or just tired from performing so much, It's really sad to see.

[SaraNightfire1]

Maybe it's abuse, but I think it's a bond between the two. That was in 2003. The horse probably is getting older and more sourer, he also might be sick of the routine. Doing the same thing over and over again makes horses sick of the job. Especially smart horses like Joe. The guy did treat him wrongly, considering the economy, it might be this is the only money he's getting and he's getting desperate. Maybe he's trying to squeeze the last bit of money out of the horse.

[SaraNightfire1]

Seeing the differences between the two shows where Joe had only one show on one night and constant performing every day, I see the difference. The horse in the first show performed better because he did the cues, he wasn't forced and he was enjoying himself. He didn't need the guy to do anything with it. You do have to realize, that is the most vulnerable position that a horse has, laying on the ground with it's belly in the air and it's hooves being played with. I've NEVER seen a horse do that

[HorseGal523]

@xxBlackVeilBridexx Cool i do Barrel and just normal riding :)

[xxBlackVeilBridexx]

@HorseGal523

im a reiner.

[HorseGal523]

@xxBlackVeilBridexx what style riding do u do ( just our of curiousoty) i do western it's fun :)

[xxBlackVeilBridexx]

@HorseGal523 hahahahhahahaa

[HorseGal523]

@xxBlackVeilBridexx uhhh make me jerk

[xxBlackVeilBridexx]

@HorseGal523 lol there is no way you're 28.

you argue like you're 10.

lol get outta here :p