The following reply was received in response to my condolence message to Chad Harden.? Out of respect I do not want that thread to turn into a pro/anti chuckwagon debate. My intention was simply to express my sympathy ? horse owner to horse owner ? to Chad and his family. Unfortunately I cannot figure out how to start a new thread with a viewer comment so I?m going to reprint it here. The text in italics is the submitted comment.
Submitted on 2012/07/14 at 7:35 am from Jason Lind
I empathize greatly with Chad. When a family pet passes away, we feel the loss as real as any other. Watching the media clips of his interview in which he is beside himself with grief just bolsters my conviction to support the banning of this unnecessary sport.
I question why people in the sport and its many supporters want to place those they love so dearly in harms way. If I knew of a trail ride that ran once a year, and in which an average of two horses die each trail ride, would I load up my trailer? Hell no, and I would hope you wouldn?t either?
I haven?t seen any valid arguements in support of the chucks to this point.
**The horses are given the utmost attention by vets!
Great ? horses are still dying on average two per Stampede
**The horses are bred for chuck racing, and without it they would have no purpose!
Then stop breeding them. Intentionally breeding and then raising something from birth to take part in an event that sees death as an unfortunate possiblity is tragic. For the horses currently in the event, they are loved like family remember? Most of the owners should be more than happy to give them a happy retirement on their ranch among friends and family.
**Other sports are more dangerous! You could die tomorrow in a car accident! Nothing is without risk!
This comes down to human responsibility. Horses don?t choose to take part in chuckwagon racing. Humans are responsible for the horses, and make the decision for them.
Why are we making bad decisions for those we love?
End of comment.
My intention is not to argue for or against chuckwagon racing, however I will share my thoughts on this message.
??I empathize greatly with Chad. When a family pet passes away, we feel the loss as real as any other. Watching the media clips of his interview in which he is beside himself with grief just bolsters my conviction to support the banning of this unnecessary sport.?
That we grieve when we lose a loved one, whether human or animal, goes without saying. I entirely agree with the first sentence, with one exception: a horse is not a family pet. Horses are working animals as opposed to pets and they have been throughout their domesticated history.? That fact aside, horses are much closer to us than pets. They are closer than that because horse and rider / driver have to work hard with each other to establish a relationship that doesn?t come naturally; a horse is a prey animal and a human is a predator. That the average life of a horse is much longer than a cat or dog also results in an exceptionally close relationship.
The second sentence?think about it. NO sport is NECESSARY. Sports are recreational activities that we partake in to enrich and fulfill the lives of the participants. Sports give us an avenue to be passionate and spirited about our lives, and in many cases, share that with spirit with other species, be they dogs, horses or other. Suggesting that a sport be banned because the owner of an animal is grieving is simply ridiculous.
?I question why people in the sport and its many supporters want to place those they love so dearly in harms way. If I knew of a trail ride that ran once a year, and in which an average of two horses die each trail ride, would I load up my trailer? Hell no, and I would hope you wouldn?t either??
The comparison is invalid because in order to make it, we need to inform ourselves aware of how many horses die in the backcountry every year. Or die doing any other competitive equine event. Or even in training. How many horses are fatally injured or hurt in all other equine activities annually? I don?t know.
But although indicative, valid comparative statistics are rarely used. Instead, the reason that many people choose to hop on an activist bandwagon is for the emotional experience. People have an intrinsic need to be involved with something, and getting heated and speaking out against something fulfills that need. I have no problem with that, as long as those involved are informed, aware and commit to constructive resolution. And let?s face it ? the Calgary Stampede, and particularly the chuckwagon event, is highly publicized worldwide. Exposure alone ? not statistics ? has turned it into a HUGE bandwagon that has plenty of seats.
??I haven?t seen any valid arguements in support of the chucks to this point.?
There do not have to be any arguments in support of any sport.? I don?t know of any arguments to support soccer or boxing or chess for that matter. People engage in those activities for the reasons I?ve previously mentioned and ?supporting arguments? are unnecessary and irrelevant. Anyone partaking in any legal sport has the right to do so without having to defend it.
?**The horses are given the utmost attention by vets!
Great ? horses are still dying on average two per Stampede?
We have doctors and there are still car accidents. Again, the comparison lacks logic. The items are mutually exclusive.
?**The horses are bred for chuck racing, and without it they would have no purpose!
Then stop breeding them. Intentionally breeding and then raising something from birth to take part in an event that sees death as an unfortunate possiblity is tragic. For the horses currently in the event, they are loved like family remember? Most of the owners should be more than happy to give them a happy retirement on their ranch among friends and family.?
All lives see death as an unfortunate possibility. Humans intentionally breed and raise children from birth to take part in an event (i.e. their lives and whatever risky choices they make) that sees death as an unfortunate possibility. How many ways do people die? Also, planned breeding is associated with every domestic animal, dogs being a primary example when it comes to events.
