Any Vegetarians or Vegans who ride?

hannabanana said:
really? i have synthetic leather look boots and saddle, my bridle is leather but planning on getting a wintec bridle once i have some spare cash. but im sure that in some horse feeds there would be things like cod liver oil. But i think it would be unfair to stop giving a horse something because its got a bit animal in it.
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The way I see it, you have a perfectly serviceable bridle. Cows are not going to continue to die for you to use it (unlike if you continue to eat burgers) so what's the problem keeping it?
And horses haven't evolved to eat animal products, so I'd be more concerned about checking the feed content than replacing the bridle for that reason too ;)

Sarah sum1 said:
I don't know your reasons for being a vegetarian, but the part you wrote saying 'you don't beat yourself up about having a bit of leather tack' doesn't make sense to me. You may aswell eat the animal if it has to die to become your leather bridle.
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How many bridles does one cow hide make... and how many years do they last? How long would the meat from that cow last one person? Eating meat demands a continual supply of it. Using leather is a relatively big and infrequent purchase.

hannabanana said:
well said Fagin XD. wow a vet whos veggie! how does he/she manage? with the whole putting down part?
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Compassion for the animal I would imagine.

Minxie said:
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.

They raise it for the beef value first and leather value second.
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Is this actually true? I was always under the impression that beef cattle produces really inferior leather, and that cattle raised for leather produced inferior meat :confused:
 
I've been vegetarian for 28 years, I use leather all day everyday but don't ride.I cut it and work it, no other material is on par with it really.
I don't eat meat because I can't digest it very well and have no problem using leather for my trade.
Previous poster has asked how many bridles you can get from a cow hide, well we use the bridle butt for bridlework, a pair of butts will make about 12 cavesson bridles or there abouts.
The best leather comes from Aberdeen Angus cattle (beef cattle) as the cattle mature slowly and this gives a better hide. Cattle grown quickly can make a poor quality hide.
 
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Wagtail said:
I am pescatarian (eat fish but not meat or poultry). I use and wear leather but not fur. The difference is that where the animal has been killed primarily for it's meat then I will wear/use the bi-products, but not when the animal has been killed for it's fur. Ideally, yes, I would probably go all the way and be vegan, but then how would we sutain our animals and what would happen to them all if everyone became vegan? In truth I admit, it is too darn hard to be vegan but I admire those who are. To me, it should be a matter of your conscience and what makes you feel content with yourself. You have to draw a line somewhere. My line is at not supporting the horrendous mass production of meat by eating animals. This is the point at which I am at peace with myself.
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What? This makes no sense.
Fish is the one thing I won't eat, I can see no moral/sustainable way of doing so. Also, since when is poultry not meat... just...what?! :confused:
 
I have been vegetarian for about 20 years now,I dont eat anything that had a face. I have a few reasons for not eating meat,I dont like the intensive methods ,l have a moral problem with eating an animal,and also I found most of it tasted vile. My saddle is synthetic,as are the girths and "leathers",my bridle is leather,but I have had it for ages,the only non-leather bridles available then were made of nylon and stretched.When it needs replaced I will get a new non-leather one, as they are much better now.My riding boots and half chaps are leather,and again old, Im not sure if I would replace them with synthetic ones,as they have outlasted several pairs of wellies,yard boots and rubber long riding boots !
 
I am a vegetarian, I do use leather tack and wear leather boots/chaps, sheepskin numnahs etc

To me, using natural materials next to my pony's skin is better for absorption, heat control and comfort. Also, I have never used synthetic bridles, and I am reluctant to after my pony's cheekpiece got caught on a gate latch and the leather tore instead of her mouth. Im not sure whether a non-leather material would have broken like this.
 
I'm a veggie too and use leather tack - leather saddles mould to the horses shape better and in my experience of synthetics they tend to slip more! Also agree with the above that in an emergency leather does break...thankfully!
 
A friend of mine is a vegan and rides but for saftey uses leather reins, and stirrups- she says the synthetic ones just arent worth the risk.
 
