distressing video, can anyone tell me what the hell they are doing

Goodness the tree huggers are out tonight - I do wonder how many of them have handled wild youngstock? -Neither a tree hugger & yes I have dealt with feral ponies, it did not though involve slapping them in front of a chanting crowd or jumping on them like a predator would.
 
A friend of mine brought some dartmoor hill ponies and asked me to help with them, they'd been turned out into a field, and she needed to get them down the road to the barn so they could be inoculated, feet done, and fed up a bit.
When you have half to quarter of a tonne of animal from the wild that NEEDS to be handled, you're not going to sit in the corner with a feed bucket for three weeks hoping they might trust you one day.
How did we get headcollars on them? With a struggle! Luckily my OH was there, and he got them in headlocks, friend grabbed their tails and I (being the wimp) put the headcollars on. I'd like to think no-one had to be as 'rough' with ponies, but we have to remember they are WILD creatures, with all their survival insticts 100% intact.
Once they had headcollars on we managed to lead them to the barn, where they were handled daily and gradually got used to humans. They're all lovely little 18 month old's now, and will stand and be groomed and 100% trust humans.
 
I agree.
I'm defo no 'tree hugger' and I don't take any crap from my horses . . . but I would NEVER treat them like that.
Re the time issue, if you havent got a reasonable amount of time to gain some trust from your equines then you shouldnt have them.
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More's the point, they are clearly just doing it for 'kicks' on the that video.
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Weezy - Totally disagree with your comments. This practice is NOT acceptable in any way! Id hate to see how you "tame" your horses. I certainly dont remember leaping on the back of a semi-wild pony I once had and grappling it to the floor while I hacked off its mane and tail... This is a horrific display of humans (mainly men of course) trying to assert their dominance. I don't care what is said here - wrestling a horse to the floor is not the way to go about it. Im really quite saddened at how rough some of you are, how totally misunderstood your horses must be.

And with regards to branding - actually it is now thought that it IS in fact extremely painful for the horses. I read something a while back which said that one European country hated the practice so much that they were banning branded horses in competing. Wish I had the link to the article. Lets try holding a red hot iron on YOUR thigh and see if it hurts...
 
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Nothing wrong with branding if it is done properly and the brand is hot enough.

Jesus, horses don't get tamed by saying "come here horsey, horsey", they are animals with their own minds, sometimes *ugly* things happen. No horses were injured, none ever are!

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Ditto, held about 45 foals to be branded in the Uk and nobody whinges about that. Weaning foals is never nice and atleast they are all weaned together. However I'm not sure I liked the bloke jumping on a weak horse and driving it on but I refuse to judge from videos as they're always biased one way or another. I can't see the men wanting to injure them if they are their property either and as Weezy said it was purely man against horse, no lasoos(spl?), whips, e.t.c
 
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but having said that, sometimes the nearest thing to grab hold of, when dealing with foals/youngstock, is the tail......

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The best thing to do is to pull the ear, I was taught this by a vet when we had about 25 half handled weanlings to vaccinate, it must release something, they go VERY quiet and don't move.
 
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I grab my horses tails if they move away from me and I want them back - never had a prob with that LOL!

And Dottie, you look as tho you have a Welshie - do you know how he/she came to be tamed?

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Haha....Weezy....exactly!
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Some still castrate their own animals down this way...and they don't use any injections!
 
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How many foals have you handled? Ever tried restraining a recalcitrant one for the farrier?

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You know how strong a slightly unhandled foal can be, let alone a fully grown horse. And they don't seem to have the ever useful 90 degree block wall to hold them against!
 
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And with regards to branding - actually it is now thought that it IS in fact extremely painful for the horses. I read something a while back which said that one European country hated the practice so much that they were banning branded horses in competing. Wish I had the link to the article. Lets try holding a red hot iron on YOUR thigh and see if it hurts...

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Of course it hurts. As does having an injection, having blood taken, being microchipped, teeth removed, being covered for the first time, giving birth to a foal, being scoped e.t.c Our horses will never go through their life without encountering ANY pain whatsoever so its ridiculous to want to ban something like branding. Done properly and the foals have forgotten all about it in an hour.

My pups had their hind dew claws removed at 3 days, they screamed the house down, does it mean the vet shouldn't remove them just because it hurts?
 
