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Of all of the controversial topics I've covered,
nothing has drawn the ire of the internet

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as much as questioning the ethics of horseback riding.

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In the years since my first video on this
topic, I've realized a few things.

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One:

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horse

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people

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are

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passionate.

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And two: there’s a lot I failed to address.

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In fact, I've been rethinking my approach
to this debate entirely.

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So, is horse riding cruel?

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It is vegan?

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And is there any ethical way to ride a horse?

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(cracks neck)

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Let's do this

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Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, where
you can find all the sources for this video,

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and my entire Horse Riding Ethics series.

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Before we discuss whether horse riding is
cruel, I want you to think about another question entirely:

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Are horses meant to be ridden?

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You see, the question of whether horse riding
is cruel tends to result in heated debate

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over which methods or schools of riding are
best, with riders insisting that horse riding

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is not harmful if done "correctly."

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Any physical or emotional harm caused by riding
horses is due to inexperienced riders, poor

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use of equipment, or any other number of factors.

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But all of this debate over how to ride horses
"properly" presupposes that there is an acceptable

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way to use another being for our own purposes.

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Even the very question of whether horse riding
is cruel risks implying that the only problem

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with riding horses is whether they suffer.

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The foundational ethical issue with horseback
riding isn't whether it hurts horses

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—it's the presumption that they are ours to use in the first place.

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That horses are meant to be ridden.

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We'll explore this further throughout this
video, but I wanted to plant this seed before

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we get too lost in the weeds—and before
the vast majority of YouTube viewers leave

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the video entirely.

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(And they're gone...)

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Let's start by addressing head-on four common
arguments in defense of riding horses.

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The most basic argument in the defence of riding horses is that 
horses need exercise.

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This also comes with the most basic refutation:
so do dogs, cats, and human children—yet

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we've somehow found a way to provide such
necessary physical activity

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without mounting any of them.

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Yes, horses—like all animals—need exercise.

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And if riding them is the only way they are
allowed to receive that exercise, then yes—it's

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more beneficial than being stuck in a stall
24/7 But the choice of being ridden or receiving

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no exercise at all is a human-created false dichotomy.

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The reason horses even need humans to provide them with exercise

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is that we have confined them in the first place.

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A second argument is that riding provides
horses with an enriched environment and stimulation.

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As with exercise, these are valid needs of
any living being—and fully achievable without

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being mounted by a human.

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Again, if horses weren’t deprived of enrichment
and stimulation by humans in the first place,

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they wouldn’t need to be given enrichment
and stimulation by humans.

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Now, I know I've been a bit flippant in my
responses to the first two arguments, but

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I'm going to take some time on the final two
because they speak to profoundly important

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dynamics in how we conceptualize our relationships with horses.

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The assertion that horses enjoy being ridden
comes in many forms, but almost always starts

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with "but my horse loves..." and insert: being
ridden, going to shows, wearing a bridle,

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having a bit, running the barrels, and what have you.

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Horse riding advocates describe how excited
their horses are when they see it's time to

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go for a ride, listing behavioral signs of
enjoyment versus those indicating distress.

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Rather than debate the meaning of equine body
language, let's assume—for a moment—that

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a horse does show excitement about being ridden.

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This excitement has to be viewed within the
context of the limitations we've placed upon the horse

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What else do they have to look forward to?

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When your options are staying in a stall or
getting to go outside—albeit while being

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ridden—which would you choose?

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Adapting to the limits of confinement is a
survival mechanism in all animals—humans included

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Think of how imprisoned people find ingenious
ways to fulfill the need for social and communal

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interaction, intellectual stimulation, and physical activity.

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They may very well come to enjoy any time
they have outside their cell and excitedly

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anticipate things that, to non-imprisoned people, seem trivial 
or even unappealing.

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But within the limited framework of confinement,
they adapt to stay sane.