I don't eat meat - I love animals! BUT I love my horses best of all and I believe that leather saddles and bridles are the softest and kindest of all
 
I'm veggie, and have been for nearly 30 years. I use synthetic tack where possible (so synthetic bridles and saddles), but do have some leather tack where it works better than synthetic (girth straps etc).

I recently bought a LeMieux numnah as I somehow assumed it was made with the fleece of sheared sheep, so I was a bit horrified to see the skin still attached :( I guess I'll just have to make sure I take good care of it so I don't have to replace it!!

Pod77 said:
Im not sure whether a non-leather material would have broken like this.
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I don't know about the webbing bridles, probably not, but when my horse got his Wintec bridle caught on the ramp handle on the trailer, the cheekpiece snapped and my horse wasn't injured.
 
I'm a vegetarian, don't eat meat or fish and don't eat anything with animal products in (apart from gummy sweets...they're a vice I can't stop!!). Leather tack & boots etc isn't an issue for me. I have a wintec synthetic saddle but apart from that most of the tack I have is real leather. I think it really is the safest and most durable. I have a bridle for years & years so it's not like I'm continually buying them, I think about it that way.
 
I've been a vegetarian since I was 19 and am now 47 so quite a while!
really nice to see there are so many responses to thread - feels very lonely out her sometimes LOL! and lots of good suggestions - thanks

Firstly i don't think anyone should feel guilty - people make their own choices about the degree of vegetarianism they want or can 'cope' with.
I used to stand on my soap box a lot when younger and rise to the bait when people said how can you ride a horse and be a vegetarian (i don't actually eat my horse!) but now it's just what i do - it's sort of 'embedded' as part of my life, part of who I am...ooh dear..rather dramatic! sorry! not meant to be!

i am a 'strict' veggy in as much as only eat products with no 'dead' animals in, so nothing with gelatine, calf rennet, fish finings in some wines, etc, but i do eat dairy (trying to source organic milk as i believe this means male dairy cows get more chance of a life ??) and only free range eggs. (I am often seen muttering in Tescos as i read the ingredients on the 'suitable for vegetarians' products to see battery eggs in the list. Now why would anyone presume that someone who would choose not to eat meat for a compassioante reason would eat anything with a battery farmed egg in it?).aggh!
I digress..

I choose not to wear leather myself except for the odd item i have had since before i became a vegetartian. I have a leather belt that i wear a lot and an old bike jacket i hardly fit in anymore but still hangs in the cupboard. My father also gave me a leather bag for my 21st birthday!!!!!I remeber being sooo upset and he really just hadn;t even thought about it! I haven't bought a new piece of leather for myself since I was 19. i remember being moaned at by the chief instructor on my horse course at college because i was wearing rubber boots! it's a lot easier now and i have a selection of non- leather jod boots and gaiters - both leather look for shows and synthetic for other stuff - lots of choice. i founf hats harder as the nice ones that fitted me oftne had leather harnesses but found one in the end.

If anyone know where i could get synthetic jod boots with a steel toe cap I'd love to hear!!!I presently ride in big chunky safety boots and save the more shaped jod boots for rare occasion i have to wear unprotected jod boots.

The fact that i still wear my leather belt just shows how hard wearing leather is - i've worn it for about 30 years at least once a week and often every day - it's my jeans belt!none of my synthetic belts have lasted any where near as long but ...

I am slowly moving over to synthetic tack too and now only buy synthetic stuff. was reluctant at first because i also felt synthetic stuff not as good/comfortable/safe for my horses but products are becoming more and more available and attractive.

my saddle is half and half - i bought it about 6 year ago and it was a compromise as my experience of wyntec was NOT encouraging. if/when i buy the next one i will look for 100% sythetic but that will be a while.
I have lots of older leather tack which i will use til it falls apart, but now only buy all synthetic and since discovering synthetic bridles i love am quite happy with this.
i have webbing combination bridles (initially bought for TREC but so fab i wear them for everything now - or rather my horse does) and have had lots of complements - by IV Horse - predominantly black with brass clips.

the zilco ones look good too and are more conventional looking. check out the TREC uk forum for suggestions.

so easy to buy synthetic horse boots, girths, etc now too.

but i go to the lengths i choose for me, and think people should do what they feel comfortable with - every little helps. last time i picked up a cheap leather bridle i nearly got the check-out and just didn't feel right so put it back on the shelf.

and at shows....chips always go down well...and if they are cooking the veggy stuff on the same BBQ as the meat or using the same spatula to turn them..I do without... and stuff myself later when i can get some of what I want! often CAKE! with free range eggs of course :-)
 
I have not read all the posts but for gods sake synthetic bridles saddles and boots have been around for years so if you wanted to not use leather you could.

