Charlotte Dujardin Has Tongue Issues In The Grand Prix Dressage Test In Hagen

#dressage #animalwelfare #horses

[@jenz4524]

Am I the only one who doesn't like Charlotte? She drove me bananas from the beginning, after seeing a video of her warming up a horse and using hyperflexion. No, I don't have the video anymore, it has been deleted. The FEI needs to get their heads out of their asses and start putting the horse first instead of last.

[@saarlooswolfhund6237]

Here. Its the same abusive riding like all the other Modern Dressage Riders

[@luciemarinov129]

So the judges ignore the horse’s mouth obviously stressed and apparently will always score top riders top scores no matter what! That’s sad, the horses have no voice except yours. Thank u for having the courage to speak for their welfare!❤

[@joshaw7356]

Come back when you know what you are talking about! I apologize. I am taking my anger out on an innocent bystander. I am truly sorry! Part of what you said is definitely true! But, Charlotte Dujardin has earned her way to the top with Valegto, and stayed there for approximately 3 years until Carl Hester and Charlotte decided to retire Valegro at 19 years old and 11 or so gold medals, I can't remember how many. The point is, she did not get there with sketchy training, abusing her horses and her clients' horses as well. She is one of the top riders in the world and always will be.

[@vanessaeverett1141]

Im no expert by any means. Just a country girl who loves horses.....I see foam,tounge,and stiffness. ❤🐎❤...Love your work Dressage Hub. 😊.

[@horseystuff9717]

I think for the most part the test was nice, I just watched it and the horse was mostly on/in front of the vertical and not very fidgety in the mouth, however in the halfpasses I do agree that the tongue was visible and the judging should’ve penalised it. So if ur argument is abt the judging of that movement I agree, but on the whole I didn’t think the test was bad at all

[@caciliawhy5195]

They are trying harder to be nice in public. But when she needs the reins for the flexion for the half pass, the old problems come back because the horse doesn't forget.

[@horseystuff9717]

@@caciliawhy5195be that as it may, we should still be encouraging riders being nicer to their horses (even if it is just in public) because 1) we don’t have any proof of abuse at home, however if videos come out where Charlotte is abusing this horse at home that obviously should be condemned and 2) I think the problems will first be solved from the outside with the judging and then riders will adapt to it because if the judges’ priorities shift towards nicer and less flashy movements riders will automatically be more motivated towards achieving that. So if this video is targeted towards correcting the judging in dressage I fully support that

[@katherinekoza6536]

Dear Dressage Hub , In defense of Charlotte Dujardin , at least it was not Blue tounge . Maybe it was just the horse it's self ,as i watched another video of the same ride ,and there seemed to be no issuse through out the rest of the ride . If there was , i am sure that Alive and Kicking would have a tounge problem through out the whole ride , not just at the half pass . Charlotte ,has always showed empathy and kindness to all the horses she rides .

[@mauram3941]

Excessive thick white foam and a tongue evading the bit is indicative of blue tongue.

[@paulinarapicka]

There is NO flapping tongue in a horse that is properly schooled to accept the bit.

[@DressageHub]

The bar is pretty low if you think a link tongue is the only measure. But to further your point. The video is dark so it is hard to tell if the problem exists in the rest of the test. Also hard to tell if it's blue when it's covered in fluff.

[@caciliawhy5195]

They are trying harder to be nice in public. But when she needs the reins for the flexion for the half pass, the old problems come back because the horse doesn't forget.

[@gloriasueb]

Isn't this the horse she rode in that masterclass as a 4-yo? He already had lots of tongue problems.

[@joshaw7356]

Leave Charlotte alone! She has worked hard to be where she is! That is a young horse and he did alot better in that ring than he would have done with alot of so called trainers.

[@trppro7640]

The horse is also chewing the bit a lot. Lots of foam in the mouth. I don’t see a comfortable horse that is ready for this level. Maybe it’s a bad day. The horse is definitely uneven in half pass but still scored a 7 with an uneven stride. Interesting. 🤔

[@dinazaphiris1257]

The horse is supposed to be chewing the bit. That is a very good thing. 😊

[@jonjonwp]

I saw a very comfortable horse, So what if the half pass was a bit uneven ? Nobody expects an inexperienced horse to be perfect.

