Well....one of the purposes of a dressage test is to determine whether the rider has successfully trained the horse to accept the bit. A bit difficult to determine this if there is no bit to accept
Well, there are a ton of other Horse Show events besides "Dressage,"but then these Federations mentioned in the article must not even know why they are doing what they are doing:
The Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) has led the way by approving the crossunder bitless bridle for dressage and for certain driving competitions. The South African National Equine Federation (SANEF) launches a year's trial for separate bitless dressage competitions, starting in 2009.
Of course, "Dressage" originiated in the Military for use on the battlefield. The movements were taught as a means to an end. Modern "Dressage" is now just an end in itself. The "test" is pointless IMO.
Terry
> Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:24:34 -0800 > From: katswig@xxxxxxx > Subject: [RC] Forced to use a bit? > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Terry Bannister said about Dr. Cook's piece on the bitless bridle: > > > The demonstration just proved that a bit is not "needed" to perform > > those disciplines, and should not be "forced" on those who want to > > compete without a bit. > > Well....one of the purposes of a dressage test is to determine whether the rider has successfully trained the horse to accept the bit. A bit difficult to determine this if there is no bit to accept. > > One of the things that is being tested is the ability of the rider to get the horse to work happily and comfortably in a bit and to use a bit as a means of communication with a horse. > > To me this is comparable to giving somebody a French test to see if they can communicate in French, but then allowing them to use English to communicate to see if they can communicate effectively in any language. You give French tests in French to see if people can communicate in French, not to see if they can communicate at all. > > As long as "acceptance of the bit" is part of the directives for a dressage test, not using a bit is nonsensical. > > kat > Orange County, Calif. > :) > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
