Program on BBC iPlayer about Siberian horses.

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OLITOODLEPIP

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Last night I watched a program on these beautiful Siberian horses. A girl went and visited these herders, cut off from civilisation for a few weeks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jt4pk/Horse_People_with_Alexandra_Tolstoy_Siberia/

The horses were everything in their life. For work, travel, play, friendship and even food.

I found the end of the program so disturbing I couldn't even watch it. I understood that this is their way of life and without horsemeat, survival would be tough... But seeing a gorgeous mare who couldn't give birth, whacked of the head with an axe and strangled was a bit too extreme for me.

The girl who presented it was really annoying too. Her voice and pretentious attitude grinded at me.

Did anybody else see it?
 
Yep - there's a whole thread from last night: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4241838/page/1/fpart/1/vc/1/nt/4

Personally I didn't find it easy to watch a horse being bludgeoned to death, but it is the way of life of the people A Tolstoy was following. I think they are incredible people to survive in those conditions and the fact that it happens to be horses that they have to survive on is irrelevant. The equivalent would be reindeer herders in Finland, inuit in Greenland etc.

Alexandra Tolstoy's voice did seriously grate though, wonder if she's had elocution lessons..?
 
Yes I did. Have to say I had to turn away, kind of a 'I don't want to watch but I want to be informed moment'.

I think it is very inappropriate for the BBC to show this, at anytime (let alone primetime). With the amount of sick people in this country who seem to get enjoyment for animal suffering, and the amount of horse attacks each year, I think it was short sighted of them to show it.

I am actually going to write a letter of complaint to them about it. The way they 'put down' the mare was something that any couple of thugs could do imo, and wouldn't put it past sick people to try this (and think of all the gypsy ponies that are tied up ready for them
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For people who didn't see, they lassooed her, tied her to a pole, she ran around til no more rope left, virtually asphxiated herself, then they bashed her on the forehead three time with an axe and stabbed her in the heart. Very brutal, and horrid to see an animal treated that way. She even smashed through the fence the first time they attempted it.
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I can see that this is part of their culture, but really think they need maybe some more enlightenment from another culture and can maybe adopt a new method - we do change the way we work with horses all the time in the UK after influence from abroad (not a good example, but Parelli is one). I know that cows etc slaughtered in other cultures in Africa are killed with much less stress and violence
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I did have a look through the forums but didn't see anything. I'm new here.

I have to say I got excited for the horse when it tried to escape. It new exactly what was going to happen to it.
 
I was going to watch it last night but there was a warning at the beginning that it showed horses being killed so I turned over, glad I did.
 
Why do you think it was inappropriate to show an insightful documentary? We can't run society by avoidance in case people get ideas surely? If you think like that, there is no end to the programmes on TV that could influence people.
Plus I wouldn't have thought that any yob who might get ideas would look through the TV times and pick it out as a highlight of the week anyway.
I enjoyed it.
 
As I keep saying, it was a superbly documented account of their life, and I thought Alexandra narrated it very well. Real life is not pleasant. I think the fact that they had tried for four years to get the mare in foal shows they cared about their animals, they did not have the option of putting her for sale on Horse and Hound - she is part of their food chain.

There seems to be a lot of complaining, I think it is good to have some programmes about horses around the world. I am sure next weeks will raise some eye brows in some way or another, the Spanish can be tough on their horses too.
 
I thought it was a good program all in all. Well documented. But the presenter really annoyed the hell out of me. She was so girly and out of place.

Get Mr Attenborough out there
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I watched some but turned over before they killed the mare yes the programme was good and showed their culture but surely with guns so available world wide it could have been done more humanely, that was absolutely brutal in any country, i respect diiferent cultures and what they eat and how they survive but do it humanly.
 
They had cars, satellite TV and read newspapers. You're right. Perhaps offering them advice on more humane ways of killing the horse will be appreciated by them.
 
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