06/06/2026
Horse people are getting SO close to the crux of the problem.
I have watched several people bring up the following statement, or variations of it, in response to the comparisons of bridleless riding vs what we often see in traditional competitions.
“The difference is that the riders with bridles are competing for money and have lots at stake. You are comparing apples to oranges.”
Most of these comments are said in defence of the conflict behaviours in the bridled clips.
But, ironically, with these comments are actually exposing is a complete awareness of how much the promise of money to be won impacts Horse welfare in a negative way.
So, it further paints a picture that the equipment is a byproduct of the actual problem:
The human desire for money, status, and recognition.
It all comes down to human ego.
So, when we have a generous portion of those who wish to protect the competition industry openly admitting to the fact that they know that money influences what people are willing to push horses to do in a negative way, it exposes a massive problem in the industry.
If competition were being conducted in an ethical manner, the promise of winning money shouldn’t be heavily influencing how people treat the horses.
But, it does.
And even the people defending it are aware of it.
It is interesting to watch all of these types of excuses and belief systems unfold, because overwhelmingly, even the defences of the sport as it is are exposing the problems.
If we are going to maintain the argument that seeing a higher degree of stress behaviours in horses who are being ridden at shows with the hope of winning money is a non-issue, what does that say about the competitive industry?