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This re-frames the issue entirely to the ethics
of domestication itself—something explored

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by former horse trainer, trader, and rider
Ren Hurst in my interview with her:

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Most people have no idea that the animals
they are spending time with are in an absolute

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state of learned helplessness, of conditioning,
that doesn’t even allow you to experience their true nature.

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What you are experiencing is like this empty shell version...
of the animal in front of you

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Even if we could accurately determine consent 
from other species, true consent cannot be

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freely given under unequal 
power dynamics and constraints.

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This leads us to what I think may be the most
painful defense for riders to confront:

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the love they feel for their horses, and the deep
emotional bond formed through riding.

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To those of you who ride horses: 
I do believe that you love them.

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I do believe that you feel a deep emotional
connection to them.

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And I believe that the depth of that love
is precisely what makes it so profoundly painful

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to question the true nature of your relationship with them.

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I also understand the resistance to having
that bond questioned by me—someone with

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no background in horse riding.

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So, I’ll again defer to Ren Hurst,

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You have to almost experience a truly free horse…
otherwise, your perception of what

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horses are and how they behave is really skewed.

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This is a being you have placed in your control
and in your care, and then you call that “love.”

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I mean, there’s nothing “loving” about
using someone for your own personal benefit.

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That’s not a loving relationship, and it’s
not an equal relationship.

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Riding horses involves using non-human animals
for entertainment, emotional fulfillment—even love.

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But using someone for love is still using someone.

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Now that we've touched on some of the principal
defenses for riding horses, let's explore

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the main arguments against horse riding.

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I'll be honest: the most common arguments
against horseback riding—which I myself

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focused upon in my original video and article
on this topic—all center upon the physical

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harm riding inflicts upon horses.

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Yes, it's important to address the physical
consequences horses endure.

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But focusing exclusively on their physical
suffering as the reason to stop riding horses

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misses the greater ethical issues entirely.

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Instead of questioning our use of horses in
the first place, we end up nitpicking the

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appropriate terms of their exploitation: arguing
about the best and worst methods of riding,

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the proper and improper use of equipment, et cetera.

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It is the very same trap of all animal welfarism,
like humane, free-range, and cage-free labels.

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Our right to use these beings is seen as a
foregone conclusion—the only thing we question

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is the "acceptable" ways in which we can use them.

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With that caveat stated, let's look at the
physical impact of horseback riding on horses

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before further exploring the vegan animal rights perspective.

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The short answer is yes, horse riding does hurt horses.

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Now, The exact nature and degree of the harm,
the precise causality, and proposed methods

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by which such harm may be mitigated is a 
long-standing contentious debate

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that shows no signs of resolution.

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A major problem with the scientific and medical
literature is that it is conducted through

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the lens of minimizing the harm of horse use
in order to prolong that use.

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It is also framed within the unquestioned
constraints we've placed upon horses.

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Before we get into more detail, I want to
again urge you to take a step back and think

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about another question entirely: if so much
has to be done "correctly" to minimize the

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harm of riding horses, and no one can actually
agree on what that "correct" formula is, and

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riding horses is entirely 
unnecessary in the first place—

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why are we still so insistent
on doing this to them?

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For the horse racing industry, the answer is clear: money.

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But for the individual rider—for the horse lover—

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stop to question why you feel you need to ride.

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The majority of blog posts and informal articles
I came across discussing whether riding hurts

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horses were written by riders.

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People who obviously have concern that their actions 
are adversely impacting the beings they love.

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Yet those posts went on to catalog—sometimes
in extensive detail—how, exactly, to make

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the riding experience as enjoyable as possible for your horse.

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How to minimize injury and distress.

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Some echo the journey of Ren Hurst, progressively
using less and less horse tack and adopting

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more gentle methods, all in an effort to find
a justifiable way to still use horses.

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So, let's follow this path and start with
the harm of horse tack.

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If you’re not familiar, horse tack refers to the equipment and 
accessories used on domesticated horses.

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This includes things like saddles, bits, bridles, and whips.

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It's worth noting that most horse tack is
made from the skin of other non-human animals,

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further compounding the exploitation.

