Horse abuse in America

[Vela]

I don't believe that horses were put on this earth to be whipped into running faster. That's what horse racing is. It's abuse, plain and simple.

Oddly enough, Big Brown won the Preakness last Saturday by over 5 lengths and he was not touched with the whip even ONE time. I guess maybe you'll try to tell me he telepathically knew the jockey would hit him if he didn't run faster??? Just to keep it real, he was actually being pulled up into a slow gallop as he won because he kept wanting to go faster, all without the touch of a spur, whip, or so much as a hand slap. He didn't look afraid, injured, or in any other way abused.

While you are perfectly entitled to your opinion on racing, and I am not trying to change it, you completely ignored the remainder of the information presented, which was the entire point of the original post. The racing aspect was merely a springboard to present the remainder of the information.

[IRescue452]

I still think your reasoning is comparable to saying dog fighting isn't so bad because there are a lot of dogs in worse conditions and the winning dogs are treated very well.

[pitc9]

I still think your reasoning is comparable to saying dog fighting isn't so bad because there are a lot of dogs in worse conditions and the winning dogs are treated very well.

applause

[Suki Wingy]

Freedom, very well said. I have wanted to reply to this thread for a while but was unsure how to sum up my feelings. You did it for me.

[moosmom]

Thank you Pitc!!

[shepgirl]

Being an animal lover, owner of 2 dogs and former rider I want to thank you for posting this Vela. I've witnessed this stuff and much worse at slaughterhouses. And I've seen horses this thin left in bare pastures with no shelter or water. Fortunately we have one person in our city that started a rescue for horses no longer wanted or unrideable and they get excellent care...everyone donates so there's plenty of food and TLC to go around. But there are still those that will send a horse to slaughter for a measly few $$$.

[K9soul]

I've learned so much about horses the past couple years. I've always loved them, always loved watching them and seeing them, but didn't understand a lot about them behaviorally and physically. There are things I recognize now as cruelty that didn't appear cruel before, and things that appeared cruel before that I now know aren't.

One thing I have learned is that usually the horses with a job to do are the least often the victims of abuse. Now days, a "job" is usually a sport or some type of competition or entertainment since we do not NEED horses as we did in the pre-motorized days. I've also learned that some horse sports/shows that appear harmless have some very ominous and hidden things going on behind them, the worst I have learned are what is done to gaited horses to make them have such weird and unnatural gaits in the ring, to carry their tails high, their heads back, and so on. I am so glad for thoroughbreds that they are not having painful things put in their rear ends to make them hold tails up, not having their feet weighted and chained and sored to make them walk a certain way, they do not have cruel bits that cut into their tongues to make them hold their heads back, and are not spurred viciously in the ribs to make them "dance." The most they have done is the use of the crop, of which their are rules how they can be used, and is more a signal to a horse the same as a leash correction to a dog is. If used correctly, it's more to make a popping sound than actually have painful contact.

I've also learned how fragile horses are. When a 1000+ horse stumbles it is usually catastrophic. Thus horses die romping in their paddocks sometimes, galloping in the field; lipizanners in training, hunters, jumpers, Olympic equestrian horses. All stumble sometimes, step badly, end up injured and sometimes fatally. The difference is most the time it is not witnessed by a large audience. Usually those events are mostly witnessed by horse people who understand and are familiar with the issue. Steeplechasing is the sport that seems to have the most brutal and catastrophic fatalities.

Are horses being bred more fragile? That could be an issue. But I believe so are many species bred for a specific purpose. Take bulldogs and pugs for example, bred and bred to strict AKC standards until many die of heart and breathing problems. It is similar to my mind as running horses having a greater propensity to break down because they are being bred for speed more than stamina and hardiness. A definite problem, but really not pertaining to this thread which is about abuse.

And I have learned it is the horses in people's barns and fields, the ones who are rarely seen or taken note of, the ones not used for any real purpose, that are the most often neglected and abused. Underfed horribly, vetting and foot care let go, worming let go, and other vital maintenance. It is easier to keep a dog or cat fed, it is expensive and takes a lot of money and effort to keep a horse properly fed. So many, many go without. Many are not trained well, and an untrained horse is a dangerous horse, a horse that can kill you. It is much harder to rehab and train a horse that has been let go than other pets. So a lot of them end up neglected, unwanted, costing too much, shuffled around until the inevitable happens, and it is usually a slow, painful, miserable and long process.

