23/09/2022
There has been a few horse abuse related incidents in Korea that made the social media circuit and the news this year. I’ve also recently visited a few different equestrian facilities with less than healthy looking horses that prompted me to write about the condition of the club horses. I posted this in Korean to a couple forums (네이버 카페) that most Korean horse people like to visit often and thought to translate to English as well.
Most club horses in Korea have little to no muscle, and sometimes are just plain skinny. But since riders are not responsible for tacking up their own horses, the customers are not always fully aware of the extent of the poor condition of the horse that they are riding.
But you can always check out the back and withers before the horse is tacked up or when they are in the stalls. Often they are so skinny that the withers, spine, and hip bones look like they are protruding and the neck is built straight and sunken in front of the withers.
Even with the saddle you can see whether there is sufficient fat and muscling on top of the croup and around the hip bones, as well as the neck. For example, if you see a rooftop from behind the horse, he is most likely too skinny or is has not been properly exercised (no topline).
If there is no topline (muscle along the top of the neck, back, and croup) you are riding on the spine and not on the back. Since there is nothing protecting the bone and the various joints there is a higher chance of damage to both the horse and rider.
Without muscle and fat to protect the back, the more you ride the more damage you cause to the horse. The saddle cannot fit properly so usually there are sores or some type of discomfort and pain, which prevents the horse from lifting its back. Getting the horse on the bit becomes impossible and the rider starts to depend on draw reins or such devices to get the head down.
The horse tires faster with no muscles and since he is in pain it may cause him to behave unpredictably. Having the rider off causes immediate relief, and once the horse learns this he may start bucking or spooking to try to get out of discomfort.
I’ve also included a picture of what a normal horse should look like. From the back you can also see the difference in the hind end. The neck is slightly rounded on the top and connects to the top of the withers.
There are also pictures of a couple of the horses that I regularly use for lessons. I only do one on one lessons so I am able to control how the horse is ridden and make sure that my clients are exercising the horse in the correct position.
But friends, forage, and freedom is just as important (three F’s). They get plenty of hay and all lesson horses and boarder horses are turned out every day in a herd setting.
Of course for a racehorse it is normal for ribs to show slightly because fat cannot disperse heat quickly, but they are filled with muscle. The back may not be well muscled but it is not sunk, and the neck, chest, and hind end is round. A riding horse on the other hand must carry a heavier rider for a longer amount of time, which requires a good topline and some fat for endurance. In most cases it is not appropriate to have ribs showing.
If you are riding a club horse (lesson horse) please take the time to check the horse over without the saddle. You can apply a little pressure along the spine and see if they have any pain response. Just like putting on a helmet, checking the wellbeing of the horse is the first step to safe horseback riding.
