I think I've been disowned - twice. As a horse owner and participant in riding, some view me as an animal rights hypocrite; yet my criticisms of the sport tend to annoy fellow equestrians. With the Summer Olympics taking place this year, I implore animal rights advocates to investigate the situation! Problem is, the equestrian world is so diverse that forming consistent opinions on horse treatment can be nearly impossible. I decided to write this article so I could help myself and others come to a realistic conclusion, and maybe even address some of the ethical issues in the horse industry.
1. Ownership
I'm a good horse owner. I'm not afraid to boast, because good care shows. My Appaloosa mare, Candee, is provided with everything she needs: high quality food, lots of time in her pasture, proper hoof care, worming, and veterinary attention. My mother and I visit our horse often to groom and care for her. The problem is, many horses aren't so lucky; it isn't a question of how much money an owner has, rather, how the horse's natural instincts are addressed. Very fancy barns can fall short of keeping horses happy, just as a cheap barn can sometimes offer the best environment.
Since the idea of pet ownership as a whole is shunned by several animal rights activists, owning horses would obviously be off-limits. Horses, especially, are a concern due to how unnatural the average horse's life is. Many horses are kept in a stall 24/7 to offer their owners "complete control" over condition and fitness, a common practice that I find appalling. Some horses get very limited turnout time. Ideally, many horses would thrive outside 24/7, and most would be completely satisfied with several hours of turnout each day, followed by stabling at night (vice versa in the summer). Because horses are domesticated, I've noticed that many do appreciate the stall, but certainly, there are some horses that need to be outside all the time. I'm one of the few owners lucky enough to have access to a large enough field, and lucky enough to have access to a stall as well (my horse is very thin-skinned … surprisingly, she prefers being inside often). Having been to several barns, the issue of pasture turnout is dire. There are too few spaces for a species of animal that absolutely, positively needs open space to thrive.
Another issue is diet … in nature, horses are meant to graze on grass most of the time. Most domesticated horses are fed hay most months out of the year, which is already a step down from grass. Most horses also get "grain" or concentrated feed, which can sometimes be abused by an owner to make up too large a percentage of the horse's diet, leading to stomach trouble.
So while horse ownership is not particularly inhumane, it is certainly lacking in many areas.
2. Riding (leisure or for minor sport)
Sometimes I'm sitting on my horse, feeling guilty that maybe I'm hurting her. But the feeling often disappears as her enthusiasm comes out. That's right, many horses thoroughly enjoy being ridden! On trail rides, Candee is lively and energetic, eager to run, jump, and play. The catch is that Candee is a trail riding horse; her particular body type suits endurance work and speed. The mare's enthusiasm disappears when doing other things, such as "dressage" or ring jumping (show jumping). So I conclude that because Candee loves trail riding, it's humane to use her for trail riding; she enjoys it. While we do other things in order to keep my horse happy, I stick with trail riding.
Because horses come in such wide varieties, different ones are suited to different sports, mentally and physically. The problem is that I notice several horses being used for things they don't like. There are strong, leggy horses who might be built for competitive jumping, but not mentally suited; Thoroughbreds who are built for running, but not happy doing it (more on racing later).
3. Exploitation
Prestigious horse shows were sometimes known to be horrifyingly brutal. Horses have been injected with drugs (steroids, cocaine, and others), deformed (given "plastic surgery" and having their feet grown in a painful way as to enhance movement), outfitted (wires to keep the jaw shut, chains to cause high stepping action), and abused (overworked and trained with scare tactics). While there has been a major crackdown on horses being treated inhumanely, valuable horses can sometimes be cruelly exploited. Equines are well-known for wanting to please their owners, and it is for this reason that many horses allow themselves to become physically abused and exhausted.
Racing is one of the worst examples. "Seabiscuit" was a good movie but didn't mention what Thoroughbreds go through: being raced at obscenely early ages during key phases of bone development, suffering track injuries, being pumped full of drugs, and then going off to slaughter. The Thoroughbred racing industry produces thousands of horses that quickly become useless and are left to be "adopted," which is highly difficult due to how their behavior has been altered, or sent to slaughter. While "trot" racing (with Standardbreds) isn't considered as "bad" as Thoroughbred racing, many trotters are severely overworked, as well as unhealthy due to the unnatural gait they're restrained to perform. Most, if not all, horse racing has become corrupt (and no, I'm never changing my mind about this. At a barn where I work, there's a young, gorgeous horse, one quarter of my own horse's age, and he's a former track horse. He can hardly walk! Had he been born and raised with a healthier lifestyle, I'm sure he wouldn't be in such pain).
And rodeos. Rodeos suck. They do. Some animals are severely injured and abused in rodeo sports, including bronco horses, who are often mistreated in the ring with severe whippings or groin-straps to encourage bucking. Some are also treated badly in the stables, to instill a hatred of people. While (apparently) this part of the whole industry is slowly improving, racing, rodeos and other lucrative horse sports still produce some of the worst injuries and most unbelievable human cruelty of all horse-related activities.