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And with regards to branding - actually it is now thought that it IS in fact extremely painful for the horses. I read something a while back which said that one European country hated the practice so much that they were banning branded horses in competing. Wish I had the link to the article. Lets try holding a red hot iron on YOUR thigh and see if it hurts...

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But it is worse then freeze-marking? A study on cattle showed that increase in heart rate and cortisol leves were seen in both hot-branded and freeze-branded animals. Actually hot-branded animals showed a more acute response but freeze-branded animals showed a more prolonged one, which is worse?
The conclusion was that freeze-branding should be used but only because the animals showed a greater escape response to hot-branding (though they did show a behavioural response as well).
We used to do an experiment at school where we put one hand in a bowl of very hot water and one in a bowl of icy water. Initially the hot water hurts more and the immediate reaction is to want to pull your hand out but after a few seconds the icy water is far more painful.
 
Only just seen this video and am in complete shock! firstly shocked by the video then even more shocked by the comments made on here! I cannot see in any way or form how this can be acceptable! And please i am no 'tree hugger', i grew up on a farm and have handled horses and cattle my whole life. You may need to dominate a horse and 'show it who is boss' but this video is a callous, testosterone filled, barbaric display of the male ego with absolutely no thought for the horses whatsoever, it is for entertainment purposes only. the horses are terrified. these people have taught these horses one very easy lesson - never trust a human as we are cruel and barbaric! I have had a wild pony and i broke him in, i based the relationship on trust. I was always 'boss' and alway firm but i never once hurt him and never once dominated him through fear!
 
So AliH, you don't think its ok to slightly roughly man handle a horse (and all they have is their bare hands) yet you think its ok to castrate cows without any pain killers e.t.c Take bull calves away from the mums at a day old, shove a great big bolus down their throats e.t.c....bizarre.
 
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As in a cattle crush?
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No..as in an area where the horse/pony can't move whereby you can reach over and put a headcollar on or vaccinate or brand or whatever with less trauma and stress for all involved. Mine is a little alleyway beside my shelter with a gate at either end. One side is solid wall the other is post and rail. Unhandled pony is herded in, gate shut behind. Pony can't move..doesn't take long for them to realise its no big deal. Some people just use a gate to 'crush' pony against a side or into a corner..but same principle of a cattle crush
 
Well call me a tree hugger if you like but I got quite annoyed watching this. Yet a nother age old tradition that carries on just 'because'. I just can't see how people do this for 'entertainment' and yet I pretty much agree with foxhunting/fishing/shooting etc. I suppose hunting has a purpose, to me this doesn't have any, 'spose they have no telly in these places
 
There seems to quite alot of different opinions on the way these horses are being treated and about weaning foals etc. which, yes, can be very distressing for both mare and foal.

Those of you that think the video isnt that bad, id be interested to see what your thoughts are on this.
The separating of the foals.
And who was it that said they didnt use sticks ???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9QbkXL4rI&mode=related&search=

Its about two minutes into the clip for those of you that didnt like what they saw in the first clip, dont watch this.
 
The sticks are cowmen sticks, same as used to bring dairy cows in every day in England.

Just a point to ponder; ever watched the Horse Whisperer?

From what I saw, no horses were injured. Perhaps a different way of forced weaning, not my idea of how best to do it, but no worse than any other form of enforced weaning.
 
Absolutly disgusting. How any one can watch that and think it's ok is beyond me!
Why were they riding the foals? what was the purpose of that? Apart from getting there kicks out of it of course! Seems that all the people involved with this are treated as stars!
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How any one can watch that and think it's ok is beyond me!


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I guess the sorts of people who have seen real cruelty.
 
No Tia, i'm not going to stand there clapping and saying *Congratulations boys, what a display of good horsemanship!*
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Neither would I; certainly not the way I do things, but I also wouldn't say any abject cruelty went on either.
 
Just watched it - don't see anything disgusting at all
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The sticks are, as Tia said, herding sticks, to stop the horses going where they shouldn't - they don't get beaten with them *rolls eyes*
 
Am i watching a different video to some of you...

Im a teenage girl...surely I should be all oooh noo the poooor ponies

but tbh, theres not a lot going on there...

yes there were sticks
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but they were not beaten. directed yes

and yes, KIDS were sat on foals

not RIDING them

they werent on them for ours at a time asking for work
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