Vegan views on horse-riding?!
Answers: I read an article where vegans where claiming that riding a horse was abusing the horse. I agree that years of specific breeding and training to produce an animal that will allow you to sit on it is very un-vegan. But I got wondering...suppose a vegan rescued a horse from an animal sancuary and say it wasn't exactly a tough one you could put out to roam around in a field, say an ex-showjumper or racehorse. Its particular breed made it need to be kept indoors much of the time and needed horse feed because too much grass would make it sick and the animal was generally about as far from a wild horse as you could get. Is it vegan to excercise the horse by riding it (providing you can get non-leather tack) or should you just chase it around a field to make it run for excercise, bearing in mind by the way its been bred it will become ill through lack of excercise.
Asking and answering questions on this Vegetarian/Vegan section of Yahoo! Answers is so tricky. There are many trolls (more so than in any other section) and lots of people who either despise or feel treatened by vegetarian leaning types.
Mr. Meat, for example, does not so much answer questions here but more rather, insults questioners with his own opinion.
That being said I guess I better get to the question. Firstly, please do not compare your average horse riding enthusiast with the money grubbing abusers in the horse racing industry. I am an activist for equine welfare and protest racing vehemently. I am also a rider. Conscientious riding is not at all abusive nor painful to the horse.
Here's where it gets dicey for me. I do not use any animal products. Most saddles and bridles are made of leather. Riding boots are usually made of leather. Even a lot of leather cleaning products are derived from animals. I circumvent this by using synthetic equipment. Granted, they are not as popular in equestrian circles as leather products. Luckily synthetic saddles and bridles are available and they are of decent quality. They are even cheaper than leather. And they do not require cleaning . I also wear rubber riding boots. Again, not as comfy as leather but I don't mind them.
Mindful, compassionate riding is NOT at all harmful to a horse.
Oh geez Trace, you remind me of Dana Carvey's church lady character. Looking down her nose at we non principled people who are just vegans of convenience. I personally use a bitless bridle. But no matter...bits are never to be "shoved" into a horse's mouth. They are placed in a spot where there are no teeth. But in your opinion I am an evil horse abuser. Never mind the rescued horses that I sponsor, the volunteer work I do at a local horse sanctuary and the time I have spent going against popular opinion and protesting a new local racetrack.
We should be on the same side.
That would really be a ridiculous belief system.
Horses WONT be riden if they dont want to... trust me
vegans wouldn't keep the horse and thats that, they would let "nature take it's course"
Don't even consider these views. It could be argued that cutting a cabbage is abusing plant life. We should all be concentrating on reducing the abuse of our fellow human beings. That would be a good start.
There are vegans who recognize horseback riding as communion between human and animal. As long as the rider lets the horse go at his/her own pace, with some gentle guidance, I have no issue with it. If a horse doesn't want to be ridden, s/he will indicate it.
However, horse racing is an abusive industry, and I would love to see that stopped.
If a horse doesn't want to be ridden, I can tell.
I love riding horses. I'm not eating them, nor am I making them sick and fat.
We have rescue animals, if they have enough space they will get thier own exercise.
Horses are companion animals and should never be kept on thier own
Watch a couple of horses in a field, they run around and get thier own exercise, no need to ride them.
Note I'm not saying you should, or should not, ride them, I'm just saying you don't NEED to ride them to keep them fit, they will figure it out for themselves. Staying fit is part of an animals natural instinct.
I haven't read the article and, though vegan for a long time, have never heard this issue mentioned before. While I can't speak for all vegans, I can tell you what I think.
You are certainly right that the ways in which these animals have been bred and trained is not "vegan" in that is the systematic exploitation of animals for human gain. I imagine most vegans see riding a horse as an unspoken endorsement of that process. Also, most of the time when people are riding horses, they either purchased them or are paying someone who did purchase the animals. This is no longer turning a blind eye to the industry, but actively paying for it.
I don't think most vegans have your hypothetical of rescuing a horse from an animal sacntuary in mind when thinking of riding, as it is a very small percentage of the people riding horses. In the unlikely case that a vegan happens to now own a formerly abused horse and would like to give it exercise, they might ride it, or they might find other ways of exercising, still seeing riding the animal as using it, even if the animal has been bred not to feel that way. This is such an isolated case that it's hard to say what vegans would do.
It should be mentioned that the most widely accepted idea of veganism includes not only not consuming animal products, but also the notion of not using, exploiting, or imprisoning animals for our tastes or gain. With that, I think that most vegans would have a problem participating in any sort of horse industry, but that is only my opinion.
I think the decision to ride a horse or not varies from vegan to vegan. I personally choose not to for two reasons.:
1. I don't like seeing horses bridled and musseled and such.
I don't think it is natural.
2. I would hate to burdern a horse with my extra weight, (160lb), thereby causing it spine and leg problems.
Bear in mine though that I have an extremely soft concience.