[@dog2484]

​@@jonjonwpyou see a comfortable horse because you aren't able reading a horse. Its always your old problem

[@reasondora2712]

You can’t argue with video evidence . But always have in mind that however perfectly well a horse is trained the international arena is a frightening and in natural environment for a horse to enter . Added with this the Adrenalin a horse has to manage ,to stay calm and lift off the floor in collection then I am not surprised that we see moments of tension .

[@gloriasueb]

It used to be, back in days of yore, that relaxation and obedience were more important than fancy knees and huge gaits. Today's dressage horse is as high strung as any saddlebred that's been chased with a fire extinguisher. And as much as I like saddlebreds, that is not a compliment.

[@fariahcriss5696]

Then the judges should be awarding points accordingly. Some of the criteria that dressage is supposed to operate on are softness, suppleness, and relaxation. Sure moments of tension are going to happen sometimes, but they shouldn't be rewarded with high marks

[@user-zb9gi4wn7v]

Well, Audrey (Alive and Kicking) won her class. It’s just her third Grand Prix, so not massively experienced, but getting there. At the beginning of April, Charlotte rode Secret Agent in his first young horse class where he scored 97%. Both Charlotte and Carl absolutely love their horses, they work hard with them and for them, and they and their horses are rewarded. It’s sad that you feel you have to attack Charlotte, foaming mouths are very common in these horses whilst working, it isn’t a sign of distress or abuse, they’re clearly in excellent condition, so not a sign of ill health either.

[@DressageHub]

Funny ... I didn't menton foam in the video. Also didn't say she doesn't love her horse.

[@mcdart2606]

Sad that you didn’t notice the BLUE tongue. Or maybe in your world that’s a sign of love… er hard work 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@jonjonwp]

Audrey has just won the GP special today too. Relaxed, light contact with the bit, never uses the curb. She looked so happy and comfortable in the test. Yours was a great comment. Too many nasty trolls here inventing faults.

[@TheOldandslow]

​@jonjonwp do you mean the test these clips are from? If so, the tail is definitely stressed, the ears are stressed, and she wasn't comfortable going half pass to left... nice horse, but stressed and tight.

[@jonjonwp]

@@TheOldandslow I mean the whole test which i have seen. I saw a happy horse. She will make faults as she is not experienced and has a lot of muscle to build up. Give it a rest and stop looking for perfection, it takes years to get there.

[@sharihazlett3774]

FEI needs to stop double bits. Dressage is supposed to be effortless. This is snything but. Horse clearly stressed

[@dinazaphiris1257]

Bits are not the problem. Some horses will do this. It is in fact part of training. Horses do not always say “yes, ok” and if you stay with it they may balk a bit - training involves staying with the aids and releasing when the horse is relaxed. Unfortunately- it happened during a test. I do think all this craziness is coming from lower level riders who have never trained a horse. A horses mouth and tongue showing a tiny bit is ok. The horse may have been tense in his surroundings- so what! Horses sometimes get tense. Look at her hands, how gentle and quiet she rides. The people complaining probably have far worse hands, and abilities. Go ahead. Reply with a video of YOU DOING Grand Prix in a double. It should be a rule that you need to show us your worst day on your horse, show us yourself riding Grand Prix, before you comment on it. There’s zero cruelty here people. I need to speak up. When people like Charlotte and Isabel Werth are being attacked-- it’s the blind and ignorant whose voices are heard. Laws will be made, bits will become illegal, and so will owning a horse. All for nothing. Because you do not understand, you’re incapable of critical thinking, and you’re actually uneducated on the subject, it will be your fault when we are no longer able to ride horses. There’s a big difference between abuse and a horse having a bad moment. Focus on real horse abuse, because it’s out there. And there are laws against it. Spend your time rescuing a starving horse with overgrown feet out of a field. Go do that.

[@sharihazlett3774]

@dinazaphiris1257 wow you must think we are all dumb as a doorknob. We recognize abuse when we see it. When your horse has blood or blue tongue, that is a problem. I don't blame riders because the judges are scoring them high. Judges should deduct from tongue waving. These may be young horses who do mess up. Judges need to quit scoring it so high. If FEI doesn't do something very quickly, there won't be dressage. Look at 3 day eventing. They changed. Dressage needs to make changes maybe starting with the judges. And just because I don't ride at FEI level doesn't mean that I don't recognize signs of abuse. I will give leeway on young horses. Get off your high horse and pretend you care about the HORSE!!!