It is utter rubbish to say you cant find one to fit, as for the person who is a vegggie apart from the odd sausgae sandwich then grow up.

Other veggies have said on this thread they eat egg sandwiches at a show, do you really think a caterer uses free range, hens suffer more than any other animal producing eggs for us to eat.

I also think you are joke if you think its ok to eat dairy products but bang on about being veggie as this area of production is open to so much abuse of the animals.

And as for the people who wont eat meat but are happy to eat fish, how exactly do you think these are caught and die before we eat them.

I am not a veggie and my family shoot hunt and eat meat , what i think we should strive towards is a time where all animals that are produced for use of meat or any other products that come from them are raised and slaughtered in a humane way.

I am not a veggie and have no desire to be so, the slaughter of animals and keeping them is just not about us eating them, many rare breeds would not survive without them being produced for meat.

Alot of the countrysides survival depends on the production of animals the control of vermin many of which are animals, we have changed the eco system over generations overs hundreds of years in this country and now play a vital role for it to survive.

It is not nice to see the harsh realities of life on some of the wildlife programes on the tv but that is nature and how it works, we have intefered in some ways and now control how certain things will survive.

I have even less respect for people who bang on about being veggie but then use an excuse for using a leather bridle or eating food from an unknown source or the odd sausage.

If you belive in something make sacrifices to stand by it, I think most of these people would do more for animal suffering if they protested against and tried to tighten abboitior controls, how caged hens are kept, the export of live animals or even the pointless breeding and sales of hill ponies or the hundreds of welsh ponies sold for nothing who go to meat.

If all the veggies came togethor at the same time and protested about one of these things I would have more respect instead of some of the half attempts they say they are making that seem more about making themselves feel better that anything else.

Sorry for the novel lenght of this post.:)
 
Trinity Fox said:
I have not read all the posts but for gods sake synthetic bridles saddles and boots have been around for years so if you wanted to not use leather you could.

It is utter rubbish to say you cant find one to fit, as for the person who is a vegggie apart from the odd sausgae sandwich then grow up.

Other veggies have said on this thread they eat egg sandwiches at a show, do you really think a caterer uses free range, hens suffer more than any other animal producing eggs for us to eat.

I also think you are joke if you think its ok to eat dairy products but bang on about being veggie as this area of production is open to so much abuse of the animals.

And as for the people who wont eat meat but are happy to eat fish, how exactly do you think these are caught and die before we eat them.

I am not a veggie and my family shoot hunt and eat meat , what i think we should strive towards is a time where all animals that are produced for use of meat or any other products that come from them are raised and slaughtered in a humane way.

I am not a veggie and have no desire to be so, the slaughter of animals and keeping them is just not about us eating them, many rare breeds would not survive without them being produced for meat.

Alot of the countrysides survival depends on the production of animals the control of vermin many of which are animals, we have changed the eco system over generations overs hundreds of years in this country and now play a vital role for it to survive.

It is not nice to see the harsh realities of life on some of the wildlife programes on the tv but that is nature and how it works, we have intefered in some ways and now control how certain things will survive.

I have even less respect for people who bang on about being veggie but then use an excuse for using a leather bridle or eating food from an unknown source or the odd sausage.

If you belive in something make sacrifices to stand by it, I think most of these people would do more for animal suffering if they protested against and tried to tighten abboitior controls, how caged hens are kept, the export of live animals or even the pointless breeding and sales of hill ponies or the hundreds of welsh ponies sold for nothing who go to meat.

If all the veggies came togethor at the same time and protested about one of these things I would have more respect instead of some of the half attempts they say they are making that seem more about making themselves feel better that anything else.

