The first step towards improving the lives of American equines is making the public aware of what constitutes cruelty. Some forms of equine cruelty target specific types of working horses. One example is towards the gaited horses, like Tennessee Walkers. They are the victims of soring, a method of getting the “Big Lick” using chemicals and other techniques that cause intense pain. Chemical soring involves the application of caustics like kerosene, diesel fuel, etc. to the leg, which is then wrapped up to “cook” the chemicals into the skin. Although this produces obvious scars, some owners then apply a stripping agent that gets rid of them; also causing further pain. Mechanical or physical soring involves trimming the hoof or applying devices …show more content…
Another group are show horses, in all disciplines. One specific example is the tying of Western Pleasure Show horses’ heads up overnight, with no access to food or water. This leaves the horses’ so tired in the morning that they keep their heads hung in the show ring, to create the movements wanted by their riders. The people who do this forgo the proper, correct training for the movements; instead choosing to take the “easy way out” (Green, 2014). Still another example is the carriage horses used in big cities for tourism. These horses work long days pulling carriages on hard asphalt or cement roads, causing damage to their feet; and in the summer, they are very likely to get heat …show more content…
New laws need to be made at the state and national levels to ensure complete authority. People need to contact the representatives on the animal committees such as the House Committee on Agriculture or the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry (Congressional Committees and Subcommittees, 2015), or the NC House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and push for them to bring bills to the table. Then they need to contact their representative to get them to vote for the bills that are on the table. On July 16, 2015, an anti-horse slaughter amendment offered by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) was approved by the US Senate Appropriations Committee for the 2016 agriculture spending bill (ASPCA, 2015). Concerning bills that are already passed, all will need to be evaluated on efficiency and relevancy. Some laws may not be up to date, or may possess loopholes allowing offenders to go unpunished. Each law will need to be looked at, and if need be, brought back to the table to be rewritten. In 2013, updates to the provisions in North Carolina’s Chapter 99E. Special Liability Provisions. Article 1. Equine Activity Liability; Part 2. Farm Animal Activity Liability were made to
The article, Show Horse Welfare: Evaluating Stock-Type Show Horse Industry Legitimacy, explains how stock-type horse associations deal and handle those who treat horses inhumanely. This article was accepted on 15 May 2015 and published online 23 May 2015. The main argument of this article is for the stock-type horse associations to figure out what they consider inhumane when it comes to the welfare of horses. Once they figure out what they consider inhumane, they need to punish those who violate those rules and to educate those further on the abuse to horses in the show world so it can be fixed. The thesis is describing how the exhibitors of these stock-type shows are influenced by personal and environmental factors of inhumanely treating horses
Soring is a cruel practice used on horses to exaggerate their gaits. It is commonly found in gaited horses such as the Tennessee Walking Horse. Chemicals such as mustard oil, diesel, or kerosene are put on the legs of the horse and left there for a few days. This causes painful sores, and to avoid detection at shows they often use a chemical stripping agent to get rid of the scarring. Then action devices such as chains are placed on these sores to make these horses accentuate their gaits. Another type of soring is grinding down the sole of the hoof to expose the sensitive tissues. These methods often make the horse pick up their legs higher and faster (AVMA, 2012).
Gaited horses, like the Tennessee walking horse, for example, are a special type of horse. Tennessee walking horses naturally have a higher step. That high gait decreases bouncing and makes a smooth ride for the rider. In walking horse shows, the horse with a highest gate wins the competition. This gate is known as the “Big Lick.” To produce an even higher gait, many trainers have used chains or special horse shoes that cause more pressure on the hooves of a horse. This practice is known as soring, when people cause pain to the lower legs and hooves of a horse to speed up the training for a high (Gang). Thoroughbreds are used for one of the most famous equine sports ever; horse racing. However, these fast horses have a secret that make them go even faster. Performance-enhancing drugs are used by veterinarians, trainers, and owners. This increases the horses speed, but the drugs are used way too often, and therefore damage the horses bones (Cohen). Whips are also a tool of encouragement in the racing industry. That is also hard to separate into black and white. One horse may shy away in fear from the whip, while
Horses are very much a social and many of the show horses are forced into small stalls without any social interactions with other horses or able to forage for hours like they would normally. Antonia J. Z. Henderson writes in her article states that, “Performance has tended to be a key indicator of a horse’s psychological health.” She also says that out of 1,750 competitive horses, 32% are dressage, 30.8% eventers, and 5% are endurance who are then put back in their stalls with no break from their “home.” When these athletic horses are forced inside tiny stalls they get bored like a little kid stuck in time out. The consequences to this boredom is wood chewing, cribbing, and pacing in the stall. A big downside to the these very active horses is ulcers inside the stomach. The easiest way to fix these boredom issues is being allowed to have a buddy to fix their social needs and allowing the horses to graze a couple of hours in the day. Most of the inhumane treatment is supposed to be the “best” thing for the horses in their show life, but is making their life worse. Imagine what makes you you being taken from you and you are left with nothing, but the leftovers. This feeling is what horses feel when they are put in a high demanding active lifestyle and treated inhumanely. Being able to hang with other horses and able to graze on grass will increase their performance from where it
Throughout the history of American Quarter horses the main issue of the industry is the extent amount of drug usage on horses. The use of drugs on horses can help for healing and speed up the time of injury recovering, yet most of the time drugs hurt the horses. Today, this abusive action has only increased since the founding of the association. Quarter horses are jeopardized by having drugs injected in them to gain endurance and speed, but people fail to mention the risks that can occur. Injecting horses with dangerous drugs can cause heart attacks that may cause death after their race.
