Wastage – not the packaging you throw away when you get home from shopping

Wastage in thoroughbred terms designates those horses bred, that don’t make it to the racetrack, or that don’t stay within the industry.

So ‘Wastage’ refers to what should be valued; live, sentient beings. Horses. Non racing.

Please note some figures are horse numbers discarded PRE racing, some are POST racing. Whichever way – too many AND no accountability

For some depressing reads, Google ‘wastage in australian racehorses’

If you wish to be selective, choose sites run by people associated with racing.

https://tajodds.com/f/equine-racing-wastage-figures-2026

Tajodds is run solely by race analyst Gordon Ross.

>>>the report estimates that 8,500–10,500 racing horses are slaughtered or euthanised annually<<<

Or Independents

https://www.abc.net.au/.../racehorses-sent.../11611688

horse related

https://thehorse.com › australian-racehorse-wastage-eval...

More than one-third of racehorses leave the industry every year due to factors including injury and poor performance, a phenomenon known as “wastage

Above comments / postracing

It appears that there is no official record of ANY of these numbers, nor any accurate means of researching numbers. A lot of numbers that were available didn’t add up – ie percentages not equalling 100, and different sites quoting different figures.

What I found disturbing (apart from the discrepancies and the volume of course) was the apparent offhand comments by a lot of people in the industry, especially with reference to the number of deaths included in the ‘wastage’ figures. And these referenced deaths are not the deaths that happen at the race meetings – currently 1 death every 2.2days. They are over and above that.

Some figures and some of those comments below >>including some of our comments <<

AI answer for What percentage of foals born actually race

(so wastage PRE racing)

Data from major racing jurisdictions shows the following breakdown:

• Australia:

o Around 66% of foals enter training.

o About 51% have actually started in a race by their four-year-old season ….

Why many foals never race includes lack of athletic talent >>often translates as not fast enough<<

behavioral or temperament issues >>generally avoidable with good handling and low stress<<

developmental or physical injuries (wastage) >>should be avoidable or greatly reduced if horses were not started before they were physically mature<<

or being redirected into alternative equestrian sports or breeding roles before hitting the track

>>Generally redirected to alternative equestrian happens post racing, not before<<

>>TB foal numbers born for the 2025 year were 11283 – so if 50% never race?

What happens to the other 5641 horses? What about the other (not 2025) years?

What happens to ALL these horses?

Barriers to entering race training before 4 years of age for Thoroughbred horses born in the 2014 Australian foal crop

• Meredith L. Flash , Adelene S. M. Wong, Mark A. Stevenson, James R. Gilkerson

Australian researchers recently completed a five-year study tracking down the foals born in the racing Thoroughbred industry in 2014. Of those foals, only 66% entered training in Australia, and 5% were exported to other countries. What happened to the other 28%?

“Many of them died, mainly due to injury or illness,”

said veterinarian and researcher, Meredith Flash …..Centre for Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne…..

Below from ‘horses and people’ website, How Many Foals End up Racing?

Article by Christa Lesté-Lasserre | Sep 21, 2020

*Specifically, 38% of the group of horses that never trained didn’t live long enough to enter training, Flash said

* “That seems like a lot, that 38%,” she said.

>>SEEMS like a lot?<<

*“But it’s important to keep in mind that that’s ONLY 11% of the whole foal crop, including those that did enter racing.”

>>With the 2025 breeding figures of 12300 per year, that would be “ONLY” 1353 deaths of horses under 4yo <<

Post racing

From Thoroughbred report

Head of Education at The Australian Veterinary Association Dr Meredith Flash led research published in 2021 that analysed the destinations of 2509 horses coming off the track in the 2017/18 season, and ascertained that 30 per cent went into thoroughbred breeding, 45 per cent went on to equestrian pursuits, and 8.4 per cent found companion homes.

>>That adds up to 83.5% -

Leaves 16.5% unaccounted for? 414 horses? Where? Dead? <<

These are lives we are talking about here – not just statistics.

The racing industry needs to be accountable, and needs to setup and enforce keeping a recording system.

Too many rescues are already struggling. 12000 foals per year, even with high mortality rates (too high) and ’wastage’ (also too high) there are too many thoroughbreds leaving racing that would struggle to find good homes, that will fall through the cracks.

Racing is a multi billion dollar industry.

The Australian thoroughbred breeding industry contributes nearly $1.68 billion annually to the Australian economy and provides full-time employment for over 9,000 people, predominantly in rural and regional areas (Agrifutures Aust)

Racenet website

In 2021-22, $29 billion was wagered on thoroughbred racing in Australia (an average of nearly $80 million a day).

Such a huge industry could surely mandate setting aside funds to support retraining and rehoming the equines that race to generate this income?

Chances are high many of these animals either end up deceased, in welfare, neglected or otherwise. The numbers we are talking about are way too high for incorporating into other equestrian pursuits.

They need a safety net, and the industry that exploits them should be funding this.

Sadly its Melbourne Cup time of year again.

That time of year where it is hard to continue being an ostrich and pretending that a lot of horses are NOT being mis-treated, raced to death, or subjected to pain and fear for human enjoyment.

There are a lot of things wrong with this industry.

The industry itself has outgrown its family connections, and spilled over from being a life or vocation - into the world of money. Big sport. A world of high stakes, prestige and gambling.

This means decisions are often not made for the animal anymore, but for the machine. There are so many facets of racing nowthat are detrimental to the horses wellbeing.

Over the next few weeks I will mention a few of these issues – Some being

Deaths in racing –

* 175 deaths recorded at race meetings for the 2025 year

https://horseracingkills.com/issues/deathwatch/

Wastage – ie numbers bred that don’t stay in the industry

Whipping horses so humans can win more money

Racing babies / breakdowns

Incorrect housing and feeding – ulcers / Behavioural problems / stereotypies

To anyone who would like to spout the “treated like kings” fallacy – Before you do I will briefly mention ulcers.

