Sky News thinks horse cruelty funny!!

JanetGeorge

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Shropshire/Worcs. borders
www.horseandhound.co.uk
Don't believe me? Look at http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-N...ia%252C%2BSpain

It's a report on a wild horse 'festival' in Spain where macho idiots wrestle horses to the ground, manhandle them and generally terrify them!! Sky's captions make it sound like jolly good fun!!

If you're as disgusted by this approach as I was, please e-mail the Head of Publicity, Stella Tooth - e-mail stella.tooth@bskyb.com - and make your feelings known!!
 
Those pictures are discusting.

But to be honest JanetGeorge. Sky News is a reporting channel. What can they do? They are reporting what they see? An animal rights in Spain would be a better place to email maybe ILPH may be a better place to email the news item to?
 
That is horrible - but I have to say, a lot less awful than many other things they do in Spain or some other countries. I don't care if someone says its their culture - we used to do things like this but have realised the error of our ways.

Just hope that more of them get injured than it shows on the pictures - people that is!!!
 
Well although it doesn't look that nice, it does say they are rounded up to be sheared and tagged, so presumably this is done for a purpose, not to terrorize them. Not nice for the horses at the time, but not that different to catching sheep for the same thing in this country?

No lasting harm done I'd imagine, I know I can think of far worse things that go on right on our doorstep.
 
looks a lot like what me and my OH get up to, trying to put headcollars on and worm the Newfies we buy at Beaulieu Road!!!
 
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But to be honest JanetGeorge. Sky News is a reporting channel. What can they do? They are reporting what they see? An animal rights in Spain would be a better place to email maybe ILPH may be a better place to email the news item to?

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Spain's treatment of animals IS pretty disgusting - but my immediate objection in this instance was the way Sky trivialised it with their 'jokey' captions - which basically would appear to MANY people to mean it was an ok way to treat horses!

Sorting out Spain is a major job for the international horse charities and politicians. Sorting out Sky's attitude to blatant animal cruelty WE can do!!
 
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Yes, it does look a touch familiar!! Not to mention doing much the same with the unhandled WB yearlings at a local stud where I get roped in to help . . . . . . .

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I would be rather horrified if studs in the UK employed THESE methods to handle yearlings they'd neglected to handle at a younger age - but presumably they don't turn it into a three ring circus and invite any macho Tom, Dick & Harry in to help - in hordes!!

Today I've had to catch a trio of yearling fillies who'd gone 'native' and bring them in for the farrier - if I'd used THOSE tactics I'd still be trying! And probably have at least one injured filly to deal with!!
 
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Yes, it does look a touch familiar!! Not to mention doing much the same with the unhandled WB yearlings at a local stud where I get roped in to help . . . . . . .

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I would be rather horrified if studs in the UK employed THESE methods to handle yearlings they'd neglected to handle at a younger age - but presumably they don't turn it into a three ring circus and invite any macho Tom, Dick & Harry in to help - in hordes!!

Today I've had to catch a trio of yearling fillies who'd gone 'native' and bring them in for the farrier - if I'd used THOSE tactics I'd still be trying! And probably have at least one injured filly to deal with!!

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i think you'll find both mine and Forester's posts were a tad tongue in cheek....
 
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Well although it doesn't look that nice, it does say they are rounded up to be sheared and tagged, so presumably this is done for a purpose, not to terrorize them. Not nice for the horses at the time, but not that different to catching sheep for the same thing in this country?

No lasting harm done I'd imagine, I know I can think of far worse things that go on right on our doorstep.

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Sheep never used to be tagged - new government initiative along with electronic id they want introduced.
Not shearing sheep is far worse than shearing them.
Ever seen anything with a major case of maggots?
Sorry to hijack the post
 
If you read my post, I am not saying shearing sheep is a bad thing.

What I am saying is that there is a bit of an overreaction because wild horses are being handled [for shearing and tagging] in a similar way as a sheep that has to be caught to be sheared.

It doesn't look that nice, but it doesn't seem like there is any lasting damage done, its not as though they are trying to hurt the horses.

Something like this is far less cruel than what millions of battery hens go through in the UK each year!
 
Oh good lord the bunny huggers are out.

If you need to round up tag, brand and castrate a bunch of wild horses, I cannot quite see the alternative. I'd like to see the parelli buffs waggling their carrot sticks and get it done in a day or a week come to that.