An example of horrible treatment of horses is... In Musselburgh, Scotland, a horse named Madelyn Blue shattered his leg in the last race of the day. It was described as, “...appalling... there was just skin holding the leg on...”. Even after the “appalling” injury, he still continued to race, like before. Due to the horses feeling no pain from their injuries, they become very sick, and infected. The result is 400 horses are raced to death every year. Let's not let one more.
trailers with out victuals, dihydrogen monoxide or relaxation. Then they're brutally slaughtered, and their meat is sent foreign places for human consumption. most people of those horses
Other defenders of anti-slaughter legislation, have several reasons for their objections. The first is the assertion that, during transport to slaughter “horses, despite USDA oversight, suffer during transportation to
One may wonder what equine therapy even means, in the article “Equine Therapy: Substance Abusers’ ‘“Healing Through Horses”’, explains how equine therapy has helped individuals that have gone through a tough time in their lives and need an alternative to change their lives around in a positive manner. Therapy with horses has also been proven to individuals that have certain disabilities as well. There are two organizations that do exactly that, the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association and the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.
In the year of 2007, congress, after relentless pressure from animal rights activists, enacted a ban on the United States horse slaughter industry. This left ranchers, farmers, and horses to face the consequences. While lobbyists meant to help the horses of America, they have negatively impacted these animals in many ways. The ban on horse processing should no longer stand because of what has become of the horse industry, and the life of American horses. It has led to more animal abuse than previously existed, negatively affected the horse industry and economy, and let the American equine population grow to nearly unmanageable heights.
“I predict that the natural hoof care practitioner of the future will be less of a trimmer, than a diagnostician of healthy changes in the hoof and an expert at creating natural behavioral stimuli in the track that serve the adaptation mechanism”(Jackson). What I will be talking about in this research paper is shoeing horses. Contemplating the workings of horse hooves, I found that a horse being shod does not hurt the hoof like so many would argue because when a horse is working on hard ground - the wearing down of the hoof is greater than the hoof growth and protection prevents soreness. My main points throughout this paper will be the history of horseshoes, different types of hooves, how natural selection has been prevalent in Mustangs,
The abuse that the Tennessee Walking horses are forced to endure is completely unnecessary. Soring techniques are used to achieve an extremely unnatural gait. This desired gait is the
In October of 2012, a Jack Russell Terrier puppy named Phoenix was set on fire in Buffalo N.Y. The woman who discovered him was attracted by black smoke. She managed to put out the the flames with her sweater and proceeded to rush him to a small animal hospital with severe burns over his whole body and a serious ankle infection. Although he lost 60% off of both of his ears he maintained almost complete mobility of his leg. He still has a slight limp. Judi Bunge, a senior vet technician at Buffalo Small Animal Hospital who had been looking after Phoenix, adopted him soon after he had fully recovered. He now lives with Judi and her two other dogs. "Phoenix will become a therapy dog and continue his work as an ambassador for the
What could be more romantic than a leisurely carriage ride on a warm summer evening? According to Peta, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, “In the late 1980s, Whitey, a nine-year-old gelding, collapsed while pulling a carriage during a summer heat wave in New York City. A passing nurse gave Whitey an IV saline solution, and sympathetic police officers sprayed him with cool water for two hours. Eventually Whitey managed to get back on his feet. Another carriage horse, Misty, died from apparent heat exhaustion during the same heat wave.” We need to stop this abuse to horses, these innocent horses are dying for our amusement. Horse drawn carriage rides should be abolished because drivers are not
To reduce stress in horses during handling it should be done humanely, and efficiently as possible while maintaining safety of the handler, and the horse. Handling should only be performed by an individual that is familiar with handling horses because restraints using tethering if not done correctly can easily cause injury to the horse, and put the handler in danger (1). To avoid over stressing horses at True West Paints they slowly introduce new environments, for example bringing them into a progressively larger pasture if they have only ever lived in a stable setting during their competitive lifestyle. Other methods of not distressing a horse can include using a buddy horse system, making them more comfortable while being handled as horses are herd animals. It is recommended practice to have a vaccine, and parasite control program along with regular health checks in place that have been discussed with a veterinarian based on the horse’s lifestyle, and risk factors (1). Vaccines are used by True West to help prevent any infectious diseases, and a parasite control program is in place, so the horses are not full of worms, or other parasites. Bandages of limbs are used to prevent injury, or protect a current injury from getting worse, or contracting an infection, for example tetanus, out in