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ORIGINAL: Iamsemisweet

All this vitriol about the Romney's dressage horse is making many of my fellow liberals sound as stupid and ill informed as Tea Partiers, and I didn't think that was possible. I am no Romney fan, but this isn't any better than the whole birther debate.

The equine tax credit that the Romneys took has been in the code for many years, and was intended to help the racing industry. I don't recall anyone complaining about it before. If you find it so offensive, call your Congressman, but don't blame the Romneys for taking advantage of a perfectly legal loophole. They aren't required to arrange their affairs in the stupidest way possible so that they have to pay the most tax.

People are also outraged, rather stupidly, on Romney's statement that dressage is possible on a normal budget. I have competed in dressage, at a very low level, off and on for years, and I am far from rich. My horse is rather run of the mill, but it has made me a better rider and improved our relationship. I see plenty of people driving down the road in huge motor homes and with big boats. Are they elitist pricks too? People are willing to make sacrifices for what they enjoy. I don't have a fancy car, or a big boat, but I do have a horse. So what.

While it is true that competing at the Olympic level requires a far better and more expensive horse and more money than I could ever put into the sport, but what's so odd about that? Many of those athletes, or their parents, have sacrificed time and substantial money to get them to wear they are. Coaching competing, and travel is expensive for them too. So, are all elite athletes elitist pricks?

Bitching about the fucking horse just makes one look like they hate the Romneys simply because they are rich. I hate the way they earned their money, and I hate what they believe, but resenting someone for the sole fact that they have money is bullshit.

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ORIGINAL: LadyHibiscus

Well dressage is boring as FUCK, really. I mean DOING it is boring, watching it is right up there with drying paint.

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ORIGINAL: kalikshama

Nobody cares that Mitt Romney is rich. It's Romney's inability to understand the institutional advantage that he gains from the government's tax code largesse, that's a little offensive to people, especially considering Romney's view on anyone else who looks to the government for things like, I don't know, food and medicine.

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Nah, Skipper, he prefers blondes!!

And I did say that they were pricks, didn't I? LA TI DA and all that there.

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ORIGINAL: ExquisiteStings

To owner 59: Do you think that the rider sits on the horse and lets horsie do all the work? Have you never been riding? Do you not know that horsie must be given instruction as to when to lengthen or shorten his stride so as not to incur any faults. The rider lets horsie know how to approach obstacles with various signals and movements from his/her body. You have to have strong thigh, leg, and glute muscles to keep control of your seat on the horse and give it signals as to how it should proceed. You should have your reins just right in your hands (gloved or you're asking for the blisters from hell) so that if horsie chances to spook for whatever reason you can regain control of the situation and not have to hang on to the main for dear life or risk falling off. Horsie feels every part of you move and in what direction. If you turn your head left, it will know you wish to go in that directin. Same if you turn your head to the right. But horsie must be given signals it understands. And U must keep your seat and stay on the correct  diagonal while posting and trotting. There is a lot more human involvement than you realize owner 59. Pick up a book and read all about it sometime. You will get yourself a true education of just how involved in the movements the rider is. And if you don't want to read about it, than cease and desist with the ignorant comments.

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Show jumping and steeplechasing I love!

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2) All income should be the same....you earn a buck...you pay X in taxes. No differential between "earned" and "unearned".

90% of my income is called "unearned" income which allows me to pay taxes at between 0 and 19% max. Usually about 14%.

That ain't fair.

Problem solved.

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To owner 59: Do you think that the rider sits on the horse and lets horsie do all the work? Have you never been riding? Do you not know that horsie must be given instruction as to when to lengthen or shorten his stride so as not to incur any faults. The rider lets horsie know how to approach obstacles with various signals and movements from his/her body. You have to have strong thigh, leg, and glute muscles to keep control of your seat on the horse and give it signals as to how it should proceed.

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Not an issue anymore......Mitt NOW says he doesn`t like dressage......it`s all good.

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ORIGINAL: erieangel

To answer the OP:

I don't think it is not so much that much that Willard took a $77,000 deduction out on the horse; it is that he claimed prior to that deduction being found that Mrs. Romney got into dressage as therapy for her MS. Several disconnects with that statement alone, mostly though is that the average MS sufferer can not afford anything like dressage for therapy; plus dressage is not a proven for the disease.

But logic would dictate that if Mrs. Romney really got into dressage for therapeutic reasons, wouldn't the horse be listed as a medical expense on their taxes? It isn't. It is listed as a business loss, being the sole property of a business owned by the Romneys and the horse's trainer.

There is a huge difference between therapeutic animals and animals used in competitions. The Romney horse has always been a competitive animal; hence the Olympics. Anything Willard had said concerning the horse prior has been a major lie.

Willard's obvious lies is what has people angry.