0:00:00.120,0:00:04.019 What is the vegan stance on horseback riding?[br]Is riding horses cruel? 0:00:04.080,0:00:07.060 Well, get ready to get controversial! 0:00:10.140,0:00:14.420 Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome[br]to another vegan nugget. Today’s topic is 0:00:14.429,0:00:17.939 something that I’ve been asked to cover[br]by may of you out there, especially recently, 0:00:17.939,0:00:22.289 so I’ve been doing my research. I want to[br]first give thanks to Fair Horsemanship for 0:00:22.289,0:00:25.380 all of her assistance and I’ll tell you[br]how to get connected with her later in the 0:00:25.380,0:00:25.800 video. 0:00:25.800,0:00:29.800 I’m first going to address the question[br]of whether or not riding horses is vegan and 0:00:29.800,0:00:34.160 then I’ll move onto whether it’s cruel.[br]As I said in my video about wool, veganism, 0:00:34.160,0:00:39.610 in general, is about opposing the use of animals[br]for our own personal gains in any form whatsoever. 0:00:39.610,0:00:43.760 If we look at horseback riding, it’s evident[br]that horses do not need to be ridden. Horseback 0:00:43.760,0:00:48.530 riding solely benefits the rider and so it[br]is a form of using animals for our entertainment, 0:00:48.530,0:00:50.400 which is explicitly not vegan. 0:00:50.400,0:00:55.370 Now this is not a popular stance and there[br]are several arguments as to how riding benefits 0:00:55.370,0:01:00.010 the horse. One of these is that domesticated[br]horses need exercise. The most simple response 0:01:00.010,0:01:04.420 to this is that domesticated dogs also need[br]exercise, yet owners are able to provide this 0:01:04.420,0:01:09.280 without having to mount them. A second argument[br]is that riding provides a horse with an enriched 0:01:09.280,0:01:13.399 environment. Again, this can be as easily[br]be achieved without someone atop them by walking 0:01:13.399,0:01:17.619 the horse from the ground. A third argument[br]is one that comes in many forms but always 0:01:17.619,0:01:22.389 starts with “By my horse loves…” and[br]ends with: being ridden, going to shows, wearing 0:01:22.389,0:01:26.859 a bridle, having a bit, running the barrels,[br]or what have you. And perhaps there is some 0:01:26.859,0:01:31.459 horse out there who actually likes to be ridden.[br]But let’s take a look at what riding does 0:01:31.459,0:01:35.969 to a horse's body physically. What I’m going[br]to cover is just a cursory look into the impact 0:01:35.969,0:01:40.049 of horseback riding on horses. I have links[br]to additional resources in the blog post for 0:01:40.049,0:01:44.159 this video, which is linked in the video description[br]and I urge you to reference those studies 0:01:44.159,0:01:47.609 if you want to delve deeper into his topic.[br]Let’s start with skeletal structure. There 0:01:47.609,0:01:51.850 is a saying that a horse is ready to ride[br]when their “knees close.” This refers 0:01:51.850,0:01:55.899 to waiting until the growth plates just above[br]their knees convert from cartilage to bone. 0:01:55.899,0:02:00.490 Dr. Den Bennet in her article Timing And Rate[br]Of Skeletal Maturation In Horses, states that 0:02:00.490,0:02:03.920 “what people often don’t realize is that[br]there is a “growth plate” on either end 0:02:03.920,0:02:08.580 of every bone behind the skull, and in the[br]case of some bones (like the pelvis or vertebrae, 0:02:08.580,0:02:12.190 which have many ‘corners’) there are multiple[br]growth plates.” She goes on to detail the 0:02:12.190,0:02:16.170 exact schedule of growth plate conversion[br]to bone in horses. While many people start 0:02:16.170,0:02:20.480 riding their horses around the age of 2, Dr.