Question:

Do you think horses are athletes?

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By: Julie Taylor and Luise Thomsen

23-8-2008

A horse is not an athlete. It is an animal, that we use as a requisite in sport. And it makes a demand on much different ethical claims than an equal partner for hunting the medals.

"The horse is an athlete, and must be treated like one", somebody says. And the ones who know about equestrian sport are nodding in agreement. An elite-horse has the same need for physiotherapy, correct food and perfectly timed plan for training, as an Olympic swimmer, marathon-runner or a gymnast. The horse is in a constant danger of being hurt and mentally exhausted. It travels the world for international championships, and obtains either immortality or will be forgotten, depending on how it acts on the crucial day.

But this doesn't make the horse an athlete. An athlete has chosen it's way, and understands and accepts the "costs" which are included when practicing sport on a high level. He or she pays the price, because the dream of getting honour, glory and money comes before anything else. This choice is a luxury that the horse doesn't have. It can never be called an athlete. Course anyway that it lives with the same resigns and risks that the two-legged sport performer, it never enjoys the victory. The motives, which drives the human athletes to brilliant presentations, isn't a horse-thing. If it was, we wouldn't see "disobedience", when medals can be won. No dressage-horse would raise on the hind-legs during a final - it would be the same as a handball-player throwing the ball besides of the goal on purpose.

If a horse was an athlete, it wouldn't be hard to teach it to stand still during delivery of the prize. Instead it would stand pretty, receive the cheering from the audience, and proud as a peacock, make the experience last as long as possible. If the horse was an athlete, it wouldn't be necessary to force it with a tight nose-band to keep the mouth shot during competitions. Instead it would freely close it's mouth and keep the tongue inside, hoping to impress the judges. If horses were athletes, you didn't have to dope them to win medals. Under the Danish coverage of the Olympic Games in Equine Jumping, the commentator said she had a "funny story" about the fact that it takes two men to make Jos Lansinks horse stand still during mounting (getting on the horse). What an athlete, that needs to be hold back in order not to attack it's partner. You could almost get the idea that it's completely careless about winning a medal. And that's exactly what it is!

The horses are animals, that we use as living sport accessories. It doesn't sound romantic. But why shouldn't we call a spade a spade? It's not necessarily wrong to use an animals as a sport accessory. Just like it's not wrong using an animal for everything else, as long as you do it in a fair way. Why are horse-owners such hypocrites? Why embellish the relationship with the horse by acting like it has an interest in flying to South China to win a price?

Could it be, that the equestrian sport paints the horses actual rule, because what we allows ourselves to offer an athlete is something much different from what we allow ourselves to offer an animal as a living sport accessory?

Sometimes it's seen by everyone that the horse isn't a willing athlete - also during the Olympic Games this year. Would a trainer tighten the nose-brand of the athlete, accept that the athlete was afraid during prize delivery, use pain to control the athlete and would a tv-commentator think it was funny if the athlete had to be forced by two men before going joining the competition. The explanations were "The horse is not ride-able". "The horse doesn't stay collected". "Stallions want to rule by nature". "The horse is running away". When it's that clear that the horse isn't a willing athlete, there are no boundaries how much people try to cover the truth. What if the commentator said "The horse is confused". "The horse is being ridden too hard". "The horse thinks it's extremely uncomfortable". "The horse is afraid and tries to escape". But no - they try to cover the fact that the ethics doesn't exist.

Kan a living sport accessory be happy and satisfied. Yes, absolutely. If it's basic needs, that motivates it's way of being, are fulfilled. Scientists in animal-welfare talks about five freedoms. Freedom for hunger and thirst. That kind of freedom exists to most horses. Freedom for discomfort - which means access to a shelter and a dry and soft place to lay down on. Most horses in Denmark have this as well. But the third kind of freedom is different. It's the freedom for pain, injuries and illness. We don't know precisely how much it hurts to be pulled in the mouth by an iron-bit or pricked by the spurs until the skin is really thin. But we know, that some of the vets that treats the horses in competitions are starting to "screaming" about the way horses get trained and used.

Freedom number four deals with the fact that the h

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11 ANSWERS


  1. h**l yeah a horse is an athlete!!! what's the difference between a race horse and a person that races?  if a runner is an athlete, so is a horse that runs.  if horse weren't athletes, they wouldn't have olympics with horses in it.  they do more work that the humans.  they are the ones jumping over the fences and running.


