vegansrock
We’ve banned dancing bears we should ban dancing horses.
We don't have "dancing horses". That's a phrase conjured up by the media, most dressage does not involve music and is about training the horse to work correctly whilst carrying a rider. IMO every horse should be capable of riding a medium test, it's basically the equivalent of us doing pilates + doing some aerobic work in the gym. It keeps horses supple, fit and most importantly develops the muscles that enable it to carry a rider effectively. IME most horses enjoy working to music and many riders have it on in the background when they are training.
Riding dressage to music as a competition is really enjoyable, but it's not what most people do. There are set movements for each level but riders can put them in any order and design their own riding plan. I had a plan set to English country music for my last horse and it really suited her, sadly she had a devastating injury in the field from which she never recovered so I never got to use it in a competition. There's so much rubbish talked about dressage, it's basically "training" but it's very structured training designed around the horse rather than the rider, it's just a shame that so few non riders actually understand much about it!