[br]Bennet’s schedule shows that the last plates 0:02:20.480,0:02:24.180 to fuse are in the vertebral column- and this[br]does not occur until the horse is at least 0:02:24.180,0:02:28.450 five and a half years old, with taller horses[br]and males taking even longer. According to 0:02:28.450,0:02:32.100 the text Practical Anatomy and Propaedeutic[br]of the Horse, the length of time for complete 0:02:32.100,0:02:36.770 growth of the epiphyseal plates, or cartilage,[br]is not until they are (on average) between 0:02:36.770,0:02:38.250 6 and 9 years old! 0:02:38.250,0:02:42.420 The basic takeaway of all of that is that[br]it's incredibly easy to damage a horse's back 0:02:42.420,0:02:46.850 and displace his or her vertebral growth plates,[br]causing pain and lasting injury. 0:02:46.850,0:02:51.280 Aside from the issue of growth plate fusion,[br]riding a horse at any age causes skeletal 0:02:51.280,0:02:56.350 damage as well as muscle and tissue. Expert[br]horseman, Alexander Nevzorov states “A horse’s 0:02:56.350,0:03:00.150 back is not a seat, not a place for a human[br]butt, not a piece of “meat”, not some 0:03:00.150,0:03:04.460 sort of “terra fir- ma”. It is a very[br]complex and tender anatomical structure with 0:03:04.460,0:03:08.780 extraordinary functions. Besides the obvious[br]biomechanical function, the back has another 0:03:08.780,0:03:12.810 very important function. The spinal cord’s[br]work is to guarantee that the responses from 0:03:12.810,0:03:17.240 the entire nervous system can communicate[br]the senses of taste, smell, vision, hearing, 0:03:17.240,0:03:21.570 and vestibular function to the brain, not[br]to get lost in too much detail. On this especially 0:03:21.570,0:03:27.140 vulnerable, sensitive organ, onto the medulla[br]spinalis, the brain of the back, sits a rider.” 0:03:27.140,0:03:32.770 In a 2007 study out of the 295 horses who[br]were considered physically sound upon initial 0:03:32.770,0:03:38.290 examination, 91.5% were diagnosed with some[br]kind of alteration on the spinal processes 0:03:38.290,0:03:43.160 after X-ray. Almost always the spinal processes[br]of the caudal saddle position were affected. 0:03:43.160,0:03:48.110 In horseback riding, the spinal damage caused[br]by weight alone is compounded by the use of 0:03:48.110,0:03:52.790 saddles, harnesses, bits, and whips. Saddles[br]restrict blood flow to the arterial capillary 0:03:52.790,0:03:57.090 bed causing tissue damage, as well as general[br]wear and chafing. But nothing is quite as 0:03:57.090,0:04:01.310 cruel as the use of bits and whips- which[br]I’m only going to give a cursory nod to 0:04:01.310,0:04:02.200 in this video. 0:04:02.200,0:04:06.600 Bits cause pain and damage to a horse’s[br]complex cranial nerves as well as their teeth, 0:04:06.600,0:04:11.670 tongue and palate. Facial nerves are extremely[br]close to the skin and thus extremely sensitive. 0:04:11.670,0:04:16.500 It is essential to understand that there is[br]absolutely no way to use a bit without a horse 0:04:16.500,0:04:17.370 feeling pain. 0:04:17.370,0:04:22.010 And since I’m running short on time here,[br]I’ll just say this about using a whip: it’s 0:04:22.010,0:04:22.820 a whip! 0:04:22.820,0:04:27.360 Now all of this is just barely scraping the[br]surface of the horse issue. I haven’t even 0:04:27.360,0:04:32.530 addressed the practice of breaking horses,[br]horse racing, the rodeo and other topics and 0:04:32.530,0:04:37.670 I'll cover those in future videos. For great[br]information on horse-friendly activities from 0:04:37.670,0:04:41.300 the ground and with positive reinforcement,[br]please head over to Fair Horsemanship’s 0:04:41.300,0:04:45.470 channel as well as check out her website.[br]She's a great resource on this topic. 0:04:45.470,0:04:48.850 Give the video a thumbs up if you likes it[br]and please share it around with your friends 0:04:48.850,0:04:52.610 and family. And if you’re new to the channel,[br]I’d love to have you subscribe- here at 0:04:52.610,0:04:58.100 BSV I address all aspect of veganism and aways[br]in 5 minutes or less. Now go live vegan and 0:04:58.100,0:04:58.870 I’ll see you soon!