Reining Trainer Sued for Horse Abuse

/0 Comments/in

There were full-thickness skin wounds from spurs, they still hadn’t completely healed two-and-a-half months later,” says Amy Rucker, DVM, a podiatry-focused veterinarian at MidWest Equine, in Columbia, Missouri. The article cites a Reining Horse Tonge Split in Half

 

Good Warning:

 

 

Reprint from TheHorse.Com

Traumatic Horse Training: Can You Spot Abuse?

Horse looking out stall bars waiting for NRHA member

NRHA Members Call Out Professionals Code of Ethics

/7 Comments/in

NRHA Members Call Out Professionals Code of Ethics as a load of rubbish. They do not adhere to it and nor is it enforced

Further down in this article you will read the actual comments made by NRHA members and enthusiasts regarding the Professionals Code of Conduct in 2020.

You may have seen the NRHA Welfare Publicity and the Professional Code of Conduct. It reads like the horses are living in Utopia!

What the NRHA States:  The Health and Welfare of our Horses

For the love. Of the horse. Of the sport. Of family. Reining is a sport that allows riders of all ages to unite and share their love of and devotion to the horse. They’re driven by the passion they feel for these kind, beautiful four-legged athletes. To compete successfully in Reining, our horses must be in excellent health and tip-top condition. They are cared for and treated as a member of the family, and that relationship is the essence of our involvement in Reining.

They go to say in The Professionals Code of Conduct :

Ensure that the welfare of the reining horse is paramount and that every horse shall always be treated humanely and with dignity, respect and compassion, regardless if the horse does not reside under my direct supervision.

NOW: Look inside the bubble and see what the NRHA members and reining enthusiasts really think. These comments include posts from high profile people within the reining horse business. Are the trainers held to account for their actions? Is there a standard that is enforced?

 

NRHA Member and Enthusiasts conversations

NRHA Member and Enthusiasts conversations

So this welfare and respect of the horse? From the 2019 Show Season

NRHA Member and Enthusiasts conversations

Would you want to be a member of some of those families?

Are bloodied sides and mouths, wires and spur gravel showing they are treated humanely and with dignity, respect, and compassion?

The enforcement of the Code of Ethics is managed by the trainers. Trainers governing trainers – what could possibly go wrong?

With the large sums of prize money for #runforthemillion #nrhafuturity #nrhaderby to name a few, should they be allowed govern themselves?

Questions are being asked now:

  1. Are they being truthful to the public with their welfare statements?
  2. Are they being truthful to the NRHA members who do care for the horses giving them a safety net for horses in training?
  3. Have you had any experience with the Professional Code of Ethics?

Vote Now if you believe changes are required to Rules and Management of Animal Welfare

© 2020 Reiningtrainers.com. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Report Horse Abuse of reiners

Report Horse Abuse and Your Attacked

/11 Comments/in

NRHA Members and Reining Enthusiasts write they are abused if they Report Horse Abuse

In an enlightened world of what is and is not acceptable in horse training methods, the Reining Horse World comes under the spotlight equally to that of the Tennessee Walking Horse – Big Lick for many people.

The fear in members is evident when you read the conversations they have regarding the welfare of horses and reporting horse abuse. The comments read of intimidation, victimization, ostracization; their real experience of reporting horse abuse.

Like the Big Lick, it is seemingly a closed shop with trainers and self-regulation being how the sport of reining is managed. They adamantly deny cruelty or abuse whilst others are shocked when they learn what goes on in the training methods. Unlike Big Lick, there are good and kind trainers within reining but there are also trainers and non-pro competitors that have no issue with their horse’s sides being blooded with spurs, mouths sored and blood, wired mouths, cut or injected tails to stop movement, drugging and numerous other atrocities occurring back at their training barns. All these things are abuse, their cruelty, (refer AAEP Guidelines on equine abuse), and certainly not how you would treat a member of the family; as NRHA marketing espouses.

When people with a consciousness toward their animals stand up, or those that see blooded sides, torn mouths, and other atrocities at shows report them, the response from those that are governing the sport, working in the office, or show pens is downright shocking.

Read from the people in the sport. Some of these people talking below are well known in the NRHA world and it includes comments from 2020.

While the NRHA spends tens of thousands of dollars of membership money creating a public persona of clean family sport, this is what is happening behind the scenes in 2019/2020.

These types of conversations are endless across Reining Horse Forums.

Let us know your experience in attempting to report horse abuse to the NRHA or NRHA Show Officials.

What are your thoughts:

  • Is this acceptable conduct by a governing body?
  • Should member money be spent on marketing or enforcing the rules?
  • Who Should Manage Reining Horse Rule-Making and Welfare
Vote Now on Improving Rules and Management of Horse Abuse – voting is now closed

© 2020 Reiningtrainers.com. All Rights Reserved.

horse with apparent tail tornaque numbing tail before entering ring

The Reining Tail Obsession

/6 Comments/in

The 2020 NRHA Derby did not disappoint with horses showing the quiet reining tail look; achieved through equine suffering.

The quiet reining tail look is a signature of the reining horse, and despite the suffering to the horse, it continues. Judges reward quiet tails; even when it is clear to the public, they have been tampered with! High scoring horses with flat tails hanging like dish rags.

They are so obsessed with the look; members report yearlings presenting at NRHA sales with their tails done!

To achieve, ‘the look’ people knowingly cause harm – including hair loss, permanent nerve or muscle damage or, worst of all, amputation. With some veterinarians becoming more concerned over their reputations for tail blocking, trainers and their assistants step to needle horses’ tails with alcohol or other potions, some finding different solutions to numb the tail. Tourniquets are very popular now. Members report their horses being done without permission!

The horse’s tail serves many purposes:

  • Indicator of emotional status
  • Assists in temperature regulation
  • A protective barrier for the anus and vulva
  • An appendage that aids in balancing
  • Insect deterrent

With penalties for swishing tails, the motivation to stop it at all costs is high for trainers and show riders.

​Horse Tail Anatomy

  • There are between 18 and 22 tail vertebrae, which begin where the sacrum ends.
  • Muscle and ligament continue to the end of the dock.
  • The vertebrae size reduces in diameter from the root of the tail to the tip. The end is pointed.
  • Two arteries supply blood to the tail. Circulation is not efficient in this narrow pathway.

Quiet Reining Tails through Tourniquets

The tourniquets are increasing in use as they can seem harmless but if wrapped tightly achieve numbness. Quickly pulled off just before the horse enters the arena it can achieve the quiet reining tail look. BUT:

Too Much Pressure Cuts off Blood/Nerve Supply  –  The dock is extremely sensitive to pressure. Any wrap applied above the last vertebrae that apply prolonged pressure acts as a tourniquet, which results in loss of blood and nerve supply to the entire dock. Repeatedly wrapping too tightly or too close to the end of the tailbone can cause the whole tail to die.

Sign this petition link if you believe any form of tail alteration, numbing, or blocking should be outlawed.

Read More Articles on This Topic

where did this nrha rule proposal to stop cruelty vanish to

Outlaw tail blocking its pervasive in reining its cheating unethical land the horses suffer

© 2020 Reiningtrainers.com. All Rights Reserved.