[@dinazaphiris1257]

@@sharihazlett3774 abuse is not ok. Blue tongue is not ok. Big difference. A mouth open for a moment in time is not abuse. Don’t get them confused.

[@dinazaphiris1257]

@@sharihazlett3774 yes. It does mean that you do not know the difference. You take something and twist it into something else. Done with you.

[@jonjonwp]

@@dinazaphiris1257 Well said, Thank you. These trolls will end up ruining the sport of dressage.

[@senka2578]

The ride was passable and I am not going to gush on people because they seem to be nice to their horses. Inexperienced or not, the horse was not comfortable and the scores were too exaggerated to be factual. This giving everyone ‘A’s’ just for showing up has to stop. No wonder some of these riders are apt to abuse their horses.

[@darraghduggan654]

What a ‘fabricated’ comment Come back to us when you’ve educated yourself

[@badlander2000]

Not great half passes, horse looked uncomfortable, but i didnt see harsh hands and charlotte seems to normally have very nice rides. Im inclined to think this was just a bad day. However, judges probably shouldnt have scored so high for that novement.

[@Tenebrisvis]

Did you hear about the new FEI rules about not being allowed to record at an FEI event.

[@user-jp6mx9ol2k]

What makes it better is all these top riders will just ignore silly people like yourself because what I would live is to see you try and train a horse like Carl and Charlotte do. If you watch this same horse in lier you will see zero issues, like some comment say, “it could of been a day the horse was tense” it also remembering this show is outside and a lot to look at. This horse hasn’t had much exposure and horses have there own mind and like we humans do when there is a lot going on we to get tense.

[@jonjonwp]

Exactly 👍

[@caciliawhy5195]

And waving its tail. Combined with the mouth, that is a bad sign the horse is unhappy.

[@nzanetta1]

I agree about the scores. However It’s interesting because I have a very hot, young mare who is tense a lot the first few rides at a show. Then she settles down and practically drags me to the ring. Are you saying that because she is tense I shouldn’t have her at a show? How does a young, hot horse learn about their environment unless we teach them confidence and give them experience? I don’t see anything to spend time on in this video. Maybe if there are others but not for one movement.

[@gloriasueb]

Actually, 7 is the new 5.

[@DressageHub]

😂😂😂 facts

[@carlafowler6607]

HOW DO THEY NOT SEE THE TONGUE HOW DOES THAT WEIRD UNEVEN HALF PASS SCORE A WHOPPING 7 COMPETITIVE DRESSAGE IS A JOKE🤢 COMPETITIVE DRESSAGE IS FINISHED!! GET CLASSICAL DRESSAGE BACK GI BACK TO THE CORRECT WAY OF TRAINING A HORSE TO DANCE HAVE SELF EXPRESSION SELF CARRIAGE BE A PROUD HAPPY HORSE WITH THE WORK HE/SHE IS DOING!!! BUILD A PARTNERSHIP!!!!😢

[@Thunderbolt_breyers]

I think equestrian sports are going to go dow hill because of abuse, specifically professional sports In FEI, Grand Prix’s, Olympics, etc. why chat people learn what abuse is?

[@randomcrap1234]

Raleigh mentioned to you.She said she really likes you❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@DressageHub]

The feeling is mutual!

[@judithbateson6353]

All of this will get horse sports banned, What then? Will this lead to only gypsy ponies being bred? Who knows?

[@mlaska12]

Ań balanse!? You serious! Try to do it

[@jonjonwp]

It was a fabulous test on an inexperienced horse.

[@GrainneDhub-ll6vw]

Including the floppy tongue?

[@trppro7640]

@@GrainneDhub-ll6vw the floppy foamy blue tongue. I agree. 🥹🙃

[@mcdart2606]

Absolutely. As long as you can, as you did, overlook obvious signs of abuse.

[@jonjonwp]

@@mcdart2606 Don't be ridiculous.

