[twotrudoc]

And this one is so horrifying.

Shirley Roth, well known popular (at least with AQHA and her clients) Western Pleasure trainer, has been suspended for abuse. Apparently she spurred her clients horse Kissin The Girls so abusively and inhumanely she left 2" deep dinner plate width gored out holes in his sides which prompted her to "harvest" hair from his underbelly to glue onto lightweight fabric mesh to then glue onto the wounds so she could show the horse at the Reichert Show where all the cool Western Pleasure people show off their super slow, head hangin', dead eyed, "spur stop" trained Quarter Horses with their big spurs on. How nice.

http://www.equinechronicle.com/break...-incident.html



Also, AQHA Western Pleasure trainers have a new term to add to their lingo-- "cherries". What are "cherries"? Oh, you know, those bloody rubbed raw spots on the horses mouth that occur after being slammed, yanked, grabbed, and jerked in the face to get that desirable peanut roller "headset".

Yeah, sorry, I don't believe a single.person. who just insists their horse "naturally" just lopes around "all day with a super low headset". Well, I guess spurs are naturally man made and yanking like a furious epileptic is a natural occurrence in stock horse Western Pleasure.

Anything but a pleasure for the horse anyway!

[Appsolute]

I will NEVER understand why one would be involved with horses unless they cared and had compassion for them.

This piece of dirt trainer obviously had neither – rather she is GREEDY and sees no problem torturing an animal to boost her own ego.

It happens in just about all horse sports, and it is sickening. I will NEVER understand how a person can live with themselves when they abuse animals for their own personal gain.

I hope there is a special kind of hell for this woman, and I hope she somehow develops a conscious and suffers emotionally from the evil she has done.

[AliCat518]

Beyond disgusted. I can't even wrap my head around it.

[twotrudoc]

I am glad that AQHA suspended her (actually, I was very surprised they did anything at all, most likely didn't want bad international publicity as the horse is owneed by Australians.) but I am amazed at how many folks are still supporting her!

[SMK]

http://www.equinechronicle.com/break...-to-texas.html

Thrilled someone is actually DOING something about it!

[CS]

May her backside sit behind bars for a LONG time...


Horse Trainer, Shirley Roth, Arrested in Florida, to be Extradited to Texas

http://www.equinechronicle.com/break...-to-texas.html

[RedmondDressage]

My coach, her assistant, and I were just talking about some of the goings on in the breed show world the other day. All of us agreed (obviously) that we ride because we love horses... Why are these people involved in horses? They obviously don't love or care about them in any way. It's baffling how someone could treat another living being in that way. Horrible and it breaks my heart. If the owner knew even the tiniest detail about what was going on they are just as guilty as this sh**y trainer too.

[luvmytbs]

I guess the AQHA is worried about being the next association getting exposed for condoning certain "training methods".

Wasn't it just last week they announced their new equipment rules ?

[twotrudoc]

Um Yeahhhhh.... Right after this particular incident.

[appaloosalady]

Um Yeahhhhh.... Right after this particular incident.

Actually, those rules have been around for a while - they were just really made a big deal out of recently. I show AQHA in MI and any show we've been at has made it very clear that they will not tolerate excessive spurring, etc. People have been issued yellow cards for infractions. There is a long way to go, but at least they are doing something.

I don't know how people in any form of horse sport can be so snide about another form. There are bad trainers, bad training, and forms of cruelty in every. single. one. Why so much hatred and vitriol when AQHA is involved?

Not everybody that shows and breeds QHs is evil and yes, there are some horses out there that really do move that way by their own choosing. My oldest daughter has one- a Zips Chocolate Chip mare. She shows all-around and trying to get her mare to move out for English events is a joke. Her "extended trot" is slower and smoother than most horses can jog. It is a solid two beat gait, just very sloooow. We finished her training ourselves and I can guarantee that she was never tortured or forced in any way.

[GaitedGloryRider]

My coach, her assistant, and I were just talking about some of the goings on in the breed show world the other day. All of us agreed (obviously) that we ride because we love horses... Why are these people involved in horses? They obviously don't love or care about them in any way. It's baffling how someone could treat another living being in that way. Horrible and it breaks my heart. If the owner knew even the tiniest detail about what was going on they are just as guilty as this sh**y trainer too.

The horses are nothing more than a vehicle used to gratify their ego. And a paycheck.

[Sticky Situation]

Actually, those rules have been around for a while - they were just really made a big deal out of recently. I show AQHA in MI and any show we've been at has made it very clear that they will not tolerate excessive spurring, etc. People have been issued yellow cards for infractions. There is a long way to go, but at least they are doing something.

I don't know how people in any form of horse sport can be so snide about another form. There are bad trainers, bad training, and forms of cruelty in every. single. one. Why so much hatred and vitriol when AQHA is involved?

Not everybody that shows and breeds QHs is evil and yes, there are some horses out there that really do move that way by their own choosing. My oldest daughter has one- a Zips Chocolate Chip mare. She shows all-around and trying to get her mare to move out for English events is a joke. Her "extended trot" is slower and smoother than most horses can jog. It is a solid two beat gait, just very sloooow. We finished her training ourselves and I can guarantee that she was never tortured or forced in any way.

I agree with this. There are good horsemen and bad horsemen in every single discipline.

NO exceptions.

[Bluey]

Actually, those rules have been around for a while - they were just really made a big deal out of recently. I show AQHA in MI and any show we've been at has made it very clear that they will not tolerate excessive spurring, etc. People have been issued yellow cards for infractions. There is a long way to go, but at least they are doing something.

I don't know how people in any form of horse sport can be so snide about another form. There are bad trainers, bad training, and forms of cruelty in every. single. one. Why so much hatred and vitriol when AQHA is involved?

