Is it wrong. . . (to ride horses)

[VirginVegan]

To ride horses? It's my favorite activity, and I love bonding with the horses, seeing each of ther distinct personalities. . .:rainbow:

I ride bare-back all of the time, so I don't use a leather saddle, but does anyone consider this wrong?

[ReginaCeltarum]

I don't think it is wrong. As long as they are treated well, and i am sure you do. And they are not forced to do something they don't want to or shouldn't do. I don't know where you live, but don't ride them in hundred-degree weather, just as an example.
I hate seeing the horse-carriages in NYC, especially in the summer. that is mean and just wrong.
What's wrong with a saddle though, as long as it doesn't hurt? I don't think they do. and they probably make non-leather ones.

[SotallyTober]

I wouldn't feel right doing it..but that's just me.

[Bunny Hugger]

I probably couldn't ever do it either. I, however, don't quite see the problem with you partaking in it.

[foxenigma]

I thinks it really all comes down to how you relate to the horse you ride. Make sure he's comfortable, horses are strong enough to carry most humans without much more effort, simply be certain that he feels ok about it.
When I went horseback riding, I made sure that the horses were well treated where they lived and that the one I was riding liked me.

[steinbock]

yeah, i ride with a synthetic saddle and all sorts of pads to make sure it's the best fit I can get for my oddly shaped mare, and I personally find nothing wrong with riding horses as long as the horse is treated well. I tend to treat the relationship between my horse and I as almost a partnership (I'm alpha, but it's not because I bully her around).
so, no, as long as the horse is treated with respect and not asked for anything outlandish, i find nothing wrong with riding horses.

[troub]

I think they would much rather run with their family akin to wild mustangs then have some primate straddling their spines.

But that is just my opinion.

[Sevenseas]

That's one of the questions that often gets asked about veganism/AR etc. I don't consider it the biggest ethical problem we are facing currently, but I would worry about horse-riding being a "symbolic" assertion of the animal's moral status as something (instead of someone) to be used.

[VEGirl3]

I have friends that own and ride horses. They are treated well, so I see no problem with it. I do think it’s wrong if you go to a place specially made for tourists to horseback ride. I don’t trust the places and I don’t believe the horses are treated well.

[VirginVegan]

What's wrong with a saddle though, as long as it doesn't hurt? I don't think they do. and they probably make non-leather ones.

I haven't been able to find a saddle that wasn't made out of leather, but I'm still looking.

I haven't been able to stick with one specific horse for very long, considering that I don't own one, and I only ride the ones provided at a local ranch.

All of the horses there are treated very well, and knowing that, combined with my love of riding, I just can't give up on it.

[troub]

All of the horses there are treated very well

And this is one of the key things that separate animal welfare from animal rights.

Welfarists believe that it is o.k. to use animals if they are treated well.
Liberationists believe that it is wrong to use animals, regardless of how they are treated.

I can see the world embracing an AW stance long before adopting an AR one, but I try to be a little more idealistic and optimistic then that, and support complete liberation as opposed to nicer subjugation.

[janie]

I'm in agreement with troub and Sevenseas.

[~Wonder]

Hey, if an alien species ever descended upon earth and made me give them piggyback rides for fun whenever they wanted, I'd say just as long as they loved it, and as long as I was treated well and fed lots of yummy carrots and sugar cubes and providing my hair was brushed thoroughly, my stable kept clean, and little semicircular bits of metal were nailed to my feet, I'd probably just consider myself grateful.
Dude, you had that dream last night too? I'm just lucky I woke up before the feedbags and glue factory.
I wish I were an alien.
~Wondre :ymca:

[Diana]

A horse needs to be broken before it accepts to be ridden.

I have read that there are some more politically correct terms for this breaking, i.e. "gentling" or "starting". (Excuse me while I go and puke.... okay I'm back now.)

An animal that has been broken is an animal that has been.... broken.

I loved that movie "Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron". He fought to the end for freedom for him and his kind... and the last scene is heartbreaking because we know that the fight will be lost but he prefers to fight on rather than let his spirit be broken.

Horse-riding is just one more form of non human animal slavery.

[Pescas]

Ive been riding western for 2.5 years, and then quit. I am now considering starting again. Its just that now when I ride, it feels wrong. Like Why should i force the horse to do what I want it to do? Whats the point in that?

I dont know.

[aurinia]

I don't think it is wrong, as long as the horses are treated well, just like any other pet you might share your life with. And I say pet rather than livestock because that is how I see them. I grew up on a farm and my family still has many horses (15 all together, to be exact). Almost half of them are rescues (several were bound for slaughter and three others were seized from a man who was starving them), and most of the others have lived on the farm their whole lives and are 'retired'. Not one of them is 'forced' to do something they don't want to do...there are several of them who will never be ridden again due to either medical issues or mental issues due to their previous mistreatment. The ones that DO get ridden, we keep in mind what particular thing that animal likes to do and that's what we stick with. My mare (one of the ones pulled off the slaughter truck) prefers to drive instead of ride, so that's what we do with her, just as an example.

Our horses are treated better than most, I'd be willing to bet...my mom is fanatical about it. :) They're spoiled rotten, to tell you the truth, and that is how I think it should be. To the person that said they should be allowed to run free like the wild mustangs....my question to you is, where?? There is really no place for them to do that in this country...even the BLM mustangs out west aren't totally safe anymore. Furthermore, domestic horses do not have the mindset needed to survive in the wild. They have been raised since birth among humans and many of them would quickly perish if left to fend for themselves. They don't know what it means to have to run from predators, find their own shelter, etc. It just would not be safe for them.