I can't even kill bugs. Anyway, I agree with Michael H. It's not necessary to ride one. They will run on their own. But if one doesn't feel it is doing physical harm to the horse or making it a beast of burden I don't see why it would be classified as abuse if it is done in a considerate manner. That being said though. I oppose horse-racing because they over-work, enslave, and often kill the horses once they've become injured and can no longer perform.
If you are living by an ethic that is against the exploitation of animals, then certainly horseback riding, especially for pleasure, is exploitation. I mean if we talk about "enslaved bees" and crap like that, certainly a beautiful sentient being that is being ridden is exploitation.
How stupid is this: "Mindful, compassionate riding is NOT at all harmful to a horse."
It's not a "harmful" issue. It's exploitation for pleasure. And that bull about synthetic riding gear is just so bogus as to be laughable. I'm sure the exploited horse doesn't notice that when someone is shoving a bit in his mouth.
You either believe an ethic and live by it, or you don't. And living by it means you sometimes have to give up things YOU like to do. That's principled living.
If you want to make sure they exercise let them run free as they will in an open field.
Great question. We can see how many "vegans of convenience" there are.
Kay(whatever)--"Never mind the rescued horses that I sponsor, the volunteer work I do at a local horse sanctuary" -- So that gives you the right to exploit horses and go against your "vegan" ethic? Is this how you rationalize you exploitation or is it a way to assuage your guilt? Or both. Indeed you are a "vegan of convenience". You either believe in and live an ethic or you don't. Michael H. is much like you in that he grows hay and sells it to people who use it to fatten cattle for slaughter.
If you said, "I just like to ride horse and that's the way it is", I can respect that. But trying to put lipstick on a pig is laughable.
Both of you pick and choose what is most convenient for YOU. You for riding, and Michael to make money. You do not NEED to ride a horse and he can grow different crops that do not contribute to the killing of animals.
Some of it is true, some horses aren't treated well, especially expensive competition horses (for racing, show jumping...). But I think that if you take well care of the horse it's fine.
After all, what about people's pets?
I once rode horses, I don't think it would be labeled as animal abuse, however there are people that may ride horses or keep them and treat them badly. I do agree with someones answer, they stated a few horses together would run and get enough exercise. I have more of a problem with horse racing, especially since so many horses get injured or have problems with their legs and hooves, simply for people to place bets.
this is what i think about riding horses
i think its okay if it is like your pet horse and you are not like hurting it with a eletric prod or whiping them
now i belive horse racing is wrong because they beat them with eletric prods and whips and after they get to old or can't ride them anymore they slaughter them and becuse those horses dont get to live verry good live
but if it is your pet and your not beating it i think it is okay
i don't think horse riding is anti vegan, most horses in these schools (at least the ones that i've been to) are well kept and i yell at instructers if i see them hitting a horse, so i think as long as you're careful where you go, its okay.
Mr. Meat, this 'fanatical forum' isn't focusing on humans welfare, its focusing on animals, which is precisely why you don't see human beings as a high priority on this one, that isn't to say we don't care about people, i do lots of volunteer work for kids and intend to make a career of it, thats simply not what is discussed on here - that goes for riverman too
Kiwi: "some horses aren't treated well, especially expensive racing and jumping horses..."
Are you f-ing kidding me? Do you not ever turn on a TV or open a newspaper? You think owners spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a race horse and then abuse it? How the hell does it win the Derby that way?
The ignorance is unreal.
All I know is I would take Barbaro's health care plan over Hillary's anyday.
The complete ignorance and understanding of horses and in particular horse racing on this board is completely astounding. As someone else said, you think we spend millions on them to then abuse them. How much first hand experience have any of you ever had in racing? I've worked in racing all my life and I've never seen horses abused. In fact I take great offence to your insinuations that we are all cruel and barbaric. I think that making dogs eat a vegan diet is cruel and unnatural! I should also mention that racehorses have the best cutting edge veterinary care available to them. I'd rather be a racehorse on my farm than stuck in a field living a "natural" existence with someone that has no real understanding of food and nutrition, shoeing etc. And if you are all so concerned about their welfare, perhaps in light of the current nation wide drought, you might want to cough up $200 each and donate a ton of hay to your local rescue. I wouldn't suggest any of you adopting one because you clearly have no idea and I wouldn't let you walk my dog let alone take care of my horse.
I dont know why a horse cant be ridden. Horses do love human companionship in and out of the saddle. You should see my gelding when you back him into the box to rope. Loves and he can get enough. My mare that i cattle sort off of loves cattle also loves to bite em. And yes both of mine have been bred to work cattle so thats what i do and they get excited everytime we rope or cattle sort.
Vegans may feel the need to shoot into the air so as to scare the horse and this will give it excercise. They may also wish to use explosives or flare guns. Vegans are crazy like that.
Riding the horse is exploiting the horse.
Some will say riding a horse is ok but having it pull a wagon is not. Some will say neither are ok and some will say both are ok. Some will say riding a horse for pleasure is ok but racing a horse at the track is not.
All of the vegans here always claim that if they can get by without it then they will get by without it. That would mean no horse riding.