17-May-2008

Cruel tradition that kills horses

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Having found out that a man drowned a horse in a river at Appleby Horse Fair this year, I ask myself WHY do we allow these cruel events to continue in the name of tradition?

The daily washing of horses takes place in the river. Horses (including mares with foals trailing behind) are ridden into the water to be washed for the days trading. This ritual includes dunking the horses head under the water. The man in question rode the horse into deep water where he began forcing the horse under. Well of course the horse drowned as a result! This person then fled when he noticed how angry the crowd where. I hope he does get what he deserves if he's ever caught.

How many other horses need to die?

This has not been the only horse death at this fair and will certainly not be the last. How many other horses need to die in the river before something is done? Other horses are raced with carts at insane speeds along narrow roads missing spectators and other passing racers by merely inches.

As a horse rider myself who's horse has bolted with me on a tarmac road, I can tell you that horses can slip over very very easily. So this kind of event is basically another accident just waiting to happen! Some also tie a lot of their horses to barbed wire fences. It doesn't take a genius to know what damage can happen if one of those horses spooks and pulls back.

I'm fed up with the usual argument of "oh, but you can't do anything about it because its tradition". To hell with tradition! We used to traditionally hang "witches", should we have carried on doing that?! In cases like this tradition is NOT a good thing, and it is NOT an excuse to allow sick things like this to keep happening in what should be a modern civilised society!

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I think that it should stop because there is no need in it there is no fun in killing horses that have not done anything wrong.

bekki 05-Apr-2008 00:01

Not smarter A, but certainly a heck of a lot nicer

Nikki 04-Apr-2008 21:40

WHAT THE CRAP? You people are freakin losers! I hate You people! Horses are so much smarter than us humans.

A 04-Apr-2008 04:38

They got the B****rd!!!

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/155400.html

All is revealed 20-Dec-2007 12:57

Iremember the film gremlins.That lad bought gizmo and was told "dont add water".wot did he do?.....nuff said.

agony 26-Oct-2007 21:51

Bill: Then why read the post? You have the choice not to - the thread is entitled "Cruel Tradition that Kills Horses".

Thus, as you so intelligently have pointed out to us, this is "another horse post".

Nikki 11-Sep-2007 20:26

Another Horse post! How surprising, it is becoming the weekly horse gripe!

Bill D 06-Sep-2007 16:40

Oh Eddie, don't get me going on the RSPCA for goodness sake. They are sometimes not the paragons of virtue you would think them to be. They, like a lot of other charities, have got embroiled in PC'ness and have lost sight of their goal - to prevent cruelty to animals.

Nikki 26-Jul-2007 16:32

Iolanda

I'll give you two VERY good reasons.

1) This fair is not cruel. The horses that are taken into the river are all used to water and therefore do not get distressed in anyway. I think I'm right in saying that horses can swim and are in fact very good swimmers once they are used to the water. As is the case with humans!
This horse drowed because an inexperienced rider took a horse that was not used to water into the river. To quote the Daily Mail:
"As I understand it the horse was bought earlier that day by someone who was specifically told not to take the horse into the water as it was not used to it."

As I have said right from the START it was the rider who was to blame and NOT the fair!

2) What gives you the right to demand something is banned when you obviously no nothing about it! If this fair was so shockingly cruel as you make out then why has no animal charity such as the RSPCA called for it to be banned? It's just a bunch of do gooders like yourself.

Eddie 26-Jul-2007 10:04

Iolanda. I never said it was cruel to walk or trot a horse on the road - it was Eddie who put these words into my mouth! I said it was cruel to canter or gallop a horse on the road, which I believe they do at the Appleby Fair - either ridden or pulling carts. I didn't mention the head ducking bit as I didn't think I needed to - this is obviously extremely cruel by anyone's standards!

Nikki 25-Jul-2007 10:06

Nikki

I am sorry to contradict you as I have always considered you and I to have many things in common,
1... but it is not bad for ponies legs when they walk on the roads (it is bad though when they trot or canter on the roads).

2... the idea of forcing a scared, swimming horse/ponies head under water isn't the least bit cruel!!!??? Open your eyes people this maddness has to end. Give me 2 good reasons why this should continue other than " it has been going on for years ". There were countries in the world where they would drown a new born baby because it was female or not strong enough, that continued for years too.

iolanda 24-Jul-2007 18:01

Eddie,

No is implies an ought means that

just because something IS a certain way

it doesnt mean it OUGHT to be that way

your argument was that it is tradition and so should carry on just because it is a tradition which is a twatish argument.

Pooble 21-Jul-2007 14:14

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Cruel tradition that kills horses

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