I, too, think it is cruel and disgusting as it is done today but it originally started out, same as any rodeo contest, from the cowboys who followed cows into canyons and so on when rounding the cows up.
The horse and rider did not fly recklessly over embankments and so on...riders carefully chose the route to go and they did not push the horse beyond it's ability to deliver without undue pain or (heaven forbid!) injury. A cowboy on foot is a pitiful creature so naturally they wanted to avoid that. Besides, MOST cowboys respected their animals and considered them a working partner, even if it was just one picked that day out of the string. Such horses were also trained to rollback onto their haunches when going down an incline, and they didn't do it at a full gallop.
What is happening in that so-called contest is a debauchery of the original so don't blame cowboys. The guys that ride those horses in that disgusting show of insanity, are no more cowboys than circus clowns are.
Callie





Reply With Quote
How mean can people get!


Bookmarks