American Equine Cruelty Analysis

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.

Chains, stacks, and diesel fuel… No, this is not a farm shopping list, these are just a few of the many items commonly used for soring Tennessee Walking horses. “Soring is the unethical and illegal practice of deliberately inflicting pain to exaggerate the leg motion of gaited horses to gain an unfair advantage in the show ring”( ). Despite numerous attempts, many Tennessee Walking horse shows allow soring ,and other forms of abuse, in their show rings and in their facilities. In order to eliminate soring from the horse industry, the current regulations need to be strengthened and strictly enforced. The use of soring techniques and general abuse in order to achieve an unnatural gait should be outlawed because it is unnecessary, inhumane, and causes a bad reputation for the horse industry

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

Each 12 months, greater than 100,000 American horses—operating, racing and associate horses and even children’s ponies—are inhumanely conveyed lengthy distances in cramped

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

“Horses are just animals. They do not feel anything. They are not human they do not understand or care what is happening.” These are some of the comments people make about horses and use as an excuse to use and abuse horses for their own pleasure. Many horses are on the worse end of the stick for the benefit of the rider or owner of the horse. As Les Sellnow states in her article, A Win at Any Cost?, “Yet, the show world has its dark side. There is a minority out there that will do whatever it takes to win.” This minority gives a bad rap for the show industry as a whole when it comes to caring for these precious animals. Some of the abuse these horses endure are excessive jerking of reins or spurring, forced to be in an uncomfortable position,

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.

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.

Contrary to other livestock that are raised specifically for human consumption, the purpose of breeding horses is for pleasure uses. As Lenz reflected “Horses processed for meat represent the lowest economic level of the horse population and typify the unwanted horse in the United States” (253). Therefore, when a horse ends up at slaughter facility, it is likely due to one or more of the following reasons, the owner no longer finds the horse suitable, the horse is dangerous, the horse is injured, the horse is unable to be re-homed, or finally the owner can no longer afford to continue feeding and caring for the horse. Arguably, rescue facilities to take in unwanted horses in the United States exist, however they “do not meet the needs to care for these horses due to limited capacity and funding” (Stull

In fact, the popularity of equine therapy has raised many questions about its effectiveness in enhancing both emotional and physical health. Some researchers argue that implementing the therapy with horses, domiciled and non-threatening animals, comes with unique challenges whereas others contend that working with them enables individuals with physical disabilities to learn empowering and noble ways of overcoming their limitations. For instance, using

“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,

According to Carriage Horse Action Committee, “Injuries and fatalities resulting from collisions between cars and carriage horses have occurred in almost every city that allows carriage rides, including Cincinnati, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah; Charleston, South Carolina; Denver, Colorado; Baltimore, Maryland; and Houston, Texas” (COALITION). Horse accidents have caused many death of both horse and citizens in many states therefore we need to protects not only the horses we also have to take care of the citizens. According to Carriage Horse Action Committee “A survey of national carriage horse accidents revealed that 85 percent of all accidents were the result of an animal spooking. Seventy percent (70%) of the time there was a human injury, and 22 percent of the time there was a human death” (COALITION). This means 85% of accidents are caused when the animal is spooked and 70% of the time there was human injury and 22% of that there was human death. According to vast amounts american citizens, “horse carriages provide immediate safety risks caused by horse carriages, jagged ruts made by carriage wheels are dangerous for cyclists, runners and pedicabs using the areas in and around Central Park” (Cruel...). This means by walking or running on the side of the road you could end up squashed or with broken bones from a horse

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

Horses are majestic and beautiful creatures. Unfortunately, they are often cruelly slaughtered and abused without reason. This is unfair to these poor horses who have so much potential.

A swift swish of a tail, wild eyes showing white, a rider pushing forward with a whip into a metal cage. Guns sound as the clank of metal gates opening spook the horses into a frightened run. Thoroughbred horses go through this regimen every time they step onto the race track. Not to mention the other cruelties that these animals face, to ensure their success in crossing the finishing line. Controversy has trailed the animals who are pushed to their limits for the entertainment of humans, but has it gone too far? A Thoroughbred was not originally their own breed of horse, racing has its negativities, cruelty along with abuse have crept its way onto the racetrack, and there are organizations working to promote the wellbeing of Thoroughbred racehorses.