Sorry for the novel lenght of this post.:)
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...you have too much time on your hands...
 
I'm a veggie, kind of training to be a vet (redoing some a levels and getting more work experience) and I use leather.

To me, the things are unrelated.

I don't eat meat because I think is a lot of overprodction, and killing of animals when there isn't the demand (if that makes sense? :o ) whereas, as someone else already stated, leather is made and then lasts for years, so to me the things are entirely different. At the end of the day its personal choice.

I love all animals, and so that's why I'm hoping to become a vet and why I can't justify eating meat. :)

Woo, I'm chuffed now I know there's loads of veggies on this forum :D we should swap recipes ;) :D :p
 
And seriously, don't come on a post about vegetarians, telling us we're wrong.

You're allowed your opinion, to eat meat etc etc, and we're allowed ours...so jog on! :)
 
I been Vegetarian 34 years . My school took us to a meat market where we saw animals killed. It traumatized me and I came home and said I am vegetarian now. ( my parents are) . I was always a fuzzy eater anyway. ( no bacon rind, chop of thew bone, breast of chicken steak no blood.) so it wasnt hard to change .



I dont like eating animals or agree with make up testing .

MAX FACTOR are the worst for testing animals , hense why i refuse to use there product.

I have a long list of what isnt vege like mauve and pink smarties are not vege.

I do have leather tack as well as synthetic. Its a by product.

I love the vege bacon and these frankfurters are to die for http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi...9283_Tivall_Vegetarian_Frankfurters_300g.html


I wont eat any sweets with gelatine ie fruit pastels jelly babies anything like that

i check everything before i eat it including yogurts

I dont like fish never have the only fish i ever ate for fish fingers and fishcakes **period. **

When I go to a show i normally take my own vege burgers as i never know where they cook them at the shoe trade stand.


I even have a separate tray for the oven so hubbies and my food dont cross.



I am afraid i hate cooking my idea of cooking is take it out freezer - take the wrapper - off cook it -- eat it.

I haven then time to spend ages preparing it and seconds eating. Both hubby and I live of ready meals . As I wont touch meat if i can help it.
 
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wench said:
why do some vegetarians say they are vegetarian, but then eat fish? surely fish is meat - it comes from a living animal?
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#

Any one who says this dont know what they are talking about .

Definitions
Ovo-lacto vegetarian: A person who eats no meat, fish, or poultry but who does eat eggs and dairy products.

Vegan: A person whose diet excludes all forms of animal products including meat, fish and poultry, eggs, dairy, gelatin, whey, refined sugar, and honey.

Definition of vegertarians

this is our definition of a vegetarian:

*

A vegetarian is someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy products and eggs.

Or

*

A vegetarian does not eat meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or by-products of slaughter.

There are different degrees of vegetarianism which may be what causes confusion with caterers. The four most common forms of vegetarianism are:

* Lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Eats both dairy products and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian diet.
* Lacto-vegetarian. Eats dairy products but not eggs.
* Ovo-vegetarian. Eats eggs but not dairy products.
* Vegan. Does not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product.

Eggs: Many lacto-ovo vegetarians will only eat free-range eggs. This is because of welfare objections to the intensive farming of hens. Through its Vegetarian Society Approved trade mark, the Vegetarian Society only endorses products containing free-range eggs.


Vegetarian (Lacto-ovo- vegetarian)
When most people think of vegetarians, they think of lacto-ovo-vegetarians. People who do not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but do eat eggs and dairy products are lacto-ovo vegetarians (“lacto” comes from the Latin for milk, and “ovo” for egg).

Lacto-vegetarian is used to describe a vegetarian who does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy products.

Ovo-vegetarian refers to people who do not eat meat or dairy products but do eat eggs.






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".
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This is a case of *VD*
Its NOT a cop out


The calves are firstly taken away from the mothers so you meat eaters can eat the calves. The milk is second if you meat eaters stopped eating calves in the way of veal then there would be no Demand for talking calves away.

ANIMALS ARE NOT KILLED FOR LEATHER leather is a by product. .
 
