From the moment you so much as consider owning a horse, a series of ethical dilemmas ensue unrelentingly until the horse dies.
There follow a few dilemmas for you to consider…
The horse’s need for company
Rider needs vs horse’s needs – competition
Time
Breeding & unwanted horses
Training method & coach selection
Gear selection & use
Horse choice
Lameness vs company
A horse requires [...]
What has changed since equestrian sports emerged from the Beijing Olympics (2008) in tatters with the dubious distinction of being the most drugged-up of all sports? A total of 8 positive samples from 6 horses were identified at Beijing, these being spread among horses from the German, Irish, Brazilian, Norwegian and American teams.
It has been [...]
Negative reinforcement gets a bad rap – after all, why would someone want to beat a horse? Why indeed! When asked about if they use negative reinforcement in their training, riders frequently assure one that they do not… ‘no, I only use positive reinforcement’ comes the earnest reply.
But in fact, negative reinforcement is indeed the [...]
The start of a new year… 2010… I want to share with you some words that – believe it or not – come from an advert (I can’t even remember which advert or what product… I’d simply clipped the words, adding them to my collection of ‘great things’…) [My apologies to the author; should anyone [...]
Downhearted and disheartened with equestrianism, exasperated by recent competition world developments including Patrik Kittel’s ‘blue tongue’ incident, and then, shortly after declaring that they serve the welfare of the horse, equestrianism’s governing body – the FEI’s proposed acceptance of anti-inflammatory/pain relief medication “bute” – phenylbutazone – for competition.
It seems that when humans compete, the horses’ [...]