What practices in the Equine world have shocked you?

wewillshowthem said:
Whats pin fired? Do i want to know?
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No - its supposed to be illegal in the uk - you have two choices Pin Fire or Chemical Fire - not quite sure which is the worst.

pin fire - hot irons are placed either side of the horses cannon bone and pressed on causing a trauma - hopefully the horse will have been sedated and be adminstered pain killers - the tendons will thicken up and horse will hopefully remain or become sound.....

Chemical firiing is the same trauma caused by putting caustic materials on to the cannon bone of poor animal - causing significant trauma and blistering - again hopefully horse will have pain relief

its BARBARIC and if this is going on in the UK i am reporting it !!!!!!
 
wewillshowthem said:
Whats pin fired? Do i want to know?
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From memory it's where tendons have lots of very small holes fired into them, it's supposed to encourage healing I think. You can usually tell a horse has been fired because its got lots of tiny dots over the tendon areas. I was under the impression it was illegal in the UK now?

Oops cross posted with Gingerwitch!

Edit again to add, look at page 10 of this link, official line from RCVS https://www.rcvs.org.uk/publications/rcvs-news-november-2011/rcvsnews-nov11.pdf
 
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Gingerwitch said:
No - its supposed to be illegal in the uk - you have two choices Pin Fire or Chemical Fire - not quite sure which is the worst.

pin fire - hot irons are placed either side of the horses cannon bone and pressed on causing a trauma - hopefully the horse will have been sedated and be adminstered pain killers - the tendons will thicken up and horse will hopefully remain or become sound.....

Chemical firiing is the same trauma caused by putting caustic materials on to the cannon bone of poor animal - causing significant trauma and blistering - again hopefully horse will have pain relief

its BARBARIC and if this is going on in the UK i am reporting it !!!!!!
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My horse has been pin fired I assume it was done in his racing days :(
 
I just googled pin firing and it said it was used when a racehorse had a tendon injury, instead of waiting a long time for it to heal the pin firing would, as above, cause trauma and basically stimulate the healing process. How awful some people are :(
 
PMU (pregnant mares' urine) farms where pregnant mares are confined to stalls with urine collection devices hung between their hind legs. The purpose of these farms is to collect the urine, which is rich in estrogens, and sold for HRT (hormone replacement therapy) production. In an effort to increase the amount of estrogen within the urine, the mares are often left without the recommended 2 waterings a day, so as to concentrate the urine. The mares are unable to lie down, turn, or change their positions in their stalls. They stand like this for 6 months of every year. There are thousands of foals born each year on these farms. Many are sold to feedlots for the meat trade. Many more are slaughtered soon after birth.
 
I am going to go out on a limb here and say twitching... I hate it! (yes I do know the scientific jargen behind it) doesnt mean I have to agree though.
 
very few things shock me any more, lots of things sadden me but over the years i have realised that the desire for success often outweighs common sense and morals and some people will manage to justify (to themselves) some truly extreme practices to achieve their goals:(
 
Breeding/mating practices that do not allow adequate time for teasing/courtship and rely on physical restraint to get covering done as quickly as possible. Yes, I know safety is a prime consideration, especially for ludicrously valuable animals, but I still find shocking the ritualized scenario that can be tantamount to rape.

Cutting the vocal cords of horses used in bullfighting to stop them vocalizing pain or fear.

The 'punishment' of horses many seconds or even minutes after the fact.
 
Parelli is top of my list.

Soring for the Big Lick.

As Fburton said, mating without proper time spent teasing - treating mares and stallions as objects which need to fit in with a modern time schedule, and disregarding their welfare.

Shaving withers.

Pin and bar firing. I worked at a stud and rehab yard for a few years, and had to take care of horses who had been fired regularly. It was horrific.

Rapping.

I'm sure there's a lot more!
 
RutlandH2O said:
PMU (pregnant mares' urine) farms where pregnant mares are confined to stalls with urine collection devices hung between their hind legs. The purpose of these farms is to collect the urine, which is rich in estrogens, and sold for HRT (hormone replacement therapy) production. In an effort to increase the amount of estrogen within the urine, the mares are often left without the recommended 2 waterings a day, so as to concentrate the urine. The mares are unable to lie down, turn, or change their positions in their stalls. They stand like this for 6 months of every year. There are thousands of foals born each year on these farms. Many are sold to feedlots for the meat trade. Many more are slaughtered soon after birth.
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Premarin is the name of the "drug"... widely prescribed here in UK. I agree this is horrible. What's wrong with Evening Primrose Oil????

Please boycott this drug and wite to Pfizers boss Ian Read. There is no benefit to HRT, it is known to increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. It should not be offered to women in the UK and if you know someone on it, it is better that they switch to plant based HRT. Ask their GP.
 
