abidewithme:
If you take take the time to do a search you will find actual pictures of horses being gored by the bulls. It is a known fact that the horses vocal chords are slit so the crowd is not turned off by their screams in pain as they are gored.
Below is only one of many articles written against the abuses of bullfighting. It is unreasonable to think I should have to reprint every article to satisfy you. However, you can take the time and research this to educate yourself. Fortunately, the graphic pictures of horses being gored have not followed this article but please do a search on you tube if you must see all the gorey details of the cruelity the horses are subjected to.
Furthermore, I do not fox hunt. I rode jumpers in the 60’s and have been riding dressage since the early 70’s when it was brought to this country Since then I have been traied to the Grand Prix level and have brought many horses along to different levels. While there are Nuno lovers out there I am trained in the Spanish riding school methods (German).
I do hope you are not trying to equate actual Dressage with what one will see in the bull ring of terrified horses frantically twisting themselves into pretzels trying desperately to escape from a raging terrified bull as one has zero to do with the other no matter what one uneducated eye may think it sees.
I suppose you feel dog fighting is ok too since some people feel it is a tradition.
Horses - the forgotten victims of bullfighting
June 26, 2006
by Maria Lopes
What is a bullfight, and who suffers in this bloody so-called sport?
This photo is from 2001 in the bullring of Madrid.
A horse is blind-folded before
being used in a bullfight.
In Anglo-Saxon countries it is regarded as a sport, perhaps due to lack of knowledge.
It is, after all, banned throughout the UK and the Commonwealth nations, as well as most of Europe. In countries where bullfighting is allowed it is increasingly becoming recognised as sheer barbarity. This savagery involves two beautiful animals, bulls and horses. While the bulls are guaranteed to die, the future of the horses is often no brighter.
Bullfights take place in three European countries, France, Portugal and Spain and in some parts of Latin America. In some states of North America a form of bullfight is permitted but the animal is covered with velcro and the spears used are imitation.
It’s commonly believed that in Portuguese bullfights bulls or horses don’t suffer unlike the Spanish versions. This is unfortunately a myth since the suffering is the same in both bullfight styles.
The only difference is that in Spanish bullrings the bull is killed in the ring instead of in the slaughterhouse when the “entertainment” is over.
Every year more than 50,000 bulls are killed in bullfights in Europe alone. Countless horses die or suffer severe injuries.
Bullfighters claim that bulls bred for bullfights are aggressive and fearsome animals. This is also untrue. They fight because they are fighting for their lives.
This photo was taken during a bullfight in Spain. The horse was killed.
But bulls are not the only creatures to suffer in bullrings. The tormented bull does not understand that it is the man on the horse’s back that is causing his pain, only that he is in agony. He therefore sees the horse as his enemy as much as the man.
It’s not unusual for horses used in bullfights to be so badly gored by the bulls that they have to be killed, but only after they have been dragged from the ring and the view of the spectators.
Spanish bullfights also employ “picadors”, men on horseback armed with spears.
These horses are often gored even though they are protected by what is termed a “peto”, or a protective cape. These petos often do little more than hide the horses wounds.
Scene from a Portuguese bullfight.
The horses are blind-folded to prevent them from becoming terror stricken at the charge of the bull. It is commonly believed that their ears are stuffed with cottonwool to prevent them from panicking and their vocal cords cut to stop them screaming with fear at the bull’s attack.
As little as 12 days ago in Madrid another horse was gored by a bull and had to be killed.
This is the fate of these beautiful animals. To be used to entertain a crowd that lusts for blood and claims that bullfighting is a tradition and “cultural heritage”.
What about the brave matadors, picadors and their ilk? Bullfighters are rarely injured and seldom killed in the ring. With their armoury of weapons to weaken the bull until it can no longer fight, their lives are not at great risk. In fact, in the last 50 years only 10 bullfighters have been killed worldwide.
Should you ever find yourself in a country where bullfighting is practiced, please do not be tempted to attend one of these sadistic displays. The continuation of bullfighting depends on government subsidies and the tourist industry. Don’t be an accomplice to this savagery by supporting it with your dollars.
Maria Lopes is the Co-ordinator of the International Movement Against Bullfights
©
www.iwab.org 2006
This article may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission.
Further information:
Take a look at the International Movement Against Bullfights website.
We suggest you read the “ongoing campaigns” section.
Why would you run a horse on gravel if you don’t mind my asking? Are you aware that there are footing materials specifically made to work horses on and not one is gravel. This is to prevent any un-necessary injury to the concussion points in the feet and legs.