What about This Video?

Watching this was chilling even knowing the outcome ahead of time. I'd heard about this wreck sometime last year because I'd been told a friend of mine was actually injured trying to stop one of the horses. I had not, however, seen the video until now. Guess I didn't even realize that video existed, although I should have knowing it was a regional championship class. Those classes tend to all be video taped and it's surprising how many actually find their way to YouTube.

This type of video is not my usual posting fare. It's bad enough it happened without some using it for entertainment or to promote their ulterior motives. But leave it to people through YouTube to make a bad thing worse. Some comments regarding this video got my blood boiling for a number of reasons so I guess I'm going to take this opportunity to do some venting and maybe a little educating.

I have to say some people voicing their opinions on this subject have made a lot of assumptions. There must be something or someone responsible for this kind of wreck so it's either the crazy breed or lousy training among other things. Did anyone ever consider that stuff just happens sometimes? In life...........and with horses?

And, of course, it wasn't controlled immediately because the people in the ring were too stupid to do so. The people watching the video are much more insightful than the dopes in the ring. Yet I wonder how many making those criticisms have ever dealt with a panicked horse, let alone a scared driving horse freaked out dragging a cart. From the sounds of their comments their don't know much about horse behaviors either. Yet they have all the answers about this situation. How could that possibly be when no one has all the answers no matter how hard he/she tries? So let's start off with my thoughts about theirs........

The assumption that the only horse that will bolt in the ring is a poorly trained one is most definitely false!

Horse activities are dangerous no matter how well trained the horse. The best trained horse in the world can get frightened and forget all his training reverting instead to instinct. It is part of the nature of the horse, no matter how hard we want to deny it. A horse can be stressed to such a point the little switch in their head clicks over to autopilot and instinct kicks in. Thinking otherwise can only make us vulnerable and unprepared, not to mention eventually get us hurt.

The accident that happened at the horse show I managed did not occur because of poor training. This horse was trained by a person known throughout the industry for his driving horses. He's been doing this for a long time and he rarely has a wreck. There is no way this man would ever take a horse into the ring to show that wasn't ready to be there. He would never risk his own life nor the life of his horse doing such a thing.

Then it had to be Arabian horses or part Arabian horses because of the assumption Arabians are all crazy. The assumption that any breed is all anything is equally false let alone the one that Arabian horses are crazy.

This mishap did occur at an Arabian Horse show but not because the horse was crazy. It was the Region 11 Championships held in Springfield, IL. I don't recall whether it was a purebred class or a part-bred class but just looking at the horses, I would think probably pure-breds. Not that the horses' behavior is a clue but looking at the "breed type" of the horses suggests purebreds to me.

People who have trashed Arabian horses in the comments on this video are just showing their ignorance if you ask me. All those trite things said about Arabian horses are biased and false. They say more about the people repeating them than the do the breed.

This wreck did not happen because it was Arabian horses. It happened because of the nature of horses as prey animals to flee when frightened. There is also the fact that driving classes are inherently more dangerous than other classes.

That doesn't mean I am trashing driving classes at Arabian shows or any other horse shows. I am stating the simple fact it is more difficult to control a spooked horse pulling any kind of vehicle than one with a rider on its back or a horse in hand because the vehicle itself becomes a source of "pressure" for the horse adding to the problem. Being unable to control the vehicle itself becomes an issue that directly affects the horse.

With that being said, accidents in driving classes don't happen often. While I have heard "stories" about driving wrecks that happened before my time, actual incidents since then that I am aware of are few.

In the number of years that I have been showing (about 20 years) I have only witnessed one incident in a driving class. A second incident occurred at a show I managed and a third happened at a pinto show where I knew exhibitors in the class. Then there is this wreck which I heard of within a week of its occurrence since this kind of news travels fast.

Some commented that the wreck happened because it was amateurs driving the horses. That's another off base assumption.

Surely there are amateurs out there showing who aren't really great at what they're doing. But there was nothing on this video that suggested that the driver caused this wreck or did anything to make it worse. Yet there were those people commenting who just seemed to feed off what other people said instead of looking for the truth.

Also, there are some very accomplished amateurs out there driving horses as well as riding them. That driving horse that spooked at the show I managed was not only driven by his amateur owner but trained as well. I hope some day I have as many national championships to my credit as he does.

Being an amateur doesn't make one incompetent. Jumping to conclusions like this, however, can make people look like *sses sometimes.


I have lots more on this rant to continue tomorrow and, of course, I'm open to your two cents worth as well. So step and and have at it!

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