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Didn't read all replies but sorry the "most high end showing in the US", please do me a favor and do some research. No, I don't agree with it at all, but that is not "most high end showing in the US". That's like me saying I can't stand that practice in England of driving yearlings behind sulkies.

I don't like horses that can't be horses. An hour or two for comp horses in a safe field does them wonders. But I find most good pros will do this.

But really people who have horses that pretend they have a clue. Like putting your horse in mucky filthy pee soaked beds because you don't want them standing in mud. Having lie ins while your horses stand in filth hungry and thirsty. If you need your lie ins pay someone to look after your horses. And learn how to muck a box!

Terri
 
tallyho! said:
Oh what about the grand national? Not many would say that is cruel but why would a civilised society such as England, proud of its animals loving heritage, put 40 horses over jumps that clearly defy the ability of the horses... Hmmmmm. I think humans just like to be cruel.
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How do the jumps "clearly defy abilities of the horse"... the jumps are jumpable.... as the horses that get round prove.

Bet if you ask hunting folks out in Leicestshire how big they've jumped on a bog standard family horse, you would be approaching grand national sized fences...
 
In order to accentuate the dish some breeders will place a large elastic band around the noses of foals noses which restricts the growth of the nose thus causing a more pronounced dish.
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Can anyone find any evidence that this is true? I've never heard it mentioned on AL and they are very keen to expose inhumane practices.

TBH it doesn't sound like it would actually work. Think of foals with ingrown headcollars, even they don't cause a dish on the poor foal's head. Plus you don't want the head to be scarred and you don't want the foal to starve. You also don't want to cause a groove on the lower jaw.

Yes, there are some terrible things that happen in arab showing, which is why you aren't even allowed to shave off their whiskers in the UK.

Magnum Psyche supposedly was given plastic surgery to help him win in the show ring. The same horse was also supposedly beaten before entering the ring to give him extra 'pizzazz'.
 
Faracat said:
TBH it doesn't sound like it would actually work. Think of foals with ingrown headcollars, even they don't cause a dish on the poor foal's head. Plus you don't want the head to be scarred and you don't want the foal to starve. You also don't want to cause a groove on the lower jaw.
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Ned's face went the other way (giving him a more roman nose) when his headcollar was too tight in a previous home.
 
It's much better these days, thank goodness! This was a few years ago now :)
Nose-1.jpg
 
tallyho! said:
When I first heard about Tenessee walkers about 15 years ago I cried my eyes out and joined a petition, sent money to a campaign, and just recently a man was convicted only gets three years in jail. That is the pinnacle of showing cruelty in my humble opinion, makes Arab showing look tame.
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That's good. Look what this notorious abuser got. :mad: Anyone sensitive to nightmares etc. don't watch the related undercover video.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/2...ell-gets-probation-75-000-fine?nclick_check=1

I also am wondering why shave withers and what rapping is? Or is it wrapping?
 
Faracat said:
TBH it doesn't sound like it would actually work. Think of foals with ingrown headcollars, even they don't cause a dish on the poor foal's head. Plus you don't want the head to be scarred and you don't want the foal to starve. You also don't want to cause a groove on the lower jaw.
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I don't know if it would work but I have seen dents in nose bones from head collars left on foals/youngsters as they grew. :(
 
fburton said:
Breeding/mating practices that do not allow adequate time for teasing/courtship and rely on physical restraint to get covering done as quickly as possible. Yes, I know safety is a prime consideration, especially for ludicrously valuable animals, but I still find shocking the ritualized scenario that can be tantamount to rape.

Cutting the vocal cords of horses used in bullfighting to stop them vocalizing pain or fear.
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The rape of breeding mares is disgraceful imo. I didn't know about the vocal chords in horses used in bullfighting... not surprized though. :(
 
RutlandH2O said:
Please excuse my ignorance, but, what are tying in of show ponies, shaving withers, and rapping?
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I dont know either, and probably dont want to know. Can someone explain what this is?

Tennessee walking horses and soring is by far cruelest thing I have ever seen, although having said that, a human inflicting pain on any horse in any way, well they are all as bad in my eyes. So sad :mad:
 
IMO rapping is when a horse has a tendency to knock a jump so two people hold the end of a pole and raise it too hit a horses front legs as he jumps. this encourages them to jump higher "supposedly"
tying in of show ponies is in my understanding having them tied into an outline for extended periods of time even whilst stabled so they are used to goin in an outline
 
Watching a procession of healthy tb youngsters proceed to Potters as they were too small or young mares that were infertile that were lovely animals but valueless. I can understand why but doesnt make it great. Lucky for the last two midgets i now own them!
 
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