Everyone I know personally that uses horses in competition or recreation seeks to give them a happy retirement on their, or someone else?s ranch. Of course we?re more than happy to do that, that goes without saying. We put an incredible amount of time and effort into training and working with a performance horse. This builds a close bond that lasts for years ? there are competition horses in their 30?s! When we work with / live with / train with / compete with / recreate with a horse that willingly tries and works for us, we honor them. Do not doubt that for a second.
?**Other sports are more dangerous! You could die tomorrow in a car accident! Nothing is without risk!
This comes down to human responsibility. Horses don?t choose to take part in chuckwagon racing. Humans are responsible for the horses, and make the decision for them. Why are we making bad decisions for those we love??
Other sports are more dangerous and yet we partake in them. Nothing is without risk. Of course it comes down to human responsibility ? no argument there. Humans are responsible for their children too, and yet we take them swimming in rivers, biking down the road, sign them up for hockey or strap babies in car seats and head out to the highway. We make that decision for them, and we?re responsible for them. And in doing so we?re exposing them to a multitude of risks.
When I ride my horses in the mountains the risks are similar; drowning in a river, falling off the side of a slope and suffering fatal injuries, or breaking a leg between rocks on a trail. All of those things have happened to people I know or have met. It goes without saying that when I ride a horse in the mountains, I?ve made the decision for the horse to be there.
Bad decision though? The term ?bad? is subjective. Obviously many people consider the use of horses in competitive actives as ?good?.
One of my horses is 18 years old. He is near and dear to my heart. Several years ago in a training exercise, he broke his neck. Have I quit training with horses because of that? Of course not. I?m glad to say that this horse is living a fantastic life, and I?ve had him out riding in the mountains quite a bit. Did I intentionally put this horse at risk? You bet. We were training him in a round pen with wooden rails and although he wasn?t under any duress he managed to run into a rail and suffer a nearly fatal injury.
I was called to a friend?s farm one day by one of her boarders. One of the horses had a broken leg. It was a severe break and I had the vet come out ASAP to euthanize the poor guy ? there was no question. I let this horse lean on me to take his weight off until the vet showed up. It was incredibly tough for me to be a part of that and even thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes. We figured that he had gotten kicked by another one of the horses ? nothing else could explain it. What?s the solution here? Quit pasturing horses? Or maybe, like Jason suggested ? quit breeding horses?? Any time horses are in a group they do their thing to establish a herd order and that involves biting, kicking and chasing. Did we put intentionally put this horse at risk? You bet. Humans were the ones that put the horses together.
I have put hundreds of hours on my ? and other?s ? horses in the mountains, and have done so with 3 month old horses and up (obviously leading, not riding, the young ones). Some horses HATE it out there. They show it. So what do we do with them? We find them placement in an arena or barn environment where the horse-owner team can excel. A horse isn?t like a dirtbike. We can?t just fire it up and make it go whether or not it likes it. The occupation of a horse is not only determined by breeding, it is determined by attitude, try and willingness. A friend of mine has a heavy horse that hates to pull wagons. They?ve tried to hitch him up and he?s miserable and shows it. But put a saddle on his (high!) back and get on?? He loves it.
I can and do climb on the back of my thoroughbred cross mare and run like the wind. It gives me freedom, and it?s exhilarating because she too loves to run. I can feel her spirit, and we feed off each other.? Running is in her breeding as a thoroughbred, and I give her the opportunity to do so because she loves it, excels at it, and thrives on it. And she?s damn proud of herself when she does a good job.
A horse is not capable of thinking like a human ? i.e. being able to make a conscious choice of their occupation. But they sure can let you know whether or not they like it. So there would be no point using a horse in a competitive event where the horse hated it or was poor at it, would there?? What chance would you have of success?
In any activity we take actions to ensure that things won?t go awry, especially since our lives and activities are becoming increasingly more regulated every day. I make sure my horses are in good physical condition, they?re properly shod, fed, etc. And yet there is still risk. So should I stay at home and just pet them? That doesn?t work either. So this is what we do:
We remain as responsible as possible while engaging in the sports we choose to partake in.
The horse owners and the Stampede association are open about the rules of the chuckwagon event and the health and welfare of the equine participants. And we all know now that the incident at the 2012 Stampede had nothing to do with horse care or negligence in accident prevention. In fact, chuckwagon racing has seen changes over the years to improve safety. Harden?s third-year left leader Pablo, a young thoroughbred, suffered an aneurysm that caused him to lose use of his two hind legs, which initiated the wreck.
I have a friend who watched saw his horse collapse at a distance, while the horse was running free. It was a heart attack. Consider the disastrous consequences that could occur if a lead horse on a wagon team in the mountains suffered the same, while pulling up a hill or across a fast river.
The debate about the chuckwagon event will continue. My only request to readers is that if you comment on this posting you do so with some logic and facts. I have no intention of approving uninformed emotional outbursts.
Scott
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