  2. r u stupid of course they are athletes. if u dnt think they are lets put a horse on your back and see if u have the athletic ability to run it around all day. and besides we are animals we just evolved and learned how to do all that stuff and we only came up with sports cuz we were bored we dnt have to rlly do a sport but if someone owns a horse they are going to make them work and be ridden or used as a work horse!!!!!!! so YES THEY ARE ATHLETES!!!!!!!!!

  3. First off, horses are not doped to win ribbons, that's illegal in the sport.  Second, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about, because there are horses out there so willing to work and love every minute of it.  Cross country courses used to be to the extreme, they had 11 foot drops that the horse and rider had to go down.  Talk about a leap of faith!  Do you realize how much courage that takes?  Oh, and nose bands don't keep the horses mouth shut, that's a flash.  You need to get your facts strait...

    Okay Sez, I have been riding for years, so I know horses and have 4 of them.  Even if a whole team at the olympics aced their horses, people are perfectly capable of winning with out drugs.  This Haute Ecole guy has everyone thinking that bits, whips, and spurs are bad, and don't get me wrong, I think what he does is great.  However, most people do not beat their horses.  When trained properly, horses love to work, and I know horses who have jumped right out of their paddocks.  People carry crops and whips to enhance the aids, and if used properly, bits are perfectly fine.

  4. Whoever wrote this had no idea about anything to do with horses.  I am offended that someone would say that a horse is not an athlete.  Of course it doesn't behave like a human in competitions and awards ceremonies.  It's not a human, it's a HORSE!  It is appalling to me that anyone would say such things about the gorgeous, willing, amazing animals many of us call partners.  How dare they insult these majestic creatures.  Did they ever think that some people aren't willing athletes?  Or that a horse isn't going to do something if it doesn't want to?  Not one person could make a horse jump some of those cross-country fences if the horse didn't want to.  They are stubborn, but they love thier jobs.  THAT is what horse sports are to horses.  Jobs.  Many horses would rather be ridden and competed on than sit around all day, everyday.  They are meant for running and jumping and performing.  These writers took the word "athlete" way too litterally.  If someone is not in the Olympics, yet they still compete in track, you call them an athlete.  Just as you would call a wild horse or pony an athlete, because of the constant running and the large distances they cover.  And good riders, those who should be riding, don't pull in horse's mouths or kick them with spurs until they bleed.  People like that need a serious check in why they ride. And of course horses get excited at competitions!  They can feel the energy of the crowd and their riders/handlers.  Horses are best at picking up emotions and feelings.  Most people don't watch sports and not cheer or move at all.  And no, horses might not be thinking "Wow,  I won a Gold Medal."  But they always know when they did well.  Rewards for animals are different than those for people.  People think "Wow I won."  Horses think "Oh, I did good and made my people happy."  Like I said before, if they didn't want to do something, they wouldn't.  Horses know their limits, and won't do something unless they know they can.  They are extremely smart, and some people don't give them enough credit.

    Ok, I think I wrote enough, but I find that horrible article ridiculous and offensive and to be written by unknowledgeable people just trying to cause a stir.

    EDIT:  If those people who wrote the article feel so strongly that riding horses is horrible and mean to the horses, why do thet BOTH breed, train, and RIDE HORSES???  BOTH have COMPETED... Talk about hypocrisy!  And yes, some people dope their horses, but that's not the horses fault... It is people who will do anything to win.  There are people in EVERY SPORT that dope themselves, and they are still "athletes."  Why should horses that do way more than humans be singled out when it's not THEIR decision to be drugged?  Once again, horses are not humans, and people need to stop comparing the two in this way.  

    And horses that love to jump sometimes do jump out of their paddocks, and they refuse because they or their rider is unsure.  Like I said previously, if they don't want to do it, they WON'T.

    You can all have your different opinions, whatever, but don't you dare say things about horses being drug addicts and hating their jobs and how horrible people are to use them ... blah blah.. some people shouldn't be working with horses, I agree, but some of you are taking this TOO FAR.

  5. well, personaly, I think some of them are atheletes (just like some of us are)

    But i respect your opinion, and I'm not about to try and change it

  6. No, a horse is not an athlete, it is an animal. According to Webster's, "athlete" is defined as: a PERSON who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

    A horse is not a person, therefore it is not an athlete.

  7. When you can jump over jumps 6 feet tall, I'll call you an athlete. Until then, the horses are the athletes in the house. And to say what you've said is an insult to the most graceful, ATHLETIC, and loving animals on this planet.

    And also, you must know NOTHING about horses, because the nose band is not to keep a horses mouth shut, it's to keep the bridle on!