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I cover the leather industry in depth in another video.

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In addition to general wear and chafing, saddles
run the risk of causing vascular occlusion—meaning

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the restriction of blood flow—which can,
if prolonged, lead to "necrosis of the under-lying

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tissues" —meaning the horse's skin and muscles die.

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Riding bareback (without a saddle) isn't the
answer, as it may actually increase the risk

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of injury by putting more concentrated pressure
on a horse's back than with a saddle.

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So, To avoid severe consequences such as necrosis,
much industry and scientific research goes

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into designing and educating riders about
"proper" saddle fit and use.

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The option of just not riding horses at all
never even enters the discussion.

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Because we just have to get up on them.

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I have a video covering bits,
so I’ll keep this brief.

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Bits cause pain and damage to a horse’s
complex cranial nerves as well as their teeth,

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tongue, and palate.

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Facial nerves are very close to the skin and
thus extremely sensitive.

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Bits provide a perfect example of the incremental
negotiation of acceptable exploitation that

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occurs when viewing a horses' pain as the only problem.

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Rather than question the domination and control
of another being, more and more riders adopt

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and advocate for bitless bridles.

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Then, when research hints that perhaps even
bitless bridles cause pain, there's another

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school or device or approach ready to take its place.

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Riding advocates emphasize that whips and
crops should not be used as punishment

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—only as encouragement.

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As with all horse tack, there is unending
debate over their "proper" use, with much

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focus given to the potential physical and
emotional harm of misuse.

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Let's pause for a moment to consider that
we're now debating the proper way to whip

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a being we love.

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Let's proceed.

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The most widespread controversy about whips
is their use in the horse racing industry,

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which I've covered in a dedicated video and article.

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While the way whips are used within horse
racing differs from how they're used in non-competitive

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riding, recent research into horse pain perception
from whips is applicable to the larger issues

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we've been exploring.

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There's a long-standing misconception that
horses have "thicker skin" than humans, and

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thus, whips don't hurt them.

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Not that we should need this to know better,
but research has found that this is not the case,

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with a 2020 study finding "no significant
difference between humans and horses in either

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the concentration of nerve endings in the
outer pain-detecting layer of skin or in the

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thickness of this layer...although horse skin
is thicker overall than human skin, the part

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of the skin that is thicker does not insulate
them from pain...humans and horses have the

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equivalent basic anatomic structures to detect pain in the skin."

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Six years before this study, one of the authors,
Paul McGreevy decided to whip himself while

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taking thermographic imaging, saying: "My
view is that – because there is no evidence

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to the contrary – we must assume that, just
as I felt pain and distress from the impact

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of the padded whip, similar whipping in a
horse would also cause pain and distress."

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While it's validating to now have the scientific
verification, I wanted to highlight McGreevy's point:

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Why not assume that other sentient
beings feel pain as we do, rather than continue

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to harm them unless we've proven to ourselves that it is harm?

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Now that we've addressed horse tack, what about the act of riding itself?

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When researching the physical harm of riding
horses, I found an astounding lack of consensus

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and ongoing controversy regarding horse skeletal
maturation and growth plate closure rates,

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diagnosis and treatment of injuries, and the relationship of 
riding and training practices to injury rates.

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Even a veterinary manual explaining "the most
common cause of back soreness in the horse"

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is soft-tissue damage to the muscles and supraspinous
ligament in a horse's back, which "are strained

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while the horse is being ridden" is sure to
point out that "there is considerable controversy

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over the diagnosis and treatment of back problems in horses."

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It’s acknowledged that "Across all equestrian
disciplines, the single largest reason for

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wastage"—also euphemistically referred to
as "loss of horses"— "is musculoskeletal injury,"

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Yet horse skeletal maturation rates and damage from riding 
remain particularly contentious.

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Many studies and sources declare horses "skeletally
mature" at 2–3 years of age based either

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on the growth plates closing in their legs,
or their having reached their full height and weight.