[@janetemmerson529]

Makes them feel important to criticise. They probably couldn't ride a Shetland pony. They have no idea what they're looking at and follow like sheep

[@elkefaber3103]

Die Pferde von Dujardin haben eine erzwungene Aufrichtung ohne die nötige Rahmenerweiterung in den Verstärkungen. Audrey zieht nicht zur Hand und ist fest im Genick. Daher fehlt es auch an Biegung in den Seitengängen und Entspannung im Schritt. In ihrer Art der Abrichtung von Pferden hat Dujardin eine Perfektion entwickelt, das muss man ihr lassen.

[@dog2484]

Und ist und bleibt trotzdem nur eine Rollkur Reiterin die von den Prinzipien der Klassischen Dressur nichts verstanden hat.

[@alebequine]

🤮

[@marcalainbahuchet9162]

But what about races and horses ridden at 18 month before being killed in most of the cases. Dont you think that it is a more pregnant problem ? Or are you affraid because facing a powerful lobby ? Abuses are not acceptable in general but some of them are more important than others. And please try to avoir your angry face. That is ridiculous

[@dinazaphiris1257]

This whole channel has become a critical place- please read and share: Who Are We To Judge??! Introduction When Alois Podhajsky was the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, he sometimes noticed that someone watched him during the morning workouts with a disapproving eye. So he sent his groom up to the gallery to relay the message: “The Colonel couldn’t help but notice that you disapprove of his training. He is inviting you to come down and ride his horse for him because he would love to learn a better way.” Not surprisingly, nobody was brave (or incautious) enough to take the bait and say: “By God, I’m going to get up on this horse and show him how it’s done!” That’s a very clever and very effective way to silence the peanut gallery who thinks they are so much better than the riders in the arena who are actually trying their best to do a good job with their horse. The Dilemma In social media, where it is very safe to criticise others (especially when you hide behind the anonymity of a screen name) because you never have to put your money where your mouth is and demonstrate your own skills, this leads very quickly to the debate whether one has to be able to ride and train to a high level in order to criticise someone else. Or whether the critic has to be able to demonstrate how to do it better than the person who is being criticised. This would mean for instance that only an Olympian would be allowed to criticise another Olympian. It is pointed out that restaurant critics are generally not 5 star chefs, art critics are not world class artists, music critics are not world class musicians, and literature critics are not Nobel prize winning novelists or poets. This is true. Even an inexperienced lower level rider can watch a performance or a training session and either like it or dislike it. They may find it so inspiring that they want to emulate it, or they may find it so horrible that they would rather give up riding altogether than riding like that. - And either way, their judgment may be right or wrong. I have noticed over the years that no matter how brilliant a ride(r) is, there will always be people who find it horrible, and no matter how horrible a ride(r) is, there will always be people who find it wonderful. Go figure. On the other hand, I remember Egon von Neindorff telling me that only someone who has trained horses to a certain level himself or herself can truly understand what it takes and how challenging it is to do this kind of work. This is true as well. Learning to ride and train horses is the most difficult thing I have ever attempted, and I have heard this sentiment from many others who are highly skilled in other challenging professions. It takes everything we have, emotionally, intellectually, physically. We pour our heart and soul into it, all of our time, energy, passion, money, everything. We tend to be our own worst critics, too, because we are trying our very best every day to reach our own (sometimes impossibly) high standards, and we are constantly confronted with our own shortcomings, the horse’s challenges, sometimes challenges of scheduling, barn environment, and other factors that can be difficult to control. Typically, nobody is more aware of our mistakes and failures than we are ourselves. Nothing is more frustrating or more painful than not living up to our own expectations. We really don’t need anyone else to point our shortcomings out to us. Most likely, we are already working on them. Constantly. There is also a surprisingly high number of riders suffering from “Impostor syndrome” (a belief that we are inadequate and incompetent despite evidence that we are actually quite skilled and successful). It’s certainly something I have always struggled with. My Own Opinion I think it is perfectly normal and acceptable to form an opinion and to like or dislike the way someone else rides based on what we know. It can be highly instructive to watch others ride and to try to understand what they are doing, what they are trying to accomplish, why they are doing it, and how they are doing it. We learn the most from watching the positive things that are worth emulating while ignoring the bad parts that are inevitable in every ride. I object strongly to people who put themselves on a pedestal of moral superiority, pretending to be concerned for the welfare of the horse, when in reality they simply