They are wrestling them to the ground as its kinder on them than using a crush like cattle, or jabbing them full of sedative.
 
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Oh good lord the bunny huggers are out.



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PMSL....

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Sorry get very defensive when people have a go at farmers.
Any method of handling an animal that is not used to it stresses the animal but is very soon forgotten about.
Carrot sticks are definatley not the way ahead in this case!!
 
tell me about it...i am SERIOUSLY thinking about buying a calf crush to put the newfies foals in whilst worming and getting a headcollar on!!

would save getting kicked and bitten!!
 
I think the thing about this though is that so much of what is done is about macho bullsh*t - and really about branding and trimming.

Sorry - I'm no bunny hugger, - but I think it's just terrible.

I can't understand why there is such a flippant attitude towards it.
 
There are only two choices for the headline -
"brave men about to get their heads kicked in" or
"Horses attacked by burly Spaniards"

Nothing else is going to sell, and frankly from handling my youngsters, good luck to them as bet most are bruised and battered after that!!!!!

As for the "flippant attitude towards it", why are you so sensitive???? Reality sucks doesn't it, and no I don't want the whole world to go PC furry furry to keep the sensibilities of a few animal lovers happy.

JM07 - you cannot use a crush, you risk breaking the legs!! Have thought about it though too!!
 
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JM07 - you cannot use a crush, you risk breaking the legs!! Have thought about it though too!!

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ah ok ...


but it would stop em kicking, eh?
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wow, interesting thoughts lol, well I'm no bunny hugger but I'm still disgusted by sky's make a joke out of this, soooooo the next time they report on this 'funny' story and there's a horse with a broken neck when some flash harry handles it wrong and twists it too badly/horse panic's and breaks a leg, all you who think it's fine and are laughing at the disgusted 'bunny huggers' remember your words and don't be outraged at the pictures of the dead one's or complain it's happened!

sheep are filed in one by one in a race to be sheared/wormed/feet trimmed, or rather they are where we are - same goes for cattle, it keeps them calm, they're not herded around in a large space with gawd knows how many people doing an action charge at them, the sheep here are brought in with a dog, quickly and quietly, if you stressed them like these horses you'd have a high ratio of dead one's from stress.

the sad thing is if they'd been penned and handled patiently the above would not have been necessary at all, and people who do this need to take a long hard look at their own methods perhaps.

ps/ I don't own a carrot stick or do parelli
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Ah, but you can design your own crush with solid walls!
A very large horse charity I worked for had one, that was used on a regular basis. Try dealing with wild ponies any other way and you're in trouble
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Ah, but you can design your own crush with solid walls!
A very large horse charity I worked for had one, that was used on a regular basis. Try dealing with wild ponies any other way and you're in trouble
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we have a good system now..solid barn wall and a half panel gate..it works well..just needs 3 people sometimes with all the kicking and struggling..

feisty little buggers....but it gets all the "nasties" over and done with in one 2 minute burst per pony...they get over it very quickly!!
 
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As for the "flippant attitude towards it", why are you so sensitive

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I'm not being sensative, just baffled as to why those of us that seem to find dressing up animal cruelty as something else are labled as bunny huggers.

Hey ho - if that's your thing.....
 
Well, I'm with AmyMay on this one - the reason sheep are handled in the way they are is because it is possible to do so with minimal struggling and upset to the sheep, and minimal risk of injury to both parties. I don't know how we deal with such things as tagging wild ponies here, but I'm willing to bet we don't do it like this. I think the way Sky has reported the story is disgraceful and I shall be sending my email of complaint off shortly.
 
I can see why some people find these images shocking but..
when a horse or foal finds itself restrained for the first time he reacts..STRONGLY. It makes no differance if its a macho spanish mans arms or a simpering parelli with a pressure halter. The horse will fight, plunge, kick, strike and rear. When horses are tamed from the wild or a foal is handled for the first time he or she reacts. That is because it is a horse. Any one who thinks otherwise probably has a horse that someone else has bred and taught to lead and tie-up. Anyone that thinks the Intelligent horsemanship or parelli trainers don't have fireworks when they yank on those string halters is misguided. After all why do you think they are called PRESSURE halters? They are extremley harsh and are designed to be. As for 'handling a wild horse wrong so that it breaks something' it is hard to stop a frightened horse from hurting itself - they dont tend to, but if it throws itself over then what are you going to do? catch it in mid air? Nobody likes to see horses injured but accidents happen.
 
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