Horses and Horse sport.Yes or no?

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eahotson

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Like many people I have been appalled as more and more is coming into the public domain about the abuse of horses,particularly in dressage but not exclusively in horse sport including the top end.There are suggestions that we should not ride or drive horses for any reason even though nutrition, saddlery,vetinary care and farriery have never been so good.There was a time when 9 for a horse was considered old and 12 ready for the knackers yard. I am also aware that in many third world countries horses and donkeys are key to many families livelihood.I wonder how many people generally (excluding keeping an old and faithful servant in retirement) would keep a horse to do nothing.
I feel torn and don't know whether to watch horse sport or not.I do think horses can enjoy human contact and their "Job" if treated fairly and kindly.I don't think i am in the all riding,driving etc. as abuse.What do other people think?
 
I have 5 minis that do nothing. I’ve shown them and driven them in the past but the two younger ones have never done anything. Purely pets. In the future when I can’t ride I plan to still have a horse..just not ride it.


I do believe many horses enjoy their work and I would say many treat them well and do it for the love of the horses but to be top in a competition you have to have a competitive mindset and some fall foul of that. Without a good group of people around them to correct bad behaviour they can swing to bad styles of training etc. I think that social media can help to bring these bad trainers to light.

As for watching sports, I will continue to watch then when it’s something I find interesting but I don’t religiously follow it. I will also support organisations calling for better rules and regulations for all equines.

I won’t stop riding my horse because society feels it is cruel (peta etc) because that slippery slope means an end to the horse. Can you imagine a world where the horse is no longer around? Horses are my life. I aim to treat them with respect and dignity but also enjoy a nice ride as a happy hacker. I don’t ask for much.
 
Yes but not as it is now. I hate puissance and other extreme events, I hate seeing horses blowing hard and sweating after racing. Yes ride and compete horses but not at the extremeties and that includes travelling and showing on very hot days and breeding for extream confirmation like the show arabs and some show ponies.
 
It's a difficult question and one I often ponder on myself... I think we all have different ideas of what is an acceptable thing to ask for a horse and as time goes by, I do think I am less comfortable with the highest levels of many disciplines.

For me personally, I view it that some horses have a job, like I do. I get paid in money, they get paid in care, but we should both be respected in our lines of work. We won't always like it but it passes the time and hopefully we'll have a lovely retirement and we get some days off too. Sometimes we will be pushed outside our comfort zone and would rather be at home eating (well, that's much of the time), but when we are properly supported and managed in our work it is not cruel, painful or traumatic.

I realise it's not that clear cut in many cases but that, for me, justifies in my mind asking a horse to do a fair amount of work.

Having said that, we have five in our family herd who do nothing. 🤣
 
eahotson said:
Like many people I have been appalled as more and more is coming into the public domain about the abuse of horses,particularly in dressage but not exclusively in horse sport including the top end.There are suggestions that we should not ride or drive horses for any reason even though nutrition, saddlery,vetinary care and farriery have never been so good.There was a time when 9 for a horse was considered old and 12 ready for the knackers yard. I am also aware that in many third world countries horses and donkeys are key to many families livelihood.I wonder how many people generally (excluding keeping an old and faithful servant in retirement) would keep a horse to do nothing.
I feel torn and don't know whether to watch horse sport or not.I do think horses can enjoy human contact and their "Job" if treated fairly and kindly.I don't think i am in the all riding,driving etc. as abuse.What do other people think?
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Not having a yard of my own, I personally would not keep a horse that didn't have a job of some kind.

As for horse sport, I watch all of it. No sport is more abusive than any other, Dressage is currently getting a battering, but it was Showjumping just before that and racing is constantly under the microscope. But there is abuse everywhere, however most of it will be on the private yards across the UK, which goes unnoticed and unreported day after day, week after week, month after month. I agree that horse sports need to take a long hard look at themselves, and perform radical changes to their rules, with better quality inspections both before and after competing.

If any form of riding/driving of horses was banned, the horse as a species would quickly fade away. They are too big and expensive to own just as an ornament.
 
HollyWoozle said:
It's a difficult question and one I often ponder on myself... I think we all have different ideas of what is an acceptable thing to ask for a horse and as time goes by, I do think I am less comfortable with the highest levels of many disciplines.

For me personally, I view it that some horses have a job, like I do. I get paid in money, they get paid in care, but we should both be respected in our lines of work. We won't always like it but it passes the time and hopefully we'll have a lovely retirement and we get some days off too. Sometimes we will be pushed outside our comfort zone and would rather be at home eating (well, that's much of the time), but when we are properly supported and managed in our work it is not cruel, painful or traumatic.

I realise it's not that clear cut in many cases but that, for me, justifies in my mind asking a horse to do a fair amount of work.

Having said that, we have five in our family herd who do nothing. 🤣
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I like this. It is also looking at the horse and the job. If the horse has a job he or she basically enjoys and isn’t too much hard work then fine but don’t force the horse to do a job they don’t like by giving it calmers to cope or wrestling it into an outline.
 
eahotson said:
Like many people I have been appalled as more and more is coming into the public domain about the abuse of horses,particularly in dressage but not exclusively in horse sport including the top end.There are suggestions that we should not ride or drive horses for any reason even though nutrition, saddlery,vetinary care and farriery have never been so good.There was a time when 9 for a horse was considered old and 12 ready for the knackers yard. I am also aware that in many third world countries horses and donkeys are key to many families livelihood.I wonder how many people generally (excluding keeping an old and faithful servant in retirement) would keep a horse to do nothing.
I feel torn and don't know whether to watch horse sport or not.I do think horses can enjoy human contact and their "Job" if treated fairly and kindly.I don't think i am in the all riding,driving etc. as abuse.What do other people think?
Click to expand...
^^^This. It's a dilemma. I would have strongly disagreed with this 10 years ago but am more and more uncomfortable with it. I shall, perhaps hypocritically, watch to Olympics though.
 
Horses have been used by man for centuries. They didn't have the best of lives in the days of Black Beauty, a story known to all, or in times of war etc.

Where it has gone so very wrong are elite horses being taken to their physical and mental limit or beyond. Dressage is simply a correctly trained and balanced horse, not the weird creatures seen today, there is nothing natural about umpteen canter piri's with its tail dragging in the sand and its hocks under untenable pressure. There is nothing natural about asking a horse to jump 7' plus and watching the fetlocks strained to the limit as it lands. Elite level eventing is now an angled obstacle course of tricks and turns, not the bold jumping sight it used to be in Lucinda etc's days.

Breaking and racing barely 2 year old horses is akin to shoving your child up a chimney. Man has now bred horses to compete at the highest level in each specialism, but in my view, the pinnacle has been reached in what these elite bred horses can manage, yet man keeps wanting more and that is when it gets ugly or worse.

All horses, if reasonably sound, can give pleasure and be a great source of friendship and enjoyment and these ordinary horses in the main, have a better life, than those kept as 'kings'. I've no idea what the rider currently being discussed may have done, but that rider won't be alone in the training of the next champion by whatever methods they choose to use to push that potential champion to ever increasing prowess.

It is time to stop using horses in sport, no, I don't think so, but it is time to realise the limit has been reached at elite level and ease the pressure off both physically and mentally.
 
As someone who has always been jealous of people who are able to go out competing all the time I still believe that competition does not bring out the best in a lot of people or that it is good for horses.

Should it be banned probably yes, would I be sad not to have the chance to compete again yes.
 
Why just limit it to the Olympics. This is getting ridiculous . Yes some people abuse animals in sport we need to weed those people out , so ban them not the sport. Soon none of us will be able to discipline any of our animals, it’s already showing in how dogs are behaving these days , no one likes to stop Fido from running free and doing exactly what he wants . I don’t hit my dogs but they have to behave, I carried a whip when riding for safety , if my horse spooked at something on the side of the road and a car was coming past I would use the whip on her neck to stop her, also the whip can be held out to make the drivers keep their distance..
 
I don't think banning horse sports will stop abuse and arguably if more scrutiny is put on top riders and horses, that may actually improve things.

I have had horses that are not ridden and are just pets. However, I also had one who genuinely loved his hacking and cross country. When he retired, I would still hack him gently because he enjoyed it.

I will still watch the Olympics but hopefully welfare at the top of the sport will improve now there is a spotlight on it.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Dressage is simply a correctly trained and balanced horse,
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Historically yes. But it prepared a horse for war. It wasnt their only function. Those same horses travelled, ridden, long distance. Officers rode horses. So men who had never previously ridden were plonked on a horse and told to get on with it. And most of the horses used in two world wars had never done dressage. If anything, they had hunted and played polo.
 
The call out needs to start right from the local shows, we all know local riders/yards/instructors that do things that ate abuse, we also know those who manage to stay just this side of what people would call abuse etc.

Start at the top and the bottom and meet in the middle. More local shows are taking welfare and peoples attitudes to their horses and others more seriously (the munstead thread) but it needs to be more hard hitting.

Local venues need to communicate who those bad apples are and do combined banning etc......

Edited to add the below

I dont think it should be banned, but we need to go back to the Less is More state of mind. I do see some elite riders do all their GP moves bareback and in a head collar.....so it goes to show that the spurs, doubles etc are not actually needed. Allow people to compete in any level in a simple snaffle. There are those horses who would go up the levels nicely in a snaffle but dont because they dont like the double (I know of one like this years ago)
 
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