VS FLATLINE - World Champion in Two Year Old Western Pleasure

VS Flatline ridden by Jay Starnes, wins the World Championship in Two Year Old Western Pleasure at the 2012 AQHA World Championship Show.

[@TheAQHAGirl88]

Wow what a nice horse! But what can you expect a foal from Lazy Loper and a dam of Vital Signs Are Good? Nothing but perfect!

[@MarjieGrace123]

believe me that horse is probably taken care of better than me or my brother, he is let out and exercised and loved, these horses are made to do this and honestly i truly think they love it. They really get all the attention and love in the world

[@reininghorses57]

I love how there's no bit, rock on, guys!

[@madelinelavallee9066]

people need to realize that these horses are not forced they were TRAINED to be this slow it's in there blood they come from other horse that do the same thing they are natural just slowed down to a diffrent pace.

[@alliecat22evers37]

Madeline Lavallee its still criel to b riding at this level at 2 yrs old theyve been in training for at least a year and legs and backs are the last things to fully develop.

[@cristinhorsemanship8240]

That horse is so beautiful.

[@ThePleasurePerfect]

Must be a great horse! It beat Vino at the congress!

[@mommajeep]

Really I’m gonna have to look for that video

[@catwoman2596]

Poor BABIES!

[@d.waynefortenberry4576]

some folks have never seen a horse go as slow as can in all three gears most folks can do all three gears as fast as they can since 1956

[@LeadTheWayFarmsLLC]

cute horse

[@alyssa-kr9yr]

This is just me, but I personally believe horses shouldn't even be saddled at the age of 2, they aren't fully developed. I mean, I ride and support Western pleasure, but this is just too young.

[@SarahK293]

Yes the horse probably does get excellent care, but that doesn't mean that being ridden at the world level this early is good for his body. My mare has permanent suspensory problems in her hind legs because she was showing when her legs weren't fully developed, and being this collected for western pleasure can be hard on a young horse.

[@shilodance1st]

AQHA official rules 465B Horses to be faulted for: (4) Excessive slowness in any gait, loss of forward momentum (resulting in an animated and/or artificial gait at the lope) (8) Head carried too low (tip of ear below the withers) (9) Overflexing or straining neck in head carriage so the nose is carried behind the vertical Shame the judges don't follow their own rules.

[@ranrachvl]

I don't think he was faulted for any of those things. He had forward motion, head carriage was correct ( there will always be a slight head bob at the lope when the ears go below the withers but this is normal and not excessive) and nose ahead of verticle. what is not to love? this is correct movement!

[@Parediso]

2 Years??? Poor horse :( He should stand on a wide green Paddock and play with friens instead :((

[@lehmanncarolin50]

2 jahre altes pferd ]:( da sollte es noch auf der weide spielen können und so... :(

[@ilovemyhorses8188]

This is sad, horses backs fully mature at 3 and a half these horses are to young they will most likely have back problems when they get older, and they will also most likely be swayback too. Its sad their slow gaits look so unnatural and forced :( I say let the horse be a horse don't turn them into robots.... I do like the Bitless bridles they have for the horse though!

[@kaitlynnzumfelde]

~I Love My Horses~ These horses are not 'forced' they are bred to move this way. It will not have swayback when it gets older either because he was NOT pushed! All of his gates are natural.You cannot take a barrel horse that was bred for speed and slow it down to look like this becuase it has too big of a motor. So please before you insult horses like this please do your research first.

[@alliecat22evers37]

Kaitlynn Zumfelde he will have swayback because his back is not developed enough to trully support a rider. think about it, theses horses are 2. the level of training it takes to make a world champion takes AT LEAST. a year. these people were throwing 100 plus pounds (not including a saddle) on the backs of 1 yr old horses... it is cruel to ride a horse this young. he will be out of a career with lameness issues by the age of 8

[@Snowpony-sq4hu]

~I Love My Horses~ ....its DISGUSTING AND SHAME ON AQHA!!!!!!!

[@ShainaF10752]

What’s sad is people who don’t do their research before publicly humiliating themselves. Most horses are started at 1 with lounge line work not saddle work and already have naturally slow gates. They’re bred to have a naturally slow cadence and excel at this level of competition. As much as this horse is now worth I doubt they stressed him. Look at his expression the entire time, ears forward, alert, and comfortable.

[@maggiestardust]

That does not look like a two year old ...

[@mystarstable9723]

Looks horrible. (my opinion)

[@dafamilycroc4882]

Disgusting. Need I say more?