Cruelty to horses?

Bendihorse

Dont they all Zaraba *Sigh*

lurchin along

The majority,I believe,of sport horse owners are as careful of their equine sporting partners as they possibly can be.If the horse goes down so does the rider after all!What more motive for caution does a sensible rider need?And of course there's vet bills,possible loss of a well loved and valuable animal...BUT it's a sad fact that their ARE some for whom winning is all (whether for financial reasons or overwhelming ego) and to these the horse's wellbeing has no more importance than that of a rally car. Tragic. I suspect the long term future of National Hunt racing (the most dangerous of equine sports?) may ultimately be threatened by the 'winaholic' element.That (I think) would be a shame as it's a sport I love to spectate.PLEASE don't think I'm blaming all N.H. accidents on 'win at all costs' attitudes.Jumping at speed is dangerous full stop and the best jocks and the best horses can put a foot wrong,particularly when under pressure.Accidents happen.Cruel?I don't believe so,except in the 'win at all costs' scenario. I'd hate to see competitive equine sports,like so many other perfectly reasonable activities, banned because of the actions/attitudes of a small minority.

togster

Hate to drag this up again but heres a story from my weekend...

Some might know i live in Sweden for the moment. i was in malmö at the weekend at a place called <MOD EDIT> (i think!). This is the <MOD EDIT> so i was expecting big open fields and horse luxury. <MOD EDIT> is a town that has developed around the stud. A sprawling subarb of people involved in horses. I was there to collect a horse i had lended to a girl. The horse has sidebones and is unable to compete anymore. So he's going out for the summer and then probably horsey heaven.

Swedens horse industry is huge. They are very concerned about not hitting a horse and wrapping horses up so they don't get hurt. I arrived at this yard to collect the horse and talk to the lady. The yard was identical to all the others in the town. 20 stables and 2 turn-out paddocks 10x20m of mud.

This same lady had an older horse with naviculor. She competes him at high level dressage still. He is so lame he rests his front legs in the stable and can't stand still due to the pain. The same woman went mental when i loaded my horse because he has been seriously spoiled and wouldn't load i hit him on the ass to get him to load.

I was seriously depressed by this attitude. That it was ok to compete a horse in serious pain but not teach it manners

Bendihorse

Bit messed up alright, they have a kind of twisted view on horse care and cruelty issues from what iv heard from people that worked over there and from rumblings about certain methods of dressage training that are employed. Are they filling him with pain killers and using that as an excuse to keep competing him?

Thats pretty grim.

togster

Bendihorse wrote: »

Bit messed up alright, they have a kind of twisted view on horse care and cruelty issues from what iv heard from people that worked over there and from rumblings about certain methods of dressage training that are employed. Are they filling him with pain killers and using that as an excuse to keep competing him?

Thats pretty grim.

Yeah its grim. The fcuked up thing is they think they are doing them a service. I asked one girl before about where she grazes her horse and she said he get holidays for 3 weeks during the summer :eek:

This poor horse with navicular, i felt so sorry for him. So many lame horses here because they work them so hard and don't graze them.

Another thing that bugs me is their riding schools. The school horses have a stall the width of a horse wide and they are tied so they can't turn around. Heard a story about a mare who had a foal and the foal died because she couldn't turn around to remove the sack around the foals nose.

These people need a wake up call. Funny thing is i know a few people who are considered "cruel" to their horses because they don't put traqvelling boots on but their horses actually get turned out and are happy.

I am mad typing it :mad:

kerrysgold

so she thinks it's OK to ride a lame horse and keep horses stabled 24/7 (presumably) but not to give a horse a tap on the butt? I think her priorities are a bit messed up.

togster

kerrysgold wrote: »

so she thinks it's OK to ride a lame horse and keep horses stabled 24/7 (presumably) but not to give a horse a tap on the butt? I think her priorities are a bit messed up.

Pretty much yeah.

Bendihorse

Wouldn't you love for them to come and live and work on a yard in ireland, it would be SOME hell of a culture shock! Are they all about 'bling' and having the best and most expensive equipment so as to impress their neighbour and not because they are concerned about welfare of their horse or is it that they are genuinely mis-guided?

Mod Note: Deplorable as this conduct it, please don't mention any names..

kerrysgold

I imagine there's a lot of yards in Ireland that are just as bad if not worse although maybe not necessarily for the ''bling'' I personally know of at least 1 in my area.

Borderfox

A Horses Prayer
Give me food and drink and care for me,
And when the days work is done shelter me,
Give me a clean bed and leave me not too small a place in the stable,
Talk to me for your voice often takes the place of reins,
Be good to me and I shall serve you more gladly and love you

Rochester Mounted Police, NY

togster

Bendihorse wrote: »

Wouldn't you love for them to come and live and work on a yard in ireland, it would be SOME hell of a culture shock! Are they all about 'bling' and having the best and most expensive equipment so as to impress their neighbour and not because they are concerned about welfare of their horse or is it that they are genuinely mis-guided?

I was talking to a swede who had worked in UK and USA for 30 years and he said the people here are incapable of seeing the woods from the trees. They are obsessed with the newest gadget and fail to see that what they are doing is actual animal cruelty. These people need a reality check. Keeping horses in "stables" no wider than they are is abhorrent. Don't get me wrong not all are like this. And i have seen some terrible cruelty in Ireland too.

But it is more systematic, more in-grained in the industry here. The cruelty is not as clear to see. like i said they do not beat their horses. I got told recently i would have to stop riding a horse for a client. She said i was wasting time hacking the horse out:eek: Same horse is 4 years old. She wants him ready to compete 1.20m championships next year!!

Horses are a commodity here, used to instill a sense of achievement in people who "love" their horses. The more i think about it the angrier i get.:mad:

togster

Borderfox wrote: »

A Horses Prayer
Give me food and drink and care for me,
And when the days work is done shelter me,
Give me a clean bed and leave me not too small a place in the stable,
Talk to me for your voice often takes the place of reins,
Be good to me and I shall serve you more gladly and love you

Rochester Mounted Police, NY

convert

Bendihorse wrote: »

Are they filling him with pain killers and using that as an excuse to keep competing him?(

This doesn't just happen abroad, or is it just restricted to horses competing in dressage competitions. It happens widely in Ireland too. I've heard lots of individuals giving their horses/ponies painkillers so they can hunt or compete on them or so their friends can ride an 'old reliable'. It's really depressing.

togster

I also worked in the states where the horses were "aced"/doped everytime someone rode them. Before i left 3 10 y o horses had died of heart problems. I don't know if its related but if a horse is doped almost everyday of its life its bound to have an effect.

miss enzo

convert wrote: »

This doesn't just happen abroad, or is it just restricted to horses competing in dressage competitions. It happens widely in Ireland too. I've heard lots of individuals giving their horses/ponies painkillers so they can hunt or compete on them or so their friends can ride an 'old reliable'. It's really depressing.

it does happen abraod!!! when i was inteh states this girl used Ace on her horse everytime they went to a show to "keep him calm in the box" :rolleyes: she wasnt injecting him (it was oral) but still!

convert

miss enzo wrote: »

it does happen abraod[sic]!!!!

That's what I said.... I was highlighting the fact that it doesn't just happen abroad.

I Love iRadio

It can be so sad when a horse injures itself.:(

convert

Please don't drag up four year-old threads!

/Thread closed.