The Truth Behind Most Horse Competitions Part 1

 

Horses and riders compete all around the world, when a lot of people think of horses or horse riding, they either think of horse racing or other competitions that include riding the horse and trying to win. There are images all over the internet of horses doing show jumping, barrel racing, horse racing, harness racing, horse racing, etc. 

It seems normal and common right? Riders with their horses competing and winning ribbons? It's even a huge career for many.

The competition part of the horse world is a huge part and well, most trained, domesticated horses have either competed once or a few times in their life or, are being competed. Many people think, because it's normal and common and because they haven't done research and study on it, that all these competitions are fine and they don't think much of them, and they think they are really well trained. 

But the true, devastating reality is that most of these horses competing aren't actually super trained and obedient as they seem, they are actually being treated cruelly, even abused and they only obey out of straight fear- most the time, fear of pain.

Think about that for a moment. Abused? Now who could ever do that to a horse, right! Like, how! I don't understand why in the world people are so cruel to such kind, gentle and magnificent creatures! It's simply horrible. 

Please don't believe now that every horse competing is bad, because that's not true at all. Lot's of people who own horses love their horses and still compete, and usually treat their horses well, and they don't try to or purposely hurt their horses, they just compete for the fun of it! 

But then there are people who compete their horses and are quite serious about winning. Those people just do what others advise them to do, in order for their horse/s to win, and they don't really think much of it even if it's mean, they usually just think, 'ah well horses are tough enough, they can handle a big bit in their mouth and all these training aids and gadgets.' These types of people view horses almost as just "working machines" and really tough so they can handle a lot. And these people usually end up hurting their horse/s. 

Then, there are riders/owners who literally don't care one bit about their horse and they only just view them as a "working machine." All they care about is- winning, money and fame. That's it. Even if it means abusing their horse, to try "solve" a problem or increase their performance, therefore to win, they couldn't care less about the horse. 

These people are the types that will shove a huge bit in the horse's mouth, yank on it really hard, whip the horse nonstop, lock them up in a stable without food or water as a punishment, put them on strong, illegal drugs and do a lot more secret cruel things just for the horse to win or do it's "very best!" That is just so cruel! 

You actually see it everywhere, but don't always notice it. So many images of horses competing are of the rider pulling on the bit really hard, and that's why a lot of horses yank their heads up, don't move forward or, if the mouth was damaged, are head shy. 

In these photos you see the horse's mouth open with the bit being yanked on, they are in pain, clearly! And that's also the main reason why a lot of horses have so many issues with training for competing-they are hurt or are being hurt, or were in the past, abused! 

Dressage.

Let's talk a bit about Dressage.

Dressage is the highest expression of horse training and is also one of the hardest styles of riding for horses to perform. Dressage can be traced as far back as ancient Greece.

The word "Dressage" originated from the French word, "dresseur," which means, 'to train.' This sport was primarily made up to discipline the horses. 

Have you ever wondered how the dressage horses always have their heads down and neck really curved? Well, that's because of Rollkur; rollkur is a practice of hyperflexion of the horse's head. 

Rollkur is used to ensure that no matter how stressful or forceful the dressage is, the horse will not raise it's head above the bit. Thus, it increases the scores in dressage competitions in training for dressage.

88% Of studies showed that hyperflexion causes severe damage to the horse, and it is very painful for the horse. It also gives the horse difficulty with breathing, causing the horse to get anxious and causes a lot of stress for the horse. Not just that but it also damages the horse's neck, thus sometimes causing arthritis in the vertebral joints.  

The person who created this was a Swedish Dressage rider named Pratik Kittel. He used the Rollkur technique in his warm-up lessons. This was so painful for the horse that it turned the horse's tongue blue due to the movement and yanking of the bit! That is full abuse! 

Most times, the riders or instructors will equip this gadget to the horse to forcefully keep the horse's head down so that it get's used to it and maybe will learn to keep their head down. The cruel thing about this gadget is that it connects to the bit and down to the horse's chest, connecting onto the saddle! So it's pulling the horse's head down along with the bit! 

The horse's actually ride with that during training for who knows how long! And then when the big day finally comes, they don't use that gadget and instead, because the horse is so used to having it's head forced down, they keep it down, while also the rider is keeping a lot of pressure on the bit. Not just that but they also use a 'double bit' which also is great for forcefully keeping the head down, which is also inflicting a lot of pain to the horse's mouth.

