Any Vegetarians or Vegans who ride?

[depurple1]

I'm veggie but its because i don't like meat, i don't eat fish or eggs either but still eat dairy. So i have no problem with leather saddle etc. I get even more questions because i hunt as well.

Same here, except I eat eggs (but not mushrooms lol). I do try to only buy free range eggs though. My dogs and sugar gliders still eat meat too.

 

[Malibu_Stacy]

i am suprised at the amount of replies on this thread!

I'm not so suprised by the number of replies - us veggies do like to get all self-righteous afterall!

I think its hard enough being vegetarian but god i dont know how you manage malibu-stacey. It must be a nightmare when you go shopping, does it not cost a fortune for soy ect?

Its really not that bad shopping for myself...after a while you just get to know what is likely/ unlikely to be animal free. I (unsurprisingly) eat a lot of veg, which is relatively cheap, and a lot of soy products, particlularly those considered mainstream enough to appear in the supermarkets (soy milk, yoghurt, spreads etc) are about the same price as a (middrange) dairy equivalent. Other sources of protein like tofu and pulses cost much less than the meat does normally too (and I mean actual meat here, not tesco value sausages type things which probably have about as much meat in them as the tofu!). TBH a lot of the stuff I tend to avoid as non-vegan are things like chocolate/cakes/readymeals, none of which of that good for you anyway, hence I can also feel smug about my diet being healthy as well as ethical!

 

[girlmoose]

I've always wondered how veggies cope at competitions when the only food available is a bacon roll??????

I'm veggie...and with difficulty is the answer!

Chips, I end up eating a lot of chips and not asking what they are cooked in :s.

I don't really have a problem with using leather. (I study environmental studies and would rather use leather than other materials)

 

[kezimac]

have been veggie 21 yrs - did have period of veganism too. I do have leather tack, I do have leather boots too - I do feel guilty and did try synthetic but just didnt get on with it and struggled to get saddle to fit horse. So have comprimised and bought leather. I know its classed as by product and i still dont agree with it but until a suitable substitute comes along then I am stuck with leather. and i dont wear leather normally only for riding as cant get on with rubber ones.

I will look at new lemetex.

 

[slimjim]

Veggie, with leather tack and a guilt complex.

 

[hannabanana]

I'm not so suprised by the number of replies - us veggies do like to get all self-righteous afterall!


TBH a lot of the stuff I tend to avoid as non-vegan are things like chocolate/cakes/readymeals, none of which of that good for you anyway, hence I can also feel smug about my diet being healthy as well as ethical!

very true, i am quick to defend veggies when its brought up in conversation. i was thinking about being vegan but i just love cake and chocolate far too much, if i wasnt an excercise-aholic i would be a house. Plus i am still living with parents who find it hard enough me being just vegetarian. may try vegan when i go to uni.

I'm veggie...and with difficulty is the answer!

Chips, I end up eating a lot of chips and not asking what they are cooked in :s.

I don't really have a problem with using leather. (I study environmental studies and would rather use leather than other materials)

I know what you mean girlmoose, i always get funny looks when i ask what its cooked in but it always turns out to be sunflower oil or cooking oil.

 

[Fagin]

This is a very interesting topic, and as a vegetarian who rides I can certainly relate to it. I have had long topics of conversation about the use of leather and there are certainly points of view from both sides.
I would definitely prefer that leather not be used, but I can appreciate that this isn't always the 'best' option.

A good friend of mine is a vet who is also a vegetarian. He has worked in slaughter houses etc and has told me that he honestly does not think that the elimination of leather would lower the number of animals in the meat trade. I then offered the argument that the use of leather-alternatives are possibly worse for the environment in terms of the ability to bio-degrade.
I have bought non-leather shoes for just over two years now and I can honestly say that they have not lasted as long, or shaped to my foot as well as leather does. -Not good when I'm having to fork out money for new shoes all the time because they haven't lasted!
Having said all this, I am certainly pro-use of leather alternatives and I do wish that leather was not used. I am certainly trying to limit my leather usage.

But, as I think someone else said earlier, everything you do to limit the suffereing of animals counts. Not eating meat, or even just reducing the meat you eat, all helps. You can live perfectly well on a non-meat diet. But when it comes to things like longevity of tack (and therefore possibly the safety in terms of wear and tear?) don't beat yourself up if leather really is the best option. I don't know about you but I really can't afford to keep replacing things all the time.
The best option is probably to pester manufacturers for a non-leather material that really DOES offer every benefit that leather has to offer!