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I am 95% vegan but still have leather tack & boots. I searched & searched for a synthetic 'comfort' bridle & there simply weren't any. I also need a WOW saddle as it is the only one that agrees with my wrecked back. Mine was 2nd hand tho. I managed to find some non leather boots & chaps, but they fitted v poorly :-( so I had to get some leather ones. Hopefully they will last a long time...it's been a good few years so far.

The 5% is because o/h is pescetarian, so now & then it is more convenient to eat e.g. a quorn lasagna than faff about. I am lactose intolerant & eggs disagree with me v badly, so I would avoid anything containing them if left to my own devices.

Nice to see so many veggies on here!

T x
 
Tinkerbee said:
What? This makes no sense.
Fish is the one thing I won't eat, I can see no moral/sustainable way of doing so. Also, since when is poultry not meat... just...what?! :confused:
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You are very hard of understanding aren't you? Most restaurants list meat dishes, poultry dishes and fish dishes separately. To do so doesn't mean they are not all types of meat. :rolleyes:

Regarding fish, I use only sustainable supplies (no cod or haddock etc).

My objection to eating meat is not a moral one as such in that I do not believe that eating meat is wrong. I just do not like the way we mass produce it. It is far too cheap to allow for good animal welfare.
 
Leviathan said:
Well one things for sure veges dont and wont get mad cow disease.

This is interesting

http://www.heimat-fuer-tiere.de/english/articles/med/meat_makes_you_sick.shtml
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Quite interesting yes, but the most recent reference it uses is from 2003. I thik it makes a number of salient points; however, I often feel like these kind of articles are intrinsically flawed as they seem to suggest that non-vegetarians consume nothing but meat.

That all said as a vegetarian.

To be perfectly honest, I don't mind if others eat meat, provided the conditions in which the animals were kept can be guaranteed. Intensive farming is not natural, but if people try to make informed choices about what they eat, then that's great. What I think this world really needs is to revert back to the old days, when meat was not served at every single meal.
 
In a recent programmer on health it was pointed out that * you only need one red meat meal a week* for health.

What really gets me riled is when non veges like an earlier poster and this prat
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=sponsor

People p me off when they say want a bit of bacon and shove it under my nose or say


oh that poor tomato it was living and u eat that??


To come on here and serving up their views on vege is wrong Nobody can tell you what to eat. Every ones views are different but to say we are a cop out. He should go back to where he crawl from . OP just wanted to know who else was a vege here. They were not asked to voice their opinion and say we wrong.

He should start a meat only post where his options will be welcome.:rolleyes:

My hubby eats meat I dont have a go at him and ditto to me.


At the end of the day

* chacun à son goût *
 
I have leather tack, I won't throw it away but I don't think I will replace it either. There are lots of fab brands out there now that offer viable alternatives and I'd prefer not put a hunk of dead animal on my horse's head if I have an alternative option. Tekna make some great tack and some really nice bridles... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tekna-weymo...sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1317290207&sr=1-5

I am very much of the attitude that if others want to eat meat let them. I have spent enough time with animals to know that I could never murder one for my own gain and in my opinion if you couldn't bring yourself to kill what is on your plate you shouldn't be eating it.

I will never knowingly eat meat again, and I could never date someone who did. If a veggie boyfriend decided to start eating meat again they would be out the door instantly, I have no desire to kiss a walking grave yard!
 
team barney said:
I am very much of the attitude that if others want to eat meat let them. I have spent enough time with animals to know that I could never murder one for my own gain and in my opinion if you couldn't bring yourself to kill what is on your plate you shouldn't be eating it.

I will never knowingly eat meat again, and I could never date someone who did. If a veggie boyfriend decided to start eating meat again they would be out the door instantly, I have no desire to kiss a walking grave yard!
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My boyfriend used to be a veggie, he gave up a few years ago when he worked and travelled in various African countries as it is incredibly rude to refuse food when offered, especially as many of the people he met lived in terrible poverty. His family eat primarily vegetarian food but will also eat meat on occasion. Him and his sister were 100% veggie until they were 5 and 3, when she ate an entire bowl full of sausages at a party!
 
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