You can see in this photo how the double bit works for keeping the head down;

Another thing they do in dressage is spur usage. They always use spurs. They are used to get the horse's attention, and are also used as cues for the horse to move forward or laterally. 

But if the horse doesn't respond, listen or obey, the spurs are used to really hurt the horse, causing welts, raw skin and even bleeding. 

Now, spurs are considered a cruel tool to a lot of people. It is because they cause a lot of unbearable pain and bleeding. Some horse riders often kick their horses hard with their heels (and the spurs attached) to make them move faster. Using spurs these ways and rollkur is literally abuse. 

Horse Racing.

Now let's talk about the most popular sport. Horse racing. The horseracing industry is usually a very cruel sport that involves horses in various risks. Every year, around 700 to 800 racehorses are severely injured and killed.

The horseracing industry is all about bidding, money, winning and fame. If owners of the horses are too greedy about more and more money they abuse their horses.  

It's all about getting the horse to go faster. Those horses are trained to bolt at the sound of a gunshot and gallop at full speed. Some racehorses are even injected with illegal drugs to get them to just keep on running and not stop, full speed, and to mask up any pain they're experiencing. 

On top of that, racehorses also have a procedure done to them called the "tongue-tie." It's where the horse's tongue is tied around really tightly with a rubber band so that the tongue doesn't go over the bit; if the tongue goes over the bit, the rider loses a considerable amount of control over the horse.

A lot of the jockeys also pull really hard on the bit, and when the racehorses have the bridle put onto it before a race, they shove the huge bit in their mouth and keep it really tight where the horse's mouth is open because of the pain, and a lot of racehorses (and other horses not just racehorses) are head shy because of that pain they've experienced with a bit. 

How do you think the jockeys get the racehorses to move faster? They use a whip and drugs. During the race they whip their horse so much to get them to move faster! Sometimes, racehorses are given performance-enhancing drugs to help them race better and sometimes even they are shocked during the race to scare them, thus they run even faster. 

A really common drug used for racehorses is "Bute." This drug is injected into the horse's joints and is used to hide pain in injured racehorses and reduce inflammation. 

"Bute" doesn't provide a horse the ability to run faster than it naturally could, but it does allow an injured horse to race. A horse with no pain will run as if it's not damaged; this is what kills them. 

In the horseracing industry, trainers also race Thoroughbreds that are as young as the age of 2 years! At two years old, the horses are not fully matured yet so this is very bad and a lot of young Thoroughbreds that are raced end up with so many problems, including lameness and broken inflamed joints.

Almost every racehorse ends up getting arthritis when they retire racing or even during racing. 

The racehorses are Thoroughbreds, and the way they were bred caused the breed to have fragile, weak and thin legs, and that's also how a lot of racehorses break their hips and legs during racing. 

So many racehorses die every year because they are abused and their bodies are pushed just too much so they die from exhaustion! 

There have even been scenarios where racehorses have dropped dead on the racetrack while galloping because they were pushed so much and abused so bad! I don't know about you, but I definitely do not at all agree with the horseracing industry.

Now that's what trainers do to the racehorses while racing and to enhance their ability to race-therefore win. But what happens to so many racehorses after they've done all their races and retired is devastating. 

Most times, once a Thoroughbred has either won heaps of races and is now retired, the Jokey stops racing or the horse is injured and can no longer race, they are brought by kill buyers. An average cost for a retired or injured ex-racehorse by a kill buyer is around $200-$400 each! As their name exposes, kill buyers buy horses to kill for meat. Then they sell the horse meat and make a lot of money. 

If ex-racehorses aren't bought by kill buyers then they are a lot of the time sent out to auctions to be auctioned off. But kill buyers are always looking for cheap horses at auctions. 

These ex-racehorses, so many who were abused and had horrible lives aren't even given a chance to live a bright future, how sad is that! 

Like I said before, horseracing is all about winning and becoming a billion-air, and if a Jokey only cares about the money, they won't care about where their ex-racehorse goes, so that's why a lot of those poor horses just end up being slaughtered anyway and their meat sold. 