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None of these factors speak to the maturity
of their axial skeleton, which includes their

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vertebral column—y'know, the part you sit
on—or even parts of the pubis that don't

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fuse until 4.5–5 years of age, long after
they're already being ridden.

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I spent days delving into horse skeletal development—I
even chased down findings about horse pubic

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epiphyseal fusion not occurring until up to
5 years of age that were made in 1897.

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Yet well over 100 years later, we're still
asking when horses are skeletally mature and

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basing it off the earliest fusing plates in their limbs.

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I've included more detail on my research process
and findings on the article for this video

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if you want to dive deeper.

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But honestly, those hundred or so hours I
spent digging only highlighted the utter insanity

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of how much time, energy, and effort we humans
put into justifying our use of other animals.

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In the end, the industry, scientific, medical,
and even lay-rider literature doesn't really

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refute the harm of riding—it just strives
to determine the best way to reduce that harm

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and prolong the use of horses.

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The warring approaches to riding, endless
studies on training practices, and progressive

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bargaining of using less and less tack are
all manifestations of the same incremental

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negotiation of exploitation we perform with all non-human animals.

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Battery cages are too cruel for layer hens,
so we give them slightly larger cages.

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Still problematic?

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How about a crowded shed?

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Still too grim?

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Let's raise backyard chickens.

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We barter and bargain and give ourselves happy-sounding
labels, doing anything we can to keep using animals

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—but feel good about it.

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Within the horse world, a poignant example
of this mentality is the United States horse

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racing industry patting itself on the back for a 23.5% 
decrease in fatalities over a

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decade of voluntary data collection by The Jockey Club.

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Now there are going to be fatalities.

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But, as The Jockey Club's senior counsel said,
the fact that slightly fewer horses died of

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fatal injuries while racing "indicates that
the Thoroughbred industry's commitment to

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equine safety is paying dividends."

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Not only do we fail to question what we're
doing to these beings, but we actually congratulate

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ourselves for being the heroes in the disasters of our own creation.

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We swoop in to make their abbreviated lives
slightly less miserable—lives that we've

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made abbreviated and miserable in the first place.

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By this point, you can probably guess the
answer to whether horse riding is vegan.

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The question "is horse riding vegan" is quite
different from the question "is horse riding cruel"

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Veganism and animal rights oppose any 
exploitation of sentient beings

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It's evident that horses do not need to be ridden.

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When a horse's basic needs are met without
being ridden, horseback riding solely benefits the rider

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Whether that benefit is financial gain, entertainment,
emotional fulfillment, or even a presumed

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expression of love—it is exploitation.

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There is no way to take advantage of someone's
captive dependency without exploiting them.

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Underlying all of the debates over the "proper"
way to train and ride horses is not only the

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tacit acknowledgment that some degree of harm
is acceptable but also the deeply entrenched

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and unquestioned presumption that horses are ours to use.

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Confronting the exploitation of horse use is—I'm sure—profoundly painful.

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It's likely as traumatic as confronting what
we do to animals in the food industry—and

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elicits just as strong defenses and justifications,
even from vegans who continue to ride.

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Again, I will encourage those of you who ride
horses to ask yourself: why?

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Why do you insist on doing this to them?

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As much as I'm sure you love them, is this
how you express love for any other being in your life?

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This isn’t about shame—it’s about learning
to love horses truly unconditionally, and

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allowing them to be their full selves outside
of the constraints of who we need them to be.

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I'll be honest—revisiting the ethics of
horse riding has been an exhausting, challenging,

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and somewhat maddening experience.

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My hope is that this video will reach 
those of you who are still riding—and

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that you'll find a way to work through your defenses and take an 
honest look at your relationship with horses.

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I highly recommend watching my interview with
Ren Hurst—hearing from someone who has been

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where you are is no doubt more 
powerful than anything I can say.

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Please share this video with others who ride.

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And, as much as I joked about "passionate feedback," 
I do want to hear from you in the comments.

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What are your thoughts on the ethics of horse riding?

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Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.