Now, this is an interesting, thoughtful post. Gets right to the basics of
what we're all doing with athletic horses in the first place. The real
question: what can we ask of these innocents? Especially since we've chosen
to be their gods.
The fact that we use them at all is a kind of abuse. We don't ride Bengal
tigers around because they're not as pliable. We don't race cats. We only
race one breed of dog. We race pigeons, but not golden eagles. But we race,
and kill, thousands of horses every year.
Now, I'm in the horseracing business, perhaps the nastiest of all the
performance horse industries. But I look at all the others as similar, just
lesser degrees of the same kind of forced participation in a human activity.
Horses would prefer, I'm sure, to decide when to graze, when to run, and when
to go into the creek, all by themselves.
>From this point of view, I'm always a little put off by overly self-righteous
pronouncements about doing good for horses--if you really want to do good,
leave them alone.
Of course, this isn't realistic. Horses are domesticated beasts. Slaves. Like
camels and donkeys and reindeer and, in some places, elephants. Beasts of
burden and we're the burden.
So, somewhere in here, the most idealistic of us have already made a major
moral compromise. Given that existing abuse, the next best thing is to ensure
that we don't overabuse these animals--according to our own sensibilities,
not theirs. If we're going to put them to an athletic challenge not of their
own choosing, then it is our responsibility to ensure, as absolutely as
possible, that they are properly prepared to accommodate that particular
abuse.
Medicine, nutrition, houseing, care, conditioning--those are the basics that
we should be focusing on. Those are the basics that are important to the
horse. If everyone were to focus intently on these factors, then all the
politics and human frailties would be submersed in a genuine movement,
following a genuine yellow brick road.
Why am I in horseracing? Because that's where I can do the most. Why are you
in endurance? Hopefully for the same reason. Let's get back on track here.
This is serious business.
ti