’Someone Had Told Her to Shoot It, Because It Was Beyond Help”: Amidst Increased Deaths, Saddening Reality of Horse Treatment Leaves Equestrian World Alarmed

The world of equestrian, as neat, poised, and sophisticated a sport as it seems on the surface, exists on the back of an uncountable list of injuries. This year in particular, saw some of the highest number of gelding deaths, that too in and around major events like the Kentucky Derby. And yet, the death of horses still doesn’t seem to end. As yet another gelding has been recently put down, an experienced horse trainer questioned the foundation of the system put in place for injured horses.

The trainer, who runs the Facebook page ‘Keystone Equine’, wrote a long passage regarding the recent unfortunate death, pouring her heart out on the matter. There was pain and anger mixed to form a blend in her words. As her words echoed many people’s sentiments, the equestrian world agreed with her on the matter and shared their opinions.

A change in the way horses are trained and maintained will be refreshing and life-affirming

Keystone Equine wrote a long, narrative passage regarding changing the approach of dealing with horses. She explained how to ensure the well-being of a horse from the moment it foaled, how to treat it better when injured, and why it’s necessary to change the narrative, “There are no bad horses; only bad people.”

The Facebook post by Keystone Equine read, “This is where I have a problem with that smug saying, “There are no bad horses; only bad people.” Why? Because it is focusing more on who is to blame for the horse’s current situation, than on fixing the problem. If I am now responsible for this horse, it does not help him to assign blame to someone from his past.”

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In fact, her entire post is derivative of that same feeling. It explains how humans use horses for their own purpose, mostly recreation purpose, and when their condition goes beyond recovery, they become “dog food in the end”.

The equestrian world has woken up to the disturbing reality

As the Keystone Equine post was heartfelt and genuine, it struck a chord with a lot of equestrian fans. Here’s how some of them reacted:

“Recently I went to help a lady with a horse because someone had told her to shoot it because it was beyond help…”, wrote someone who believes there is another way to deal with it besides euthanization.

“It’s a good thing to test for if one’s horse is showing indicators for the disease…”, wrote someone who understood the importance of regular testing.

“Gosh it sounds an awful lot like so many parents these days that don’t want to “force” their kids to do anything they don’t want to do or set and hold boundaries…”, wrote another person who drew a parallel between owning a horse to having a kid. In both cases, the trainer or equestrian is like a parent.

“There is this tightrope between the hearts and flowers and the discipline required to develop a horse that will find a home and purpose. Utmost respect for those who balance that act…”, wrote someone with a keen understanding and appreciation of maintaining a horse fit and healthy throughout his life.

The discussion around horse riding and equestrian as a sport has raised eyebrows for quite some time now due to the extremities involved, both for the ride and the rider. Several equestrians have been crippled to death by freak accidents, and many more horses have died. With this new Facebook post after the recent update, will there be a huge upheaval in the way these horses are taken care of and the sports are looked at? Time will tell.

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