How excited are you about the Olympics?

[nagash66]

Well, I'm not a horse.

So far so good.

But my horse loves dressage and gets cranky if she doesn't practise twice a week. Horses are like people, the yenjoy different things and a horse that doesn't enjoy dressage probably won't be suitable for taking to a high standard of competition.

Now i am not a horse either, however that being said. How do you know if your horse likes dressage? If you were locked in a barn instead of allowed to run free and just let out to dance with a monkey on your back..... Well you might come to enjoy the dancing too

[eldargal]

Fair question. She gets cranky if I don't take her out to practise, if I just trot about on her or just walk her she remains cranky, if I start going through some routines she becomes very cheerful. Sometimes when I'm just walking her she will start practising dressage techniques. She certainly isn't locked in a barn all day, she spends much of her time wandering around a very large field, where as I said she will practise her dressage without me. It's quite clear. Why would a horse piaffe, half pass and pirouette on her own if she doesn't enjoy it?

[EmperorNorton]

Because thanks to conditioning the horse expects some kind of treat to appear, maybe?

[eldargal]

After many years with no treat appearing why would she still do so? She enjoys it, if you could see her you would know, its obvious she is happy. Horses aren't so alien that you can't tell.

[Avian]

Hah! Montenegro will beat those wussy Norwegians in the women's handball final tonight!

[DarthSte]

I wonder in a couple of weeks time if there will be the same level of coverage and excitement about the Paralympics? Lets hope so and show our support for those people as well!

Yes it does seem that people who are in no way interested in sport have suddenly become avid watchers of even the most obscure things that they would not normally consider watching.

I hope for the Paralympics they will not have such stringent security measures that close off roads preventing many crippled people from being able to get near to the events to see what is going on. I am going to try again (For the 4th time.) to get near enough to see what is going on in my neck of the woods this afternoon, but am not holding out much hope. It is just too far to walk from the nearest car park / taxi drop off point to manage with any degree of comfort. Hopefully some of the benches along the way will be available to sit on and not full of tourists, we will see.

I'm quite excited about the ParaOlympics, more so than the other one.

[x-esiv-4c]

If a horse is Pirouetting of it's own volition it might have a mental affliction.

Can't say that I understand the horsey-dance show in the olympics. I don't even know if there is a scoring system and how it's structured. Outside the olympics are there dressage leagues / tournaments? Are there regional events that determine who is the best Horse-pilot in the North-West for example?

[Getz]

Dressage - Horse Floor Gymnastics, more or less. You have a set routine of moves that you and the horse have to perform and you and the horse are judged on how perfectly you perform them. Essentially, it's a test of horsemanship that focuses on precise control rather than jumping over things. Honestly, it's not that complicated.

As to the whole horse welfare thing - I'm afraid that most of you now sound like you're just trying to twist Eldargal's testimony to suit your argument. Some horses enjoy show jumping, or cross country racing or dressage - it's been studied extensively with particular regard to horse racing and we can be as certain about this as we can be certain about anything in the realm of animal psychology. Horses aren't the smartest animals on the block, but they're usually pretty clear about when they're relaxed and happy and equally clear about when they are distressed. Unless, of course, you're all eager to accuse Eldargal of systematically abusing an animal that it seems pretty clear to me she's fond of...

[x-esiv-4c]

"You have a set routine of moves that you and the horse have to perform"

How is the Horse rider graded? Do they have to execute certain moves whilst the horse pirouettes?

[Shush]

You can argue any kind of training involves force it's where you draw the line on what is cruelty.

Anyway, can horses and donkeys have complex psychology?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...commit-suicide

Is horse racing cruel?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...ies-we-condemn

Is dressage cruel?
http://afr.com/p/lifestyle/sport/oly...nuBH6uHYeRwjZI

In my opinion all are a yes.

[x-esiv-4c]

Huh. Had no idea how potentially cruel horse-dancing could be. Good to know.

[Meriwether]

My mother is a lifelong horse owner (she drives Fjords) and advocate against animal cruelty -- she's been drawing attention to the cruelties in dressage for years.

[Arnizipal]

Er, can we get this back on topic please?
This thread is about the olypics in general, not about (the potentially shady side of) any particular sport.
If you want to discuss that, please make a separate thread about it.

Arnizipal,

++ The Warseer Moderation Team ++

[eldargal]

Nevermind, I'll start a thread.

[blackcherry]

So what did people think of the closing ceremony then? I'm especially interested in non brits views. I'm sure many brits share my view

[Arnizipal]

I liked the opening ceremony better, but it was still a good show

[Skopey]

As a Brit i found the closing ceremony underwhelming tbh not terrible but not fantastic. The sound for a few artists was horrible and the artists were pretty much the same old artists always let out of their care homes to perform in these Global scale music events. For a ceremony supposed to highlight the best of British music from the last few decades i was surprised not to see metal even mentioned. Ok i get its not everyones cup of tea but for a while in the 70/80s it was the best selling music genre in the world and we invented it, no sabbath, not much zep, no maiden. should have had some even just a little section. Plus it would have been awesome to see Bruce running around in his dress uniform waving the union jack . The queen bit was pretty good though and i enjoyed eric idyl. But other than that it was ok i guess. Not as good as the opening but then we all think we could make a better mix CD

[eldargal]

It was alright, I agree the choice of music was odd. I didn't like the Spice Girls when they were new and I still don't like them now. But it was still British, still understated and still enjoyable enough so all in all a good effort.

[TheBigBadWolf]

At least they had some pipe playing at the closing ceremony

[The Dire Troll]

I did not think it was as good as the opening, but Brian may and Rodger taylor were awesome, and The Who were fantastic. Would of liked some rolling stones, Dire straits, Iron maided, and Black Sabbath though, but i am a bias rock and metal fan.