4. Leather
The horse industry is a MAJOR, MAJOR consumer of leather! Even I still have all my leather stuff … I can't afford to completely replace everything right now. While the leather used in the horse industry is often of high quality, there's no knowing for sure that it didn't come from a cruel factory farm. And it's made of dead cow's skin - ew, come on. Synthetic saddles have been proven safe and very effective for riding (I plan on getting one when I have enough money!). The only case for leather that I can think of is when a "breakaway" is needed, i.e. if a horse is wearing something on its head such as a halter or bridle, a leather crownpiece is needed in case the horse panics; if the horse jerks back hard enough, the leather will easily snap, allowing the horse to free itself and calm down. Cotton or nylon won't break, which will trap the horse and cause more intense panicking and possibly severe injury. But I think they've even come up with stuff to replace leather breakaways!
5. Jumping in English-style Riding
My horse and I like to jump! Because of her age and sensitive front feet, I limit her jumping to low, occasional courses. It should be like that for all horses! Horses are naturally designed for walking, but the English disciplines are not; jumping is massively popular. Jumping is also difficult, and without careful evaluation of the horse's build and health, this activity can be disastrous. I also believe horses shouldn't be jumping anything higher than their front legs. True, many horses like to jump, but many don't. I've seen too much irresponsible jumping going on. There's reason to believe that jumping is also the cause for many or most common lameness in horses.
6. Grand Prix, or Olympic Level Sports (excluding dressage!)
Let's band together and end (or reform) the equestrian Olympics! Horses die each year from injuries, especially on the cross-country phase of the event. While most cross-country riding is great fun for a horse, Olympic cross-country is extremely dangerous. If the rider wants to put his or her life at stake, fine, but a horse with little choice shouldn't be put through it. The jumps in the Olympics (both show jumping and cross country phases) are too high; horses aren't meant to jump that high.
I've seen a gold-medal rider, David O'Connor, ride in person. His performance was beautiful as he navigated a course of difficult jumps. What I couldn't help realizing was that for every successful horse in the higher levels or Olympics, there are several other horses who've been severely injured in the process. Horses have become very disposable.
Stress also factors into the Olympics, as a horse has no choice but to be shipped off. Transporting horses is exceedingly difficult; they suffer stress, injury and illness far too easily. Many riders have to bring back-up horses. Again, horses have become very disposable!
There used to be an active coalition against Olympic horse sports. What happened to it? E-mail me if you know. And as a very beloved trainer of mine used to say about the Olympics, "If I had a horse I truly loved, I wouldn't put it through that."
7. Conclusion
While equestrian sports aren't grossly abusive, the nation's horses could certainly benefit from ethical reform. Some animal rights advocates could accuse me of downplaying how bad the situation is, and they're probably right! Equestrians, on the other hand, will definitely accuse me of being brash and uninformed. They're probably right, too. But I can defend my opinions with one thing, and one thing only: a happy, healthy horse!
-End
(really bad picture pun)
Click here to read Laura's follow-up article on non-leather equestrian products, such as saddles, boots, reins, etc.
Laura Schwartzman is a vegetarianteen.com intern who is considering writing a formal report for her local horse organization on the subject. Feel free to write her with your opinions - from both sides - at vegetarianteen@hotmail.com.
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FEEDBACK:
This is the first time I've seen this issue addressed at any length. I rode horses as a child, and occassionally try to think up ways to justify horseback riding. I'm still not sure if I would feel comfortable riding a horse myself, but I really like this essay.
--Seana Parker
Just a short note from rainy England. I thoroughly enjoyed Laura's article about cruelty where horses are concerned. She writes with enthusiasm and seems to be very knowledgable. I look forward to reading more of her articles in future.
Yours sincerely,
Pia Caise
I really appreciated your article on whether or not Equestrian sports are
humane as I have been contemplating the same thing for ages. I am a vegan
and against any kind of animal exploitation. However, I have been riding
horses since long before I was even vegetarian! As a child I competed in
showjumping and really enjoyed it (I think my pony did, too!), and a lot of our
time was spent charging around the countryside bareback, jumping anything
in our way! In retrospect it was awfully reckless but children generally
are! The more I saw of competitions though, the less I liked them, as so many
of the children actually take no interest in their horses; the grooms
prepare them and hand them over at the entrance - to me, thats not what
competing is all about! I found that old saying to be rather true:
"Competing brings out the best in the horses but the worst in their
riders!" I now have an enormous thoroughbred who is an ex-racehorse and
slightly unhinged but very sweet! I've been trying to do a
bit of dressage with him for 'discipline' and he's not all that bad at it
and doesn't seem to mind it. I've found it difficult trying to discover
exactly what it is that he does enjoy as most things make him nervous and
confused to start with so we have to take everything slowly and carefully.
the only single leather item I still own is my bridle. Even though we can
get synthetic ones here I worry that they lack the ability to break in an
emergency and also that they would rub him. Otherwise my saddle, a gorgeous
Wintec, is 100% synthetic, along with my boots and everything else! I really
hope they bring out a decent bridle soon!
Best regards,
Sarah Harrison
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