Mirror of human abysses?

Transcription

1 Mirror of human abysses? by Maksida Vogt Equestrian sport a diagnosis Foreword At the present time different riding disciplines belong to leisure and an industry segment "sport". They are fully integrated and people who operate these disciplines smile at us from pages of various magazines, and they even get rewarded for their "sporting prowess". They are a role model for many people and especially for our children who like to imitate what they get modeled. The general public is often unaware of how sport horses are treated and how they have to suffer from the so-called "sport". Even though this is not generally known, yet the so-called "riding" is certainly an urgent case for animal welfare. I find it hard to believe that these so-called "sportsmen" perceive no sign of suffering which goes straight from the animal with which they have to deal every day. It is of much greater credibility that these people either sacrifice the horses cold-hearted to their own agenda or they themselves are victims of this cold-hearted environment. It is a billion dollar business, and in such business there is no room for compassion for these animals. It is of my concern to expose the abuses and the actors who are celebrated by thousands of people as heroes in the light of animal cruelty in which they move every day. And to question this practice. Western Riding, for example, is presented to us by people like Corinna Schumacher and also increasingly by Michael Schumacher, certainly the very popular contemporaries, as something good. People in the German media such as Sarah Connor or Frauke Ludowig ride as guests in this farm where the horses are kept as prisoners in the expensive boxes, cut off of all their natural needs. Are these the models, which we should orient ourselves to? Treatise 1. Western Riding Western riding, as well as most other equestrian disciplines, are based on various forms of use of the horse in the past, when the man began to use animals for our own purposes. Since 2000 is the Western Riding recognized as a discipline by the FEI's (an organization that claims to care about the welfare of the horses, while organizing "sport" events with such animals). But what we see here actually? And can anything call itself 'sport' that causes so much pain and damage to the horse's body?

2 What we see here is the animal in pain. Publicly demonstrated, publicly tortured. The mouth is wide open, the horse tries to escape the pain, a severe trauma which is caused in its mouth at this moment. A Vaquera horse shall stop suddenly, without much slippage. Incredible pressure on the loins and hindquarters, as well as tendons and front legs appears. Brutal maneuvers and forced high head, which is imposed on those horses with pain, leave severe damage in the neck and the jaw joints. Also, it is a bad habit to cut off the tail of a horse, its natural defense against insects and weather protection device. Especially in a warm climate, where the horse's tail serves as the essential protection against biting insects. Corinna Schumacher performing a sliding stop during a competition When do you see a horse in countryside or in a paddock performing something like this voluntarily? We are here to witness the extreme ignorance of our society which makes it possible, that these people openly misuse horses and openly cause a (detectable) damage to their body. In the discipline of Reining we see spins and sliding stops. When spinning, a horse turns quickly to the rear, which means an extreme strain of the lumbar region. When sliding stop, a horse stops from a full gallop with extreme placing of its hindquarters under the body and extreme arching of the loins, but it goes with the front legs even further, so that the impression of slipping occurs. Isn't it even visible in this picture, that this has to hurt? The entire body of the horse is affected, tearing with calcification in the areas of the semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles and genuine violations of the sacroiliac joints occur. All the exercises, to which these horses are brutally forced, result in a non-physiological stress of the deep flexor tendon, the lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, the shoulder muscles, the front and hind limbs and not to forget the hooves, as an important metabolic organ. Horses are nailed even special slip horseshoes. Which consequences shoeing lead to, you can read in the article: Treatise on Farrier Occupation

3 Now we face a question of whether these people who inflict something like this to their horses are aware of what they're doing at all? I assume that they do not know. If you watch videos of western riding this brutal riding way, with abrupt stopping, pulling on the sensitive horse's mouth, shock-like twisting and the general violent treatment of the horse you can not avoid the impression that these people do not even think about the animal as a living being, not to mention to be able to feel the horse. Rather, it appears that they could replace the living horse at any time by any machine. One can often see motorcyclists who treat their machines much more carefully. "Sport" horses in the Western riding have enormous wear and tear of joints and ligaments. More fatal is that Western horses get broken in very early, as "babies", in an age of years. 'To break in' = 'to break' the language is very precise, it means exactly what the term says.

4 Sarah Connor participating in a western riding competition. Foto: When you consider that the growth plate of caput ossis femoris (head of the femur) is not closed until up to 42 months and the epiphyseal fusion on the body of the lumbar vertebrae up to between 4,9 and 6,7 years (Wissdorf, Gerhards, Huskamp, Deegen, 2002) then that should tell a reader something about the abuse that these horses must suffer. In motion, starting from a walk to jumps, rational transmitting of the power from the hind limbs to the body is essential. These compressive forces are transmitted through bones and their compounds. The sacroiliac joints, and the transition from sacrum to the lumbar spine play a special role in the transmission eccentric forces generated on the hind limbs, the median preferred axial skeleton (Hantak and Horvath 1982; Rümens et al 2007.).

5 An effective power transmission requires a high degree of stability but while moving in the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint should therefore fulfill two functions: on the one hand, a fixation of sacrum between the iliac wings, on the other hand, the transmission of the power from the hind limbs to the spine (Rümens et al 2007.). As a consequence of the trauma (eg, sliding stop, spinning, cutting - Anm.d. A.) it can result in damage in the ligaments and be eligible for loosening of the joints. Due to a chronic instability, ossification often occurs in the area of the sacroiliac joint (Budras, Roeck, 2004). When a horse is loaded both hind limbs, the sacroiliac joints has one force, which pulls the joint surface apart. The strong sacroiliac ligaments act against the extension and the muscles of the caudal spinal (Mm. glutei, erector spinae and psoas) support it (Denoix 1992). We're talking about NORMAL load on the musculoskeletal system. Even with a natural stress, various illnesses can appear. Here, however, as seen in the pictures clearly, the horse is being forced into a very unnatural position and a huge frequency. For these horses, consequences are fatal. They develop rigidities and low thrust development of the hindquarters, blockages of joints, sprains, sacroilic joint subluxation and dislocation, muscular hind lameness, acute and chronic arthritis, desmitis, muscle strains, fractures. Arthrosis of the sacroiliac joint is the most common pathological process in horses which shows pain or dysfunction of the sacro-iliac joint (Jeffcott 1980). Inflammation (desmitis) of the dorsal sacroiliac ligament was considered the most common soft tissue lesion of the spine in horses (Gilllis 1999). Acute or chronic congestions, recurring tensions that we can find in all disciplines of western riding, lead to tearing of ligament fibers, which is responsible for causing inflammation of the ligaments. It is possible that either mild, moderate or complete tearing of the fibers is caused. Normally, the ligament opposes sacroiliac dorsal distraction of the cross cusp and the sacral spinous processes, however, the ligament at a jump or a pressure onto the sacrum (eg due to a fall or a sliding stop, which is near fall) is under an enormous load and it can lead to dorsal desmitis of the sacroilic ligament. Generally, equestrian sport shows us a reflection of people involved, which is ugly and not worthy of the imitation. Rather, it is a sign of a deep inner emptiness and dissatisfaction, when a person is so insensitive for the suffering of the animals. Certainly, there are also many people in this "sport" who care for their ego and can let off steam. They dominate the large animal and they can "tune" it a way they want. To live action, to show what one is 'able of'. I note with a great concern participation of many prominent people in this horse hostile environment and hope hereby to encourage a discussion about it, and also to throw light on this subject in the sense and for the welfare of the horse.