For a horse to have clean stall, well cared for feet, well groomed and bathed, plenty of exercise and training on a daily basis, that is something the majority of horses don't receive. Many know how highly active dogs need a job, and that if they have no purpose and no job and little attention, they turn to bad behaviors: destruction, aggression, fearfulness. We talk on here so often about fatal dog attacks and what causes dogs to become that way. That is the plight of horses, but much more so than dogs. Much, much more often. It is something I never realized, did not know about, until I started truly talking to horse people, reading horse boards, reading articles. It is not something you'll find in the newspaper, just like you won't find that stuff about what makes pitbulls attack, why they are abused and what that abuse causes. So we spend so much time fighting and struggling to educate, to show people.

It is so much harder in the horse world though, because not near as many people own and are around horses and know horses other than what they see on television and in movies. And none of that shows an accurate picture about the real issues going on with horses, where the good is, and where the bad is.

ETA: I did not know about soring before until fairly recently. Thought I would add a link about it that tells more about it: http://www.thegaitedhorse.com/morethansore2.htm

[Vela]

I learned a lot about soring with owning my Walker boy, thanks for posting the link to that Jess. It's a horrid thing. He's never been sored, and he never will be as long as I own him. When I show him it will only be in flat shod classes.


Big Lick Walkers (the type sored and abused regularly for shows):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuqN9n4RF4Y

They are only babies, and some have their hind legs giving out on them during the class. This is why they sore.

another showing the "canter"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VbMq...eature=related

Walkers like mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSY-y...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8mjXBoW-PY

[Twisterdog]

I know very little about horses, so this is coming from a strictly amateur viewpoint.

I have never seen a horse race. I wouldn't. I do, however, have a bit of knowledge of dog racing. I used to foster greyhounds rescued from a dog track. It was a horrific sport, the "winners" treated just good enough to keep them winning and the losers simply disposed of. Of course, every "winner" becomes a "loser" eventually, and then the same fate awaited them. It is an unnatural life at best. If horse racing is dramatically different from that, I will be surprised.

I have always felt terribly sorry for many horses. Abuse and neglect is certainly rampant. I have seen many terrible cases working with humane societies ... and I'm sure what was reported to us was the tip of the iceberg, since most people associate those organizations with dogs and cats only. A common problem seem to be people underestimating the cost of keeping a horse. We saw a lot of starving horses, and the owners either got tired of paying the food bill or simply couldn't anymore. We also saw a lot of ignorance ... people who had no idea how to care for a horse. A lot of people assume if the had a dog or a cat, they could have a horse. Just give it some water and throw in some hay. We saw a lot of tooth and hoof problems, because the owners had NO idea.

It seems a lot of people have more of a functional attitude towards horses, instead of a pet relationship. They seem almost entirely interested in what the horse can or cannot accomplish, do for them, etc. And a lot of horse owners have no qualms whatsoever getting rid of their horse, without a second thought as to who buys it, and getting a new one that might better suit their needs. My friends have bought eleven horses at auctions, to keep them from going to a slaughterhouse. There was nothing "wrong" with any of these horses, they were just "trade-ins". Seems to me more like what you might do a a car ... not an animal.

[Twisterdog]

ETA: I did not know about soring before until fairly recently. Thought I would add a link about it that tells more about it: http://www.thegaitedhorse.com/morethansore2.htm

I'd like to add ...

I had NO idea this went on. OMG.

These people are just as bad as dog fighters. Is this not illegal?!?! Can these people not be prosecuted under animal cruelty statutes? I am hoping there is an especially hot place in the inner circle of hell for anyone who would do this to an animal.

[Vela]

It is against the law to sore horses. They send agents to as many shows as they can to check for it, but some still get away with it and some of the "inspectors" are dirty. Some still do it and/or get away with it.

The flat shod walkers are not sored, as they are trying to have a forward rolling gait, rather than a high stepping gait, but if you want to show a walker here in Utah you have to pay an extra fee to have your horse checked before entering the ring or you cannot show. They don't even show Big Lick walkers around here. It's disgusting and I look forward to a day when this does not happen anymore.

http://www.walkinonranch.com/CNN.html

This is a video link showing people soring horses or trying to cover it up. You can see the horses are obviously in pain.