poor old totilas in the news again

Poor horse.
And that's what he is, a horse! He deserves to be treated like one, not some princess who must be guarded from the outside world at all costs.
I bet he'd love a good gallop around with a proper herd.
 
Yes the stallions at the national stud here get turn out, albeit with very high fences round them but still get turned out and have a very high value (millions).
 
Mistlekins said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong but don't all top racehorse studs get turnout, or at least in hand grazing? They must surely be just as valuable and fiery.
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But I also used to visit Storm Cat at the farm. Now the stallion that commanded the biggest stud fee ever used to be out 24/7. No rugs. They only time he came in was during thunderstorms. The farm had it's own doppler radar system. So when going to visit SC you got to see him all scruffy and being a horse. You also had to bring peppermints. I have a pic of me with him and will try and upload in the morning. I was going through a really bad hair period at the time so I'm not looking too good!
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^Written by Equilibrium Ireland in her Fluffy Bunnies Or Is It Because We Can Try And Do Better? thread.

ETA. The stud fee was $500,000.
 
I hate the authoritarian 'rolkur, don't turn out or hack your prize horse' school of thought, but the report contains the following:

A German magazine, FOCUS, has claimed that the Frankfurt prosecutor is examining a secretly filmed video showing Totilas weaving in his box.

Really if weaving is their evidence, I don't think it's much of a case. There are plenty of horses living the life of Reilly who do that. I do genunely feel for Totilas and feel, like many stars, that he is cursed by his talent. But they do have to come up with better than that if they want to make a genuine case for him.
 
Thankyou Faracat. I think PETA are a bunch of nutters but if that's what it takes to bring about changes then it's a good thing. I also agree with the point that it this were a zoo animal we were talking about, like that poor old elephant a couple of weeks ago, it would be mainstream news.
 
Mistlekins said:
Thankyou Faracat. I think PETA are a bunch of nutters but if that's what it takes to bring about changes then it's a good thing. I also agree with the point that it this were a zoo animal we were talking about, like that poor old elephant a couple of weeks ago, it would be mainstream news.
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LOL I always used to think they were nutters as well.......now I'm not too sure!!!! Extremists perhaps, but perhaps we need to rethink some of our current practices...!!!
 
Pale Rider said:
Peta may have made the initial allegations, and considering the high profiles here its not hard to understand why.

However, now this has been said,

"But on 6 December, Frankfurt prosecutor Doris Möller-Scheu told German newspaper Die Welt that she would investigate the claims.


“Based on the assessment of the [state] animal welfare officer, we decided not to drop the case,” she said. "

Frankfurt proscecuters obviously feel that there is evidence to support a prosecution, if they feel that then obviously a prosecution should go ahead as it would with any other horse or individual.
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ridefast said:
Just because he's not the only stallion kept in isolation with no turn out doesn't mean it's right, and hopefully if this prosecution goes forward it may mean better lives for other horses. No other animal do we expect to live in conditions so completely opposite to the way they have evolved. If you went to a zoo and saw animals kept like that there would (and usually is) be a huge public outcry. But because Totilas isn't the ONLY one kept like this it's fine. How many threads on here where the OP asks for advice on a horse, goes along the lines of hasn't had much turnout and the response is always move yards! More turnout! But Totilas, oh no he's a stallion it's fine. It is NOT fine, there is no reason why he can't have as normal a life as possible. Poor horse.
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I was going to post a detailed response on this thread but you two summed up my thoughts completely.

Keeping a herd animal in isolation with no turnout is a welfare issue, it is inherently cruel and deprives T of his some of his basic needs. In many countries the declawing and debarking of cats and dogs is illegal because the actions of scratching/sharpening claws and barking are considered natural and normal expression and to stop an animal from doing that is emotionally cruel. What is happening to T is no different. I don't care who got the ball rolling on this, I hope it sticks and a successful prosecution is achieved
 
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