use their criticism of others as a way to compensate for their own fears and insecurities. They tear others down in order to appear in some way superior. They dehumanise those whom they criticise which is a form of verbal violence and a precursor to inflicting physical violence. Their zeal is similar to that of religious fanatics who torture and kill people who don’t share their exact same beliefs. It is one thing to speak out against an abusive form of training, such as the infamous Rollkur, but it’s quite another to commit acts of violence, verbal or otherwise, against people whose riding one disagrees with. These people often have a very one-dimensional view of the situation they are judging. They only see that a photo, a video, or a ride deviates from the ideal they hold in their mind’s eye. Never mind that it may be an ideal that only truly exceptional horses and riders are able to achieve after many years of training. Apart from very obviously abusive situations, there are always many factors involved, such as the horse’s conformation, personality, age, training history, the rider’s journey, and sometimes the pressures of the situation. Ideals and expectations have to be adjusted in order to come to an assessment that is fair to both horse and rider. Ultimately, only the rider and horse themselves know the challenges they have had to overcome, and how big or small their accomplishment is. A poor performance for one horse and rider may be absolutely brilliant for another. As always, it depends on the situation and the individual horse and rider. Every horse and every rider are a work in progress. Nobody’s training is ever finished. Every rider makes mistakes. Every rider makes wrong decisions. Hopefully, we all recognise our mistakes and try to learn from them. We all do the best with what we know. When we know better, we hopefully do better. Even the best riders in the world have ugly moments. That’s just the reality of life when two imperfect beings are living and working together. No marriage consists only of the honeymoon. No horse-rider relationship is always harmonious and without disagreements. No horse is always on the bit, through, round, supple, balanced, straight, etc. There will always be moments where the horse is temporarily above the bit or behind the vertical, braced or stiff somewhere in his body, unbalanced, crooked. Sometimes this happens from one stride to the next. Sometimes it’s almost imperceptible. Sometimes it’s just for a brief moment. Sometimes it’s very obvious, a complete loss of balance resulting in a loss of control. The important thing is how we deal with these situations and what we learn from them. A Possible Solution I think we all need to learn to be kind to ourselves first in order to be able to be kind to others. Our perfectionism, the pain of our own failures, the shame we feel every time we can’t live up to our own expectations, and our own impostor syndrome can easily lead us to lash out when we see someone else make the same mistake we are struggling with or that we used to struggle with. Putting someone else down may temporarily dull our pain, but it will not solve the real problem - our own shortcomings and failures. Only working on ourselves honestly and steadily will do this. It’s a kind of zen practice, or a type of self-development with the goal of becoming the best version of ourselves as a rider and a human being we can be. Both go hand in hand. We should resist the temptation of feeling in any way superior to someone else who is making a mistake or who isn’t as educated and skilled as we are. We have to make peace with the fact that we are and always will be imperfect, that we will always make mistakes, that sometimes we will fall short of our own expectations, sometimes we will not be able to live up to our own standards. And we should extend the same courtesy to others. Give them the benefit of the doubt. See the positive in our own riding as well as in others. See the challenges that we had to overcome in our riding and with a particular horse. Try to see the challenges that others had to overcome. We have to forgive ourselves for the mistakes we make, and then try to do better next time. We should also forgive others for the mistakes they make, and encourage them to do better next time. We also need to stop treating any and all mistakes as the end of the world, as abject cruelty to the horse that will ruin him forever, or as an indication that we or whoever is making the mistake is a horrible rider and a terrible human being who will never learn. Mistakes are learning opportunities. Obstacles are challenges that need to be solved. It’s a much better use of our time and energy to work on finding positive solutions than to dwell on negatives. We need to distinguish between actual abuse and unintentional mistakes that happen to everybody. We can still be advocates for the horse in situations that warrant it, but most of all we should try to do the best we can with our own horses so that we can lead by example - which is the most difficult thing to do. Sniping at others and pointing out their mistakes has very little value because it doesn’t help anybody, least of all the horse. It only poisons the atmosphere further and makes people more paranoid, more stressed, and more defensive, which actually makes them ride even worse and communicates itself to the horses.

[@sunnybunny7053]

Horse seemed lame too😢

[@darraghduggan654]

Silly comment