  8. And yet, I've seen and owned horses that knew they were getting ribbons and/or trophies. They preened "with the best of them!"

    Man O' War and Secretariat both knew they were born to run.  Look at footage of them running and at footage of them accepting their honors. They were born champions.

    Y'all are probably not old enough to remember Poltroon, from the late 1980's. She was a born athlete. She willingly outperformed the bigger horses in 3-Day Eventing regularly.

    You talk about not knowing how much a bit or spurs hurt. You obviously have done little or no research. Countless studies HAVE been done in these areas.

    Y'all just choose to ignore hard science and hype emotions.  

  9. In the animal world they are athletes! Even in mine they classify as athletes. I don't care about any dictionary meaning, if a horse can carry a heavy person in a full gallop, thats amazing. Horses are such strong animals. Compared to the rider, they are athletes. We do alot of work also but would you like someone sitting on your back while jumping 1 m sumthing... Diddn't think so.

  10. Well since the definition of athlete is a person trained to compete in sports, then no, a horse cannot be literally considered an athlete. However, I think many of the points made in this article are very generalized and in many cases, incorrect.

    Obviously the people who wrote this have never ridden a horse who loves to jump over a cross country course. They have never seen the unbelievable enthusiasm and focus when that horse searches out fences and zones in on them, seeing nothing else... that cannot be trained.

    They have never ridden a horse in front of a crowd and had that horse give one last burst of energy or puff up and put on a show when the crowd starts to applaud. If they had, they would not be able to say that horses do not understand the acclaim that is given them.

    And so what if they don't stand to receive the prize at the end? Horses do want the reward. However, the reward is not the same for them. A horse doesn't want to finish a competition and stand in front of a crowd of people and get a medal around their neck. What good is that? A horse wants to be pet by their partner and told that they did a good job. And that is just as much of a reward. No, people and horses are not the same, obviously. But just because they're different, that doesn't mean that they love it any less.

    I rode a horse today. He's an ex-racehorse who now competes in eventing. And no, he didn't want to stand still when I was getting on him. In fact, my friend had to hold him while I was mounting. That doesn't mean he was trying to attack me. He was just excited to get started. Riding him, seeing his ears pricked and the bounce in his step, it is impossible to believe that he's not enjoying himself as much or more than I am.

    When the author talked about horses being in pain and forced to perform against their will, I had to cringe. I'm sure that some horses have been cruelly trained, and that's wrong. But my horses are not in pain when I ride them, and they're certainly not doing it against their will. And anyone who is on them and feels the bundle of excitement below them when they see the jumps up ahead would not be able to disagree.

    I feel that everyone has the right to their own opinions, but I have to respectfully disagree with this piece, and wonder if the authors have relationships with horses and have participated with them in the sports that they love.

  11. Thank you Julie and Luise.

    To all of you who disagree with what was written in this article I would strongly recommend that you have a good hard look at how you treat your horses. Do you think that your horses enjoy the work you force them to do? If they did would you need to use control methods such as a halter and a bit in order to force them into participation. Or would you need to wear spurs to wake a horse up that is dead to the leg or train them with a whip? Why don't you try going out and doing what you do with your horses without these things designed to control them? Because you wouldn't get anywhere. The simple fact of the matter is that without these methods of control and restraint your horse would simply ignore you. Don't kid yourself into thinking that your horse is an EQUAL PARTNER....yeah right!!!! Try putting a bit in your mouth and have someone "gently" give you an aid to turn or force you into a rolkur, then come back here and tell me that you still disagree with this article. No other animal is exploited as badly as the horse. The equestrian industry is nothing better than a slave trade.

    Most of the people that have answered this article are either living in blissful ignorance about what is really happening to their horses or just don't care to open their eyes and see how they are treating them. The total hypocrisy of the people that have horses just amazes me. For those that agree with this article I would strongly recommend you visit this website www.hauteecol.ru

    P.S FYI "Forward is your friend" there was a whole team in the olympics this year done for doping their horses so maybe you should get your facts straight. Maybe you shoud do some research about horses and then you might see how wrong you are. If horses loved to jump so much why do they not just jump out of their paddocks? If horses loved to jump so much why do they refuse? If horses loved to jump so much then why do riders need to carry whips?

    AND a noseband is not there to keep the bridle on so who ever wrote that should get their facts straight. A plain cavesson noseband has no other purpose than decoration - but how many do you see in dressage competitions without the flash attached to keep the horses mouth shut?

    Furthermore if you have a look at the website below you will find that the authors of this article are more than qualified to write such an article.

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