I ride out a local polo player's horses when he comes back up here in the spring, and I am always astonished at how poorly trained the poor animals are. The first time I rode for him I asked if he wanted me to work on lateral aids and leg yieldings or bending exercises, and he said, "Naw, just canter them around the field to the right for twenty minutes." !!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I'm not trying to be offensive, really, I was just trying to explain the proper use/function of a tie down. It has a purpose other then a quick fix. But obviously we disagree, and that's OK by me.
The reason I was trying to explain it tho, was becasue of the attitude towards "Western" riding that shows up in this comment you made.
Does those polo horses DO what the guy wants them to do? Most likely they do, or he wouldn't use them. IF they do what he wants, but just not the way YOU think it should be done, why does that make them poorly trained? Why does that make the a "poor" animal?
Don't get me wrong. There's alot of people out there who don't need to be riding horses no doubt, but that works both ways. IMO, if a horse can be ridden, does what the owner wants it to, and is not dangerous, (bucker, rearer), then it is not a poorly trained horse. It just may not be trained the way I would do it.
Becky