Not everybody that shows and breeds QHs is evil and yes, there are some horses out there that really do move that way by their own choosing. My oldest daughter has one- a Zips Chocolate Chip mare. She shows all-around and trying to get her mare to move out for English events is a joke. Her "extended trot" is slower and smoother than most horses can jog. It is a solid two beat gait, just very sloooow. We finished her training ourselves and I can guarantee that she was never tortured or forced in any way.

This is the second very bad spurring abuse case I have heard about, one a year or so ago a western pleasure trainer's assistant did it.

What is hard to understand, western pleasure is such a slowpoke kind of going, why would anyone be overspurring at all, when what you want is the pokiest of the pokiest horses out there?

Something doesn't add up in those stories.
This one is so bad, the way she tried to cover what she did to get to show at the big show, I hope she doesn't get by with the insanity defense, something that may just be after all what this is, insane.

[RedmondDressage]

Actually, those rules have been around for a while - they were just really made a big deal out of recently. I show AQHA in MI and any show we've been at has made it very clear that they will not tolerate excessive spurring, etc. People have been issued yellow cards for infractions. There is a long way to go, but at least they are doing something.

I don't know how people in any form of horse sport can be so snide about another form. There are bad trainers, bad training, and forms of cruelty in every. single. one. Why so much hatred and vitriol when AQHA is involved?

Not everybody that shows and breeds QHs is evil and yes, there are some horses out there that really do move that way by their own choosing. My oldest daughter has one- a Zips Chocolate Chip mare. She shows all-around and trying to get her mare to move out for English events is a joke. Her "extended trot" is slower and smoother than most horses can jog. It is a solid two beat gait, just very sloooow. We finished her training ourselves and I can guarantee that she was never tortured or forced in any way.

I agree, and I never said all QH people are evil. But you can't deny that there is a systemic problem in the breed show world (not just AQHA) with abusive training methods. There are issues in every discipline and there will always be shady things that happen behind closed doors, but not all disciplines allow abusive behavior to happen openly at shows. I have had to attend quite a few breed shows, plus 4H shows, over the last several years and I have seen at least a couple instances of outright abuse at every. single. show. Are there crappy dressage trainers/riders? Of course. Are there abusive ones? Of course. But in my region at least, the known offenders don't dare show their faces at shows and that crap does not happen on the showgrounds. Do you know how many instances I've seen of behavior that could be even remotely described as abuse in all of my years showing dressage? Not a single one. Incompetent? Heck yeah, but not abusive. Know why? Because those people would be immediately removed from show grounds and would more than likely be penalized by the governing bodies. For all of the outcry about rollkur, guess how many times I've seen that at a show in this country? Not one. Not one single time.

Not every QH/Paint/Appy/Arab/Etc trainer or rider is abusive. Not by a long shot. I know many great horsemen/women that compete in these arenas. But the things some people do which are allowed to happen at shows without anyone even an eyelash batting are not ok and those "less serious" instances are what makes people think it's ok to do the types of things this woman did.

[Bluey]

I agree, and I never said all QH people are evil. But you can't deny that there is a systemic problem in the breed show world (not just AQHA) with abusive training methods. There are issues in every discipline and there will always be shady things that happen behind closed doors, but not all disciplines allow abusive behavior to happen openly at shows. I have had to attend quite a few breed shows, plus 4H shows, over the last several years and I have seen at least a couple instances of outright abuse at every. single. show. Are there crappy dressage trainers/riders? Of course. Are there abusive ones? Of course. But in my region at least, the known offenders don't dare show their faces at shows and that crap does not happen on the showgrounds. Do you know how many instances I've seen of behavior that could be even remotely described as abuse in all of my years showing dressage? Not a single one. Incompetent? Heck yeah, but not abusive. Know why? Because those people would be immediately removed from show grounds and would more than likely be penalized by the governing bodies. For all of the outcry about rollkur, guess how many times I've seen that at a show in this country? Not one. Not one single time.

Not every QH/Paint/Appy/Arab/Etc trainer or rider is abusive. Not by a long shot. I know many great horsemen/women that compete in these arenas. But the things some people do which are allowed to happen at shows without anyone even an eyelash batting are not ok and those "less serious" instances are what makes people think it's ok to do the types of things this woman did.

I really doubt that you will find anyone that thinks it is ok to do what she did.

That was clear abuse, against rules and stupid of her to boot to then try to cover it up and keep trying to show like she did.

[Beckham03]

Besides the whole cruelty charge....I used to see her spurring horses to all heck 20 years ago...but MAN, does she look, umm, different!

[tradewind]

Some of the absolute worse abuse I have ever seen was in Western Pleasure barns...torture is the only word to describe it..Could not get the horror out of my head for months. Perhaps one day, these types of people will be run out of the business. I have no idea why this person who toured me around thought that this was all ok...I have not spoken to her since and this was 15 years ago..Seriously made me sick.

[HeartsongHorses]

Where is the report that tells about what she actually did? I can't find anything...

Nevermind. Here is a link:

http://www.ratemyhorsepro.com/news/s...rse-abuse.aspx

[oliverreed]

Just disgusting. WIsh someone could take a big pair of spurs to HER.

Just curious, though - everyone is saying that abuse of one sort or another goes on in every breed - I have never heard of Paso Finos being abused in training or at shows. This is my breed of choice and I'm fairly close to a very well known training/showing barn in New England, have been to one show with them so far - have never seen any kind of abuse whatsoever.

[trubandloki]

Clearly I am not creative enough to be a criminal. Glue hair on large open wounds? I never would have thought of that and have no idea how one goes about that.
Eeek.