08/10/2024
Welfare
I am a firm believer in that things need to get worse before they get better. Which seems to be happening now in sport horse land.
Recently, and I point to SM media for making this possible, there has been an increase in horse welfare. A lot of this comes from non-horse folk who see videos, such as Charlotte D. that are alarming. While I’m glad there’s light being shown on this issue, we need to accept a few realities that drive poor ethical decisions.
1. Horses need to have economic value. This is not new, what makes them valuable just changed (leisure vs survival). Horse welfare today and in the past, is mostly focused on soundness for their job, whatever their job may be. Once they cannot fulfill that job, they no longer hold value, and if they are lucky, when they are done working, they are euthanized. Some horses get a retirement but, most don’t. Your crippled 24 yo horse doesn’t “want” or “need” to be a lesson horse.
2. Abusive training is widely accepted in all disciplines. Shanked bits, double bridles, to tight nose bands and flashes, whips, twisted wire bits etc etc. There is a fine line between a technique used to train a movement and abuse. For example, whips are often used to teach the horse piaffe. I’ve seen trainers that have done this and show skill and knowledge in pressure and release, and can skillfully use a stick to teach a horse without great stress. But, I’d argue most trainers don’t have the time patients or skill. Every disciple has their issues. Professional or amateur, we are all guilty.
3. Judging needs to change. A lot of what happens behind closed doors is to figure out how to make the horse go in a way it’ll win in the ring. There’s a trickle down effect from top riders to back yard horsemen. Example, in the hunter ring, we need to stop judging poor riding (ducking over fences) and lifeless horses. A TB should be able to be as competitive as a WB and hunters shouldn’t be lunged into exhaustion.
4. Listen to the science on horse management. Horses belong in a field with friends, moving and eating. Their bodies are designed to move and eat all day. Stalled horses colic and have soundness issues at far higher rates. They display and develop neurotic behaviors that if seen in humans would warrant corrective action (running teeth up stall bars, weaving, excessive aggressiveness etc). At some point, the convenience of keeping horses in stalls needs to be reconciled with welfare.
I believe most people want what’s best for their horses, and if presented with affordable options to keep their horses in “better” conditions and, to be able to show and compete in a manner more respectful of the horse, they would. But as of now, judges reward bad riding, bad breeding (halter & pleasure QHs for example), and in the name of “safety”, allow excessive hardware and tack. They put absurd rules in place like DQing a rider for a bit of blood (which was obviously not from abuse) in place to make it seem like they are doing something, while at the same time, refusing to make any meaningful change (FEI).
Maybe it’s time for a new guard in the big governing bodies which should include amateurs, trainers, vets and spectators? Better yet, throw a few pony clubbers on the board, the ones who still have the passion for the horses and haven’t been corrupted by the sport. If the kids think it’s wrong, maybe the adults should too.
https://theconversation.com/the-paris-olympics-horse-whipping-scandal-shows-the-dangers-of-disneyfication-in-horse-sports-235672?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=bylinefacebookbutton&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0vMb8xnyIUFEWoEgjGnVIFOOXcCKJRKnjluQPyuBWAuSCFJvuLwGYieCY_aem_vbiz0EBYyAPbSjuUbSx92A
A controversy involving one of the world’s best dressage riders highlights the need for more protection of horses in equestrian sports.
