15/05/2024
Thinking drives behaviour.
Change the thinking - Change the behaviour.
Time to start asking the tough questions…
And more importantly…
Getting straight answers… Or is it getting the answers straight…?
The Hidden Costs of Horseback Riding: Why It Harms Horses and Humans Alike
In her book "A Better World for Horses and Humans", author Stormy May makes a powerful case that the practice of horseback riding, which is so deeply ingrained in many equestrian cultures, comes at a devastating cost - both for the horses and for the humans involved.
May begins by diving deep into the physiological impact of riding on a horse's body. She cites extensive research showing that even with the most well-fitted saddles and the lightest of riders, the mere act of sitting on a horse's back causes sustained pressure and ischemia (restricted blood flow) to the sensitive muscle and tissue structures.
This, in turn, leads to a cascade of issues like back pain, muscle damage, and even vertebral changes like "kissing spine" syndrome. And this is just from the basic mechanics of riding - let alone the added forces and stresses of activities like jumping, dressage, or racing.
Yet despite this mounting scientific evidence, May explains that the equestrian world has continued to justify and perpetuate these harmful practices, often through linguistic gymnastics that obscure the true nature of what is being done to the horses.
"We think we're making the horse's life better by giving them food, veterinary care, and a comfortable stall," May writes. "But we fail to recognize that we're also subjecting them to sustained physical pain and emotional trauma through the very act of riding and training them to perform for our pleasure."
And it's not just the horses who suffer. May asserts that the human participants in this dynamic are also harmed, in ways that are perhaps less visible but no less profound.
She explains how the traditional training methods used in equestrian disciplines, which rely heavily on force, fear, and the suppression of the horse's natural behaviors, end up conditioning riders to internalize those same destructive patterns. This can manifest as a loss of empathy, an over-emphasis on dominance and control, and a fundamental disconnection from our own authenticity and capacity for compassion.
"When we're constantly having to coerce and overpower another being in order to get what we want," May writes, "it erodes something essential within us as human beings. We become hardened, less able to truly see and connect with the needs of others."
This, in turn, ripples out into our relationships with fellow humans, and even into the wider social and environmental challenges we face. May believes that until we are willing to question and transform our treatment of horses, we will continue to struggle to cultivate the clarity, empathy and wisdom required to create a more just, peaceful world.
The good news is that May offers a vision for a radically different way of relating to horses - one based on respect, consent and the recognition of the horse's inherent autonomy and wisdom. She shares practices and perspectives that allow for the development of genuine partnership and two-way communication, where the well-being of the horse is the primary concern.
But getting there requires us to first be willing to honestly confront the hidden costs and harmful impacts of horseback riding. May urges us to look beyond the veneer of tradition, competition and human pleasure, and see the profound ethical dilemma at the heart of this practice.
Only then can we begin the important work of healing ourselves, the horses, and ultimately, the world.
To see many exclusive videos and other content please subscribe to her Patreon account. https://www.patreon.com/StormyMay
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"A Better World for Horses and Humans" is available here: https://a.co/d/izrGPXs