 

[hannabanana]

well said Fagin XD. wow a vet whos veggie! how does he/she manage? with the whole putting down part? i cant dicect a heart without crying and thinking about the poor pig. (that was my being a vet/equine dentist as a career out the window) But i do wish there was an alternative that would have the comfort and benefits of leather; perhaps in the near future a saddler will come up with the perfect synthetic leather look equipment

 

[Malibu_Stacy]

very true, i am quick to defend veggies when its brought up in conversation. i was thinking about being vegan but i just love cake and chocolate far too much, if i wasnt an excercise-aholic i would be a house. Plus i am still living with parents who find it hard enough me being just vegetarian. may try vegan when i go to uni.

Being vegan doesn't mean no cake or chocolate (otherwise there's no way I'd have lasted as long as I have!), just less of it because its not so readily available, you either buy expensive stuff from a health food shop (which I can only afford to do occasionally, as obviously horse comes first!) or have to make it yourself (cakes in particular are fairly easy to make vegan, by judiciuous substitution; I have a recipe for chocolate cake that I'm particularly fond of, where you use jam rather than egg to bind the mix! I feel this is somewhat shattering the 'veganism is so healthy' idea ....)

I know what you mean girlmoose, i always get funny looks when i ask what its cooked in but it always turns out to be sunflower oil or cooking oil.

Most stuff is is fried in vegetable based oil nowerdays in the UK, and has been since the BSE crisis, which happened conveniently a year or so before I turned veggie, vastly increasing the range of veggie products/ options available as lots of people went off beef!

 

[Malibu_Stacy]

The best option is probably to pester manufacturers for a non-leather material that really DOES offer every benefit that leather has to offer!

There's a vegetarian shoe shop in Brighton that (as well as having a great range of, admittedly pricey, products) make their shoes out of various synthetic leather like materials, which are lovely. Unlike most synthetics they aren't obviously plastic, can be breathable etc. I always think it'd be great to mail and ask would they let me buy some of their material to then take to get a bespoke bridle made, as I honestly think you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and a leather one, but there's not in chance in hades of me being able to afford that anytime soon!

 

[hannabanana]

you either buy expensive stuff from a health food shop (which I can only afford to do occasionally, as obviously horse comes first!) or have to make it yourself (cakes in particular are fairly easy to make vegan, by judiciuous substitution; I have a recipe for chocolate cake that I'm particularly fond of, where you use jam rather than egg to bind the mix! I feel this is somewhat shattering the 'veganism is so healthy' idea ....)

Well i am the worst cook/baker ever, i manage to burn cereal. i will just get my boyfriend to make me this jam chocolate cake XD sounds like a really good idea for a rainy day

 

[milliepops]

Another veggie (and sometime vegan) horse rider reporting for duty!

To be honest, I don't give a fig about my leather tack. I have yet to find synthetic tack that fits my needs (currently looking for a new single flap xc saddle and never seen one that wasn't leather). I wear leather shoes and I'm not going to give myself a complex over that, life's too short

But I am a strict and lifelong veggie - was brought up that way and just couldn't contemplate eating bits of animals. I'm not one to lecture other people about what they should or shouldn't do - it's just not something I could bring myself to do. Bit like I wouldn't eat tarmac, it's just not in my list of things I would want to eat

I have been hunting and my horse is at livery on a hunting yard - again, not a problem to me (I'm not going to eat the fox!)

well said Fagin XD. wow a vet whos veggie! how does he/she manage? with the whole putting down part?

I always wanted to be a vet and coped fine with the work exp etc - again, my feeling was that I wasn't going to be eating it, so not a problem. If the best outcome you can hope for is to put an animal down, that's life (or not)

 

[hannabanana]

i see your point millie pops! everyone is different and entitled to there own opinions and thoughts. problem with me is im such a soft ****e that i even cry when i see a dead rabbit in the field...im such a sop. i dont even watch nature shows cause i hate seeing gazelles getting there ass chomped on. my god at this rate we could make a veggie army or more like a veggie cavalry if we include our trusted horses

 

[milliepops]

problem with me is im such a soft ****e that i even cry when i see a dead rabbit in the field...im such a sop. i dont even watch nature shows cause i hate seeing gazelles getting there ass chomped on. my god at this rate we could make a veggie army or more like a veggie cavalry if we include our trusted horses

bless! Yes, there are quite a number of us on here - odd cos it feels quite lonely out in the horsey world as a veggie Anyone else find that? Many of my horsey friends are surprised to find out that I don't eat meat.

 

[hannabanana]

yes i always feel lonely, especially when im at a show and people are chomping on bacon sarnies and sausages and i have a cheese savoury bun. Its even worse when everyone in my local area goes on the BBQ pleasure ride. 3 guesses why i dont go? i just end up riding by myself on that day. the yard becomes a ghost town!

 

[Malibu_Stacy]

i see your point millie pops! everyone is different and entitled to there own opinions and thoughts. problem with me is im such a soft ****e that i even cry when i see a dead rabbit in the field...im such a sop. i dont even watch nature shows cause i hate seeing gazelles getting there ass chomped on. my god at this rate we could make a veggie army or more like a veggie cavalry if we include our trusted horses

Tee hee, genius idea! We can mow down (obviously in an animal friendly fashion ) anyone who refuses the veggie paradigm!

I'm with you on the being a sap thing. I'll happily deal with anything alive, but I just can't cope with dead things. I have so much respect for all the vets out there, as even when logically I know its the kinder thing to pts, I still dont think I could actually be the one to do the act (I have had pets pts, but I think its one thing to agree with the vet doing it, and another to be the vet doing the deed). I'd be a blubbering wreck by the end of my first week

 

[hannabanana]

I'll happily deal with anything alive, but I just can't cope with dead things. I have so much respect for all the vets out there, as even when logically I know its the kinder thing to pts, I still dont think I could actually be the one to do the act (I have had pets pts, but I think its one thing to agree with the vet doing it, and another to be the vet doing the deed). I'd be a blubbering wreck by the end of my first week

I am exactly the same as you, i have alot of respect for vets but i couldnt be one. They are heros and i dont think they get alot of respect considering the 7 years (i think its 7 anyway) of training and studying they go through.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

I am a veggie too. Have been a vegan and will again, well.. It's tricky as I don't eat vegetables or anything 'nomal'..

It's tricky as to be vegan you cannot eat any quorn products, now I don't eat anything normal, literally, so if i gave up quorn I would have nothing to put in a sandwhich. (don't eat the sandwhich you say, well that's all I eat.. lol)

I did have synthetic saddle but never fitted, i will buy a synthetic dressage saddle but I have new leather one at the moment, plus all my riding boots are leather (bridle etc)

However, don't buy leather shoes, belts or jackets etc i am veggie more because I cannot stand the way animals are treated because we want a chicken korma! Sickening really.

I wouldn't feed my horse cod liver oil anyway as horses were not meant to eat a by product of a fish!

I am huge preacher of animal rights, so i suppose in a way I should use synthetic through and through. Maybe one day I will.x

 

[hannabanana]

haha that last entry about the sandwich made me giggle. I do like fruit n veg but in my house its all gone within 2 days thanks to my now teenage brother (who happend to be taller than me with bigger feet and is only 13). so i practically live on sandwiches and wheatabix. Cucumber sandwich maybe? yes i dont wear leather either, only horsey equipment. I dont know if you are but i like to have a unique fashion trend and i wanted a pair of military boots that everyone is wearing now long before they were in fashion, but couldnt as they were leather. BUT i found a pair of non leather in matalan- £18...BARGAIN! they became my fave shoes i wore them practically every day, until one day someone stood on my heel and RIP...:O my sole had ripped off....:'( R.I.P shoes. and now Matalan no longer do them.....****

 

[widget]

im loving this thread! im a vegi who rides, I have leather tack but i think the difference in my view is that leather is reusable but meat is just consumed and then needs replacing? just an idea. I work dealing with farms, farmers and abbatoirs but I just think i dont eat meat so im not a part of the industry, only way i can reason with what i see on a daily basis. As for shows i take my own vegi burgers and ask the burger van/bbq to cook it for me : )

 

[Chico Mio]

I'm a pescatarian. I also don't eat wheat products, rice or sugar.As you can imagine I have a very fun time trying to find something to eat when I am out - especially as I live in Spain; land of meat, bread and paella!

My tack is all synthetic - Wintec saddles and Dr Cook biothane bridles and a Zilco breastplate. I have it because I am bone idle about cleaning tack, not for any moral reasons, but most endurance stuff is synthetic anyway.

I feed straights so I don't worry about what is in my horses feed. I did feed FB a fish derived glucosamine supplement, but since I eat fish I can't moan at that!

 

[Bjutschilp]

I'm vegetarian, having my own horse with all leather tack, wearing leather shoes and jackets, although I'm a fanatic animal lover (... and spiders, mice, snails, snakes etc. ).
My position is well-defined:
No animal hast to die only for the reason of a "well-fed stomach" !
Nothing on my plate, that could be cuddled.

@hannabanana
I cannot see animals suffer in any way, too.
Even pigeons' crippled feet make me cry and I'll save snails on wet footpaths while strolling.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

I'll save snails on wet footpaths while strolling.

Thank god I do that to - Sometimes a small walk can turn into a lengthy ordeal!!

And don't get me started on getting bugs out the water buckets in fields!!! lol
x

 

[zandp]

I'm veggie too, my horses eat Allen and Page food, because it suits them and it's just good for my conscience that it's veggie society approved. One has a synthetic saddle, because it's the best one for her, both have leather bridles because when I bought the horses I didn't know about synthetic bridles.

Although I don't purposefully buy leather luxury goods for me, i.e. leather sofas would be a no, I do have leather and suede shoes and non leather and fake suede shoes too, I'm not vegan and so byproducts are morally ok in theory. Like butter and honey really.

I am lactose intolerant though, but have found these great tablets that enable me to digest dairy products so do eat cheese and butter sometimes, although not milk as soya milk is quite tasty now and milk always made me more ill than cheese.

I don't eat quorn or any meat substitutes and don't feed my horses cod liver oil or any supplements with fish extract (ie arthritis supplements) I source alternatives for them.

 

[DiablosGold]

I'm a vegetarian and I ride, I have my own horse. I am pro-hunting too. I use a leather saddle and certainly a leather bridle and headcollar for my horse, as they are best for him. I have seen leather bridles/headcollars break where a synthetic one wouldn't; they are much safer.

Re burger vans - I usually have at least 3 egg rolls, with cheese, onions and burger sauce

 

[Bjutschilp]

@heidirusso
Gimme five !!!

But I have absolutely no sympathy for all those critters and crawlies teasing my horse !

 

[Minxie]

You may aswell eat the animal if it has to die to become your leather bridle. I know that sounds extreme, but if every vegetarian still wore and used leather, there would be no point to not eating the meat.

I'm vegetarian and have no issues with leather - because leather is the secondary / waste product from the meat industry. The cow isn't slaughtered to make the bridle the bridles is made from the cow slaughtered for the food industry.

Now don't get me wrong, there is leather from animals raised for their hide but that stuff is hugely hugely expensive and used for stuff like channel handbags, jimmy choos. Can't imagine it would be used for bog standard tack. Granted there is a shared market in that the agreement between the leather producers but leather suppliers could not afford to raise cattle simply for the leather value. They raise it for the beef value first and leather value second.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

@heidirusso
Gimme five !!!

But I have absolutely no sympathy for all those critters and crawlies teasing my horse !

LOL...Me too. I would never kill a fly or something annoying me or in the house, but something on my horse is dead!

x

 

[fatpony]

Hi
I ride and I have a vegan friend who I recently spent a week on holiday with trying not to mention horses in anyway as she believes that its cruel to ride them - especially racehorses. We just dont talk about it! Its interesting there are vegans on here who obviously dont think like that ( apart from the racing obviously )
regarding the leather tack - surely if something is second hand then your not actively encouraging its manufacture and your making use of something that otherwise might be thrown out - surely its worse if the animal has been killed and its leather not used and thrown away?

 

[reindeerlover]

I know I'm going to come under fire here but we're all entitled to an opinion right?

I think being a vegetarian (unless for medical or taste reasons) is a cop out. If you're that upset about animals being raised for food then why eat dairy products? The cows don't just produce milk for no reason- they breed calves which are then slaughtered so we can drink the milk that was meant for them. If you do it for moral issues then how can you justify using ANY of the products? You may as well wear second hand fur coats since they're "already dead".

For the record, I am not vegetarian or vegan as I really don't think that it would make a difference to society BUT I make sure as far as I can that all meat I buy is organic/free range/locally reared as can be. I think that this is as much as you can do without being completely self sufficient and rearing/killing your own.

Regarding Vets putting animals to sleep- surely it would be better to relieve the suffering of an animal where you can rather than allowing it to continue to live in constant pain?