Speciesism

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Why are horses in the Olympics?

File Image: (c) Photabulous!

In a flagrant display of speciesism the horseback riding events of dressage, jumping and eventing standout as the lone Olympic "sport" that exploits animals.

Equestrianism is the pompous term for the dubious "art" of horseback riding. An equestrian is a horseback rider, an equestrian event is a horseback riding event. Without the concealment of the "equestrianism" verbiage it's really all about horse, horse, horse.

What would our opinion be if Michael Phelps was dragged from one end of the pool to the other by a dolphin? Would that be a sport?

It is completely ludicrous.



Horse riding competitions were originally to test and prepare cavalry horses. Initially, the purpose was to create a competition in which officers and horses could be tested for any challenges that could occur on or off duty.

But how does dominating horses and riding on their backs qualify as an Olympic sport?

The Oxford dictionary defines sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment."



So how can equestrian events which according to HorseConscious.com represent "parasitizing on [the] physical abilities of another living being which does not want to be engaged in this sport but forced to it by pain and beating" be considered a sport or even acceptable at any level. The photos clearly show the cruelty involved in horse events from the "iron" bit in the horses mouth, to the harness, the torn ligaments and other injuries and stress the horse is subjected to.



In the summer Olympics, riders and their animals compete in three events, dressage, jumping and eventing. Dressage is based on a series of movements designed to show the horse's strength, suppleness and obedience to the rider. Jumping includes completing a course of 15-20 obstacles within a specific time period. And eventing, the most grueling, amounts to 3 days of dressage, jumping and cross-country riding.

Dressage, the French term meaning "training", was initially invented to train horses for war, and was used to increase the maneuverability and obedience of cavalry mounts with some of the very advanced movements being taught specifically as battle techniques. It has been an Olympic event since 1912. But what spectators do not see behind the braided manes and elitist dress of the rider is the physical and emotional abuse the horses endure, including chains under nose bands, shock collars, spur marks, whips and prods to name a few.

Controversy over the horse cruelty of dressage techniques, came to a head just before the 2012 London Olympics when people protested after a YouTube video of a dressage horse ridden using the "rollkur" technique was posted. Wikipedia defines "rollkur" as the hyperflexion of the horse's neck down towards their chest, achieved through aggressive force. A practice banned by the world governing body, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).

Equestrian eventing has been described as one of the most dangerous sports at the Olympics. Dangerous for both the horse and the rider. The difference being that the horse did not choose to participate.



But increasingly Olympic horse riding events are under scrutiny as research emerges linking riding equipment to stress, cruelty and injury to the horse. An Australian study from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney found the use of restrictive nosebands, common used in dressage, "can bind together the jaws of a horse, preventing yawning, tongue movement and potentially swallowing." This was they first study to show that a common piece of gear is designed and used to elicit a stress response in horses. The noseband is a leather strap which goes around the horses' jaw. The tighter the rider makes this band, the greater the pain and suffering to the horse. The study measured the stress levels by heart rate and temperature, since a tight noseband can prevent the normal outward display of stress.

Equestrian sports are under threat for the 2020 Olympics, accused of being too expensive, elitist and losing public appeal. In a recent survey of popular Olympic sports, Equestrian ranked last.

But the real reason this sport should be eliminated is that these events are speciesist. Not only is it cruel to the horse, the sport tries to diminish the presence of the horse as much as possible and focus on the equestrian (rider).

Hopefully, equestrian events will go the way of live pigeon shooting, which was discontinued after its one and only appearance at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris where the goal was to kill as many birds as possible. Sadly more than 300 birds died.



GruntVegan