Ignorance is truly astounding...

Cadfael&Coffee

Cadfael&Coffee

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Just been sent this by a friend wanting me to give my opinion. I am, quite frankly, saddened by the level of ignorance and idiotic thoughts aired :(






KA
Are we meant to sit and ride on horses?

ZW
Yeah i reckon as long as they are loved and looked after. Altho i disagree with police use as pollution they breathe following traffic and noise at riots thats just cruel. But on Whole for riding and pulling homes etc they been used for years in many countrys. And Respected too x
51 minutes ago · Like.

KA
How about those eye block things they put on them? Makes me sad when I see those. Horses are just as enslaved as us... with stuff pulled over their eyes
51 minutes ago · Like.

DBD
Aren't the blinkers used to stop the horse from being freaked out by things it sees moving in its peripheral vision? I think seeing something move out of the corner of their eyes causes them to turn or bolt just like they would of something touches their flanks.
40 minutes ago · Like.

KA
Because we never know for sure whether the horse allows us to sit on it, ride it, direct it, control it, cover its eyes etc.. because there is no 2 way communication - then we will never know for sure. Imo, if you think about it, the answer is very obvious.
36 minutes ago · Like.

LF
eye blocks are actually blinkers put on to stop them from spooking at things moving that are not in front of them. not actually cruel at all and have been used for a long time for this reason. :)
33 minutes ago · Like.

LF
alternatively listen to Ds reply, he seems to have written it in a far better way than i have!!
32 minutes ago · Like.

KF
When was the last time you spoke to a horse and asked if it minded having its eyes partially covered? :P
31 minutes ago · Like.

LF
i have kept horses since i was very young and believe me if they didn't want to do something then they wouldn't! its half a ton of animal with its own mind!
29 minutes ago · Unlike · 2.

KA
I dunno
I respect the fact that you've kept horses, but when I look into their eyes, when their freedom is not their own but defined by another - I see something else. My heart goes out to all enslaved horses.
26 minutes ago · Like.

SP
like we give children piggy back rides, i suppose a horse feels the same, to give love brings love. but this trust and connection with them is at current, more often abused. Also would say we have the means and technology to use horses only for riding, not working and the dessition to be ridden or nt should be the hourses choice. free will
16 minutes ago · Like · 1.

KA
I suspect that horses are benevolent love beings and so they serve humans out of love... I do think it is abused a lot though, and obviously not just horses, but oxen, camels, donkeys etc. I disagree with the eye blinker thing... imagine if it was done to us. I'm pretty sure if you asked a horse if it wanted some of its sight taken away, it would not agree to it.
12 minutes ago · Like.

LB
If a horse ever got the chance, he'd sit on you and ride you and everyone you care about Jimmy!
5 minutes ago · Like.

DBD
I was only commenting on the purpose of the blinkers and wasn't providing my personal opinion about the ethics behind it and horse riding in general.
In an ideal world all horses are treated with love, care and respect without being broken to be ridden/tamed, but I know this isn't the case.
I am strongly against horse racing due to the clear suffering involved, high death rates and the perception that as as soon as a horse is 'past it' then it's sent to the slaughterhouse. I would need to carry out some research to find out if that is a perception or a cold reality.
My initial reaction about horse riding though is that they are not made to suffer but I do concede that captivity no matter how comfortable the prison or kind the wardens is a form of suffering.
I have a friend who works in stables and I know that she has a tremendous amount of respect and love for the animals in her care and would never knowingly permit suffering or cruelty.
Perhaps the greater question is whether owning animals, whether they be horses, dogs or even goldfish, is a form of slavery or a form of devotion. Also would having children have the same potential for debate? After all, babies communicate discomfort and dislike in the same way as animals; by gesture and noises. Are children not subject to conditioning and a form of taming?
3 minutes ago · Like.

CE
Some good points K. I raised the same questions when I was a child. I got pretty much the same answers, which contain "it's ok, we've always done it" somewhere in the replies. Humans are arrogant and we tend to believe we are the masters of all animal. We are the masters of weapons only. The greater percentage if animals would whip us in an unarmed fight. Anyway, back on topic. Simply riding animals for fun and jumping over things is bad in my view but were used to it. And in defence of Laurel, if you give love to a horse, and want to sit on it and allow it to run, it will not mind.




???????? Just, wow!!!
 
I think that it's one of those situations where it's best to just smile and say nothing :) though LB's response did make me laugh
 
Nutters. Reminds me of daughters small friends asking if it hurts when they burn the hooves & put nails in when farriers there!
 
My brother-in-law is a strict vegan and has aired similar opinions about horse riding being cruel. He thinks keeping any kind of pet is cruel though, so I'm not sure he is the most balanced of people.
 
This made me LOL, especially the 'benevolent love beings' bit!
Perhaps we should all gather around in a drum circle and use healing crystals to project our deep love and respect onto these creatures that 'serve us out of love'.
Some people live on another planet, I swear!
 
Haven't got too much time to reply to this, I have to go and capture my horses, submit one of them to forced labour and then imprison them overnight.

Laters
 
Reminds me of something I overheard at Blair Castle HORSE Trials last year. Standing watching the showjumping, the girl next to me (teenage) turned to her dad and said:

It's just so cruel. They get strapped up in leather and beaten til they jump. Horse riding is cruel.

I did feel like commenting 'why did you come to a horse show then', but kept my mouth shut.
 
Is it ignorance, or is it just having a very fluffy outlook on life?

I do wonder where they think all the happy little liberated ponies would live if we didn't keep them though :p
 
Agree with JFTD about where do they think all the fluffy wuffy ponies would go if they were all " liberated " ! Reminds me of the time that idiots " liberated" 200 mink from a mink farm. Result = all local wildlife wiped out within a month. That worked didn't it !
 
Magnetic Sparrow said:
Haven't got too much time to reply to this, I have to go and capture my horses, submit one of them to forced labour and then imprison them overnight.

Laters
Click to expand...

lol enjoy :D:D:D cruel, cruel person

disturbingly, just people who are friends with my friend- he is actually reasonably intelligent, so what he's doing with these eejits is beyond me!! :eek:

i'm still reeling from the stupidity!!
 
What's cruel is us as owners having to work as slaves for years to be able to afford to support our horses and wait on them hand and foot ;)
 
Haha, JFTD, you're totally right. If horses weren't pets/ridden/work animals, they'd be food or we just wouldn't have them! There might be a few wild herds, but there wouldn't be a glorious utopia for horses like they think!

It really does make me wonder when I see things like that.
 
Cadfael&Coffee said:
disturbingly, just people who are friends with my friend- he is actually reasonably intelligent, so what he's doing with these eejits is beyond me!! :eek:

i'm still reeling from the stupidity!!
Click to expand...

ahhh and there you have the answer, i'm betting these people think they are highly intelligent and like to sit around having discussions on subjects about which they really have no knowledge ;) The use of long words (which no one really knows the meaning of) and phrases which even they don't understand ('benevolent love beings') gives them away.
intelligence doesn't seem to go hand in hand with common sense sadly;):D
 
Well the blinkers stuff was a bit random :confused: but as for the other stuff, they kind of have a point. I have more respect for the vegan perspective on animal ownership than the sort of half-arsed principles most people seem to have about how some animals matter and some don't, some must be free and some its fine to keep, etc (which I kind of have myself, lol). Those people aren't making their points very well, I'm not sure they know what points they are making exactly, but I'm interested in the ethics of riding and this debate came up on a google search. I've not read it yet but I thought i'd post it in case anyone else is interested in other perspectives.

http://www.animalsuffering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8245&sid=11bef303acb471d4906e24496c0926b1
 
In my mind I've never "owned" an animal. I have animals that live with me and who I try to ensure are as free as possible to express their natural behaviours. They aren't my slaves or there to boost my ego in some way, they're friends and how many times do animals turn out to be better friends than the human kind? They wouldn't respond to us as they do if the only hold we had over them was as possessions. :)
 
I'm just off to remind the pony that bit my friend earlier that he's a benevolent love being. *collects joss sticks and wind chimes*
 
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