Ulcers are generally attributed to stress and incorrect feed regimes. High carbohydrates, and lack of roughage. Feed that is not available 24/7. Just because the feed product is expensive and designed for racing, doesn’t mean it is right. (It is akin to feeding a dog chocolates and wine)

Equine Vet J Suppl. 1999 Apr:(29):34-9.doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05166.x.

Cross-sectional study of gastric ulcers of the squamous mucosa in thoroughbred racehorses

N J Vatistas 1, J R Snyder, G Carlson, B Johnson, R M Arthur, M Thurmond, H Zhou, K L Lloyd

>>>Two hundred and two Thoroughbred horses in active race training were selected. The number of ulcers and a score of severity were determined. Gastric ulceration of the squamous mucosa was identified in 82% of horses.

Randwick*Procedure: Medical records from gastroscopic examinations of 345 racehorses (331 Thoroughbreds and 14 Standardbreds) were reviewed. Prevalence, distribution and severity of gastric ulcers were recorded. Lesions involving the squamous mucosa and the glandular mucosa of the antrum and pylorus were graded and compared.

Results: Gastric ulceration was found in 86% of racehorses.

(6) The prevalence and distribution of gastric ulceration in

345 racehorses Aust Vet J Vol 81, No 4, April 2003 LM Begg and CB O’Sullivan.

Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

That study reported the following statistics:

• Only 37% of untrained Thoroughbreds have ulcers, but that rate increases to 80-100% within 2-3 months of training;

Also Kentucky equine research – and I found this *horrifying*

• Similarly, weanling foals have equally high rates of ulcers. Stress caused by changes in routine is thought to be an important contributor to the development of gastric ulcers

Abrupt and forced weaning of thoroughbred foals at 3-4mth old is often the norm. In wild horse herds weaning generally takes place naturally around 10-12mths of age.

Abrupt weaning of babies described as ‘changes in routine’?

These euphemisms are used to try to sugarcoat or cover up the facts

Some of these wrongs done to the horse should be raising welfare concerns. Yet it is often what is in plain sight that is hardest to see.

And they are such gentle, harmonious creatures.

How do we dispel Untruths in Horse Teaching?

For years many of us were taught that compliance from the horse equals respect. Staying out of our space equals respect. Doing as we command is respect.

We were taught that the shut down horse with no outwardly expressed opinions was quiet and well trained and well mannered. And ideal.

We were taught that obedience was desired. Taught in fact that we needed obedience for safety.

Needed. Safety. That almost allows us to not accept any alternatives.

We were taught pecking order and dominance theory. Long since dis-proved but still doing the rounds

Along came ‘Natural Horsemanship’ and ‘shifting the other horses feet’ Really??

Someone got their ‘natural’ completely wrong.

A few episodes of seeing some poorly housed horses ‘resource guarding’ by chasing another horse away from their feed, and proof was right there in front of them.

Dominant horse later downgraded in terminology, to ‘lead mare’. Still un-truth, sounds better

Easy for an older mare to keep a yearling away from her food – and ‘snap’ there is that lead mare, moving his feet, chasing him away until he ‘apologises’ and wants to come back to the fold. Well of course he does - he's a herd animal!

Some justification for round-penning, or 'join-up', and I won’t add the ‘respect’ word here! Round penning works firstly by eliciting the fear response until the horse moves away from the aversive, then applying the release (or relief) at the moment the horse looks at you. Then moves toward you, then follows you. Classic R-

Herd leader. Lead mare, join up? Try a remote controlled car!!

https://listentoyourhorse.com/join-up-and-round-pen.../

The whole ‘moving the feet’ proof never came from an equine ethologist – they don’t appear to have as many disciples as natural horsemanship clinicians with cult followings sadly. Only listened to by a small minority, Truth, but not enough hype.

And those clinicians thought they had the answer, so never researched to see.

Often men tangled in control, with borderline misogynist disorder. Force, not consent

Horses are there to be controlled. A threat to manliness if not controlled. Some even suggesting women will spoil horses, and let them get away with things.

Showing care and empathy not on the table then?

Where did it all begin?

Somewhere – the first person mis-interpreted, or mis-translated, an agonistic probably resource guarding display by a horse, and gave it the wrong label. Told others what their assumption looked like, and what they thought it meant.

Those others heard the explanation, saw the behaviour, and agreed.

The older mare chasing a smaller horse away from her hay. Looked like a boss mare asserting superiority. Really? she was just trying to ensure she got enough to eat.

But- what you see matches the pre-explained description, so it must be right.

Too many shares and too many saying yes I can see that – how does the ethologist then say but horses in the wild don’t do that?

Once you believe, it is hard to see a different picture. When too many believe, it is hard to change the teaching, even when it is wrong.

Somewhere the horse was forgotten.

His nature not studied for itself, but human feelings and interpretation from human culture applied. WE have bosses, and do what they say. Horses must be the same.

Somewhere the behaviour from a different species was extrapolated to equines. The descriptions explained to match the idea. Then it grew. Cancerous.

How do we change what has been ‘truth’ for too long, but isn’t?

Written By Vicki Conroy of the PPGA Equine Sub-Committee

Food rewards don’t work with my horse

And

You can’t train ‘X’ species with food – they are not a predator

How often have you seen ideas (fallacies) like these? 

All animals MUST eat, or they die. 

So food has value for all animals, all individuals, all species. 

No special circumstances, no prior learning needed. ‘Food is a good thing’ is hardwired!

Food HAS value, although sometimes it may be higher or lower – for example tastier, less obtainable, or the animal may be less hungry or more hungry