There are so many other things I could mention about the horseracing industry that are so mean, but I think you get the point now; horse racing is, 90% of the time, plain cruel. Like seriously, why do horse's deserve to be treated like this? They are the ones winning the races, not the Jokey! They are the ones being abused and traumatized, I hate how so many people just don't care about these incredible creatures. 

"Horses are flight and fright animals that can run on fear, and fear alone; if horses are terrified or in pain, they can run sometimes until they drop dead."

Fear and force are not the keys to a better performing horse in any competition! You know what is, kindness, love and a deep bond and connection with your horse! 

So many people think that if you shove this huge double bit into the horse's mouth that you've got so much more control, that's not true one at all! 

So many horses during competitions end up literally running away with the rider on their back, just in straight fear! 

Now think of those riders who ride their horses bareback with just a rope around their neck! No bit, nothing enclosing their head, no saddle, and yet they can get the horse to do anything just with a strong connection and the rider understanding and fully communicating with his/her horse. It's so beautiful, and natural and the way I think it should be. 

I also created an article all just about the horse racing industry, it's called, The Horrible Truth About the Horse Racing Industry. 

Show Jumping.

You might not think too much about Show Jumping, but it can actually lead to being an abusive sport for horses. A lot of the time, riders will yank on their horse's bit a lot during a round. 

Show Jumping involves a lot of yanking on the bit and whipping. Some riders are so cruel that if the horse doesn't go over the jump and pulls it's head back, the rider will whip the horse and yank on the reins to try and get it to go over the jump. The reasons why the horse isn't gong over the jump is because it's scared and/or in pain. And so many riders just think it's because the horse just either isn't properly trained and disciplined or, it's being naughty and disobedient. 

The horse will not jump if your scaring it and abusing it by whipping it, yelling at it, jabbing your heels into it's side and yanking on it's mouth. That is not the way to handle this. It's the abusive way.  

Why are so many horses in competitions so scared and agile and timid? It's because they have been abused and are so afraid. They are afraid of being hurt by their rider. They live a life of force, fear and pain. 

So many horse owners who compete their horses inject them with illegal harmful pain-masking drugs and medicines that cause damage to the horses' body and nervous system. This is why I don't really like any competitions, because a lot of the time, the horses are treated so cruelly. 

The horse is the one doing all the work, not the rider! Yeah if it's, for example, horse racing, the rider (jokey) has to lose a lot of weight in order to race, has to have great balance to not fall off and hold tight onto the reins, but the huge majority of the work comes from the horse galloping at full speed and experiencing all that pain from the whip or the bit. 

If all that I've said so far hasn't convinced you at all or softened your heart a bit more towards horses, then I don't know what will. 

Hunter Jumping.

Hunter Jumping is actually really cruel most of the time. It's worse than Show Jumping. 

It involves a lot of whipping, spurring and yanking a lot on the bit. 

So many hunter jumping riders abuse their horses to get them to jump. The spurs and whips they use, most of the time end up hurting the horses and even abusing them during training. The riders also a lot of the time yank really hard on the horse's mouth, obviously causing pain in the horse's mouth, and they probably do other things that no one knows. 

It's basically the same as Show Jumping, but a lot more intense and way more often that the horses are abused. 

The difference between Hunter Jumping and Show Jumping is this- 

Hunters (the Hunter Jumping horses) are judged on their form, obedience, relaxation, and rhythm, while Show Jumping horses with their riders are judged for being able to do every jump without getting any penalties by knocking the poles down or even touching them. Hunter Jumping is a lot more intense. Show Jumping is an Olympic Event and Hunter Jumping is not. 

With Hunter Jumping, it's all about the horse. How the horse jumps over the jump and the way it's body moves with each stride and if the horse jumps with perfect accuracy or not. 

It's all about exact precision as the horse goes over the jump, perfect straightness, perfect balance and literally perfection. 

Show Jumping, it's about the horse and rider as a team, how many points they get for going over each jump without hitting or touching the poles or knocking them over.

So I guess that explains a little bit about why Hunter Jumping is generally worse than Show Jumping- because they focus on the horse. Therefore, the riders and instructors will do almost about anything to get the horse to "do it's very best" and perform it's "very best." But with this usually comes introducing training aids and methods that are cruel and sometimes even abusive to the horse. 

Hunter Jumping horses are also very often given really strong, and sometimes illegal drugs. 

Part 2 will be published asap. :)

If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.