23/04/2025
“Banning equipment will not overcome the problems of poor riding instruction.”
Horsemanship often comes down to the details. The image is a detail of a larger picture of a rider just riding along, not appearing to cue their horse for any purpose. The detail is of their foot position that is at an angle, not parallel to the horse's spine, which would be correct.
When I saw this rider's picture, the foot position stuck out because I constantly deal with the shoeless, bitless, bridleless folks who want to ban equipment as a solution to today's common quine abuse. As anyone who reads my page knows, I believe the solution is better horsemanship education. I have heard all the excuses, "There isn't time", "Competitors don't care about their horses, only about winning" and so on. But I blame the instructors or trainers who let the details slide. Correct foot position starts in a new rider's first lesson.
Even without spurs, a turned out toe puts the edge of the boot heel into a horse's side. This can create unwanted behaviors and if done constantly, you get a dead sided horse. Either way the horse suffers. Banning equipment will not overcome the problems of poor riding instruction. The decline of horsemanship will continue until riding instructors start doing a better job of teaching. It is really that simple.