To those looking for a saddle not made from leather...there are many saddles out there now that are made of cordura nylon or other materials besides leather or suede, and they are generally cheaper than leather saddles, too! I've had one since I was in high school and am about to replace it with a newer one...hope that helps!

[purrpelle]

i think you have to put yourself in the horses place. I'm sure horses, given the choice wouldn't want some hairless monkey riding them.

[VirginVegan]

I hear what you all are saying, but like Aurinia, all of these horses have been rescued. And the one that I'm riding now, I can't speak for the others because I never looked into it before, was "broken" by me.

I know that you think breaking a horse is painful, or torturess to the animal, but it's only like that if the horse is resisting to be broken.

Nicoma, my mare, woke me up every morning by neighing very loudly. She was desperate for human companionship. She really enjoys being riden, although some of you may protset.

I've known here since she was born ten years ago, but I haven't had a chance to ride her before four years ago. I wouldn't let anyone else break her, even though I practically had to bribe the trainer so that he would let me do it.

And yes, I was four when she was born but I remember it, and I've visited her every day since then.

If you knew Nicoma the way I do, you would understand.

[aurinia]

i think you have to put yourself in the horses place. I'm sure horses, given the choice wouldn't want some hairless monkey riding them.

I'm sure some of them don't, but you can't say that about ALL of them. Many horses love the company of humans...we have two who would rather be with humans instead of other horses, truth be told. My mom's mare will follow you around like a dog. And she absolutely ADORES my 6yr old daughter. This mare has always been hard to handle and ride, but believe it or not, she will let my daughter ride her with absolutely no problems. She will actually come running from the far side of the pasture if she sees my daughter come outside with the saddle and bridle. Doesn't sound like she minds being ridden to me...

[VirginVegan]

That's almost exactly what Nicoma does.

On the other hand, there are some horses on the ranch, like Ace and Terri, who hate being ridden. They rear and buck and make all kinds of noises whenever anyone aproaches them with a saddle blanket.

Needless to say, I refrain from riding Ace or Terri.

[purrpelle]

i wonder if given the choice, a horse will choose a human companion over a horse companion. i doubt it, because we humans have taken the choice out of the horses hooves by raising them with humans.


I'm sure some of them don't, but you can't say that about ALL of them. Many horses love the company of humans...we have two who would rather be with humans instead of other horses, truth be told. My mom's mare will follow you around like a dog. And she absolutely ADORES my 6yr old daughter. This mare has always been hard to handle and ride, but believe it or not, she will let my daughter ride her with absolutely no problems. She will actually come running from the far side of the pasture if she sees my daughter come outside with the saddle and bridle. Doesn't sound like she minds being ridden to me...

[VirginVegan]

i wonder if given the choice, a horse will choose a human companion over a horse companion. i doubt it, because we humans have taken the choice out of the horses hooves by raising them with humans.


That's not a very strong argument.

If I had never seen a human before, and I had been raised my orangutans, my natural comfort zone would be inside that of the orangutans, and nothing else. Naturally you wouldn't choose a complete and total stranger of another species over something/someone that you had been raised around your entire life.

If you're never introduced to something else, how are you to know it? And also, how are you to trust it?

[purrpelle]

That's not a very strong argument.

If I had never seen a human before, and I had been raised my orangutans, my natural comfort zone would be inside that of the orangutans, and nothing else. Naturally you wouldn't choose a complete and total stranger of another species over something/someone that you had been raised around your entire life.

If you're never introduced to something else, how are you to know it? And also, how are you to trust it?

neither is the argument " my horse loves to be ridden, i don't think it's wrong"
when that horse knows nothing else.

you started this thread asking if it was okay to ride horses. clearly, you have already decided that its okay, so why bother asking?

[VirginVegan]

I didn't mean to be rude, I just read my post through again and it came out sounding rather harsh, and I had not meant it that way at all. I'm sorry.

Your right, I suppose I had already made up my mind about the subject when I started this thread.

Sometimes I ask questions that I already have an answer to, but I needed to know how everyone else veiwed the subject, so that I could better judge my situation.

[Vegi Chik]

Hey, I was JUST about to post this same topic!

I don't think it's wrong. I've been riding horses almost all my life. I own a pony now, and she loves me, and I love her.

It's not wrong unless it's done improperly. They have invented many ways to make it cruel. (whips, spurs, harsh bits, martingales, etc.)

But just meandering down a trail, on a loose rein, is not wrong to me. A lot of horses these days LOVE being ridden, and are sad if they aren't.

Spunky isn't asked much of, just to go out every once in a while down the road or on a trail. She doesn't have to do much, just walk, jog, and lope when I want her to. (If she's tired, she doesn't have to lope. I know I hate running when I'm tired)

I know it's not natural to a horse to be ridden, and I respect that. But she still generally has to do what I ask her. She's a very strong pony (part work horse) and is capable of doing what I ask her.

On a different note, people work for a living. A horse is a strong, smart creature, and he can work for a living too. As long as it's not back-breaking torture.

I'm getting a nylon bridle today :woohoo!!!: