is this cruel? has anybody seen it being done?

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vickyconnolly

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my friend ATM is working in a zoo as a vet nurse in Abu dhabi.
she spoke to me yesterday to ask why of a night do the keepers tie 2 out of the five horses legs together. they are in a sand turnout paddock over night. he ties their front left legs to their back left legs so they can just about walk but no more! he just uses a piece of rope. I said I thought it was to stop the them from kicking. has anybody seen this being done and how safe is it?
also does anybody have any experience of caring for riding school horses in Abu dhabi? are they well cared for? thank you! tor.
 
IMO it is cruel. Horses are flight animals and need to be able to run at a seconds notice if they feel threatend! It sounds very dangerous, especially if it is done overnight, as for the most part, they will be unsupervised! If iy was to stop the Horses kicking, it would be much better to stable overnight. But I guess different cultures and countries do things differently to us (not that it makes this right)
 
vickyconnolly said:
my friend ATM is working in a zoo as a vet nurse in Abu dhabi.
she spoke to me yesterday to ask why of a night do the keepers tie 2 out of the five horses legs together. they are in a sand turnout paddock over night. he ties their front left legs to their back left legs so they can just about walk but no more! he just uses a piece of rope. I said I thought it was to stop the them from kicking. has anybody seen this being done and how safe is it?
also does anybody have any experience of caring for riding school horses in Abu dhabi? are they well cared for? thank you! tor.
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So excuse me for asking but from the above I take it that

There are five horses in total

(And not that there are some horses with five legs of which two are tied together which is what I first read (dont mind me!)

They are in an enclosed sand arena and not an area they can get out

The horses tied to themselves but not each other


Ok then

Does the zoo have a riding school?

or is part of a different establishment?

Does your friend have responsibility within that part of the zoo / riding school

The only thing I can think of is to question the keeper as to why this is been done and to politely suggest another solution

Or to make a recommendation further up the command structure that this is a dangerous practice..
 
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I am not sure from your description, but it sounds like they are using a sideline hobble

Most British people will think it is cruel, mostly because we no longer understand hobbles and prefer to shut our horses in 12x12 stables for hours on end as the kinder alternative

Sideline hobbles can be useful for kickers as the leg shattering double barrel is avoided. They are also sometimes used on horses that will pace the paddock rather than settle down

If used with proper equipment (leather non chaffing round the fetlock) then its not technically cruel

I prefer not to use hobbles unsupervised, as horses are liable to get themselves tangled up. However at least a hobble trained horse will not damage themselves panicking.
 
Spiritedly said:
Can't quote as I'm on my phone but Fiagai my first thought was 'they must be stallions ' lol
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benson21 said:
Fiagai said:
(And not that there are some horses with five legs of which two are tied together which is what I first read (dont mind me!)
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I am so please its not only me that thought that!!!!!
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Ok good so its not just me...I appear to have a talent of reading such things slightly differently...:o
 
Here's the pic from said friend in dubai

IMG_6756.jpg
 
When my mum used to live in Africa they did that, when travelling over night by horse, when they camped they hobbled the horses so they could graze around the campsite and not gallop off, but unlike tethering they could eat more. This was in Lesotho, and I dont think anything got eaten by Lions etc.
She also said in Lesotho that when the mare had a foal they would give them a few days then start working the mare and the foal would run alongside.
Although you may say this is cruel, the white people had a reputation for breaking horses when lent to them because they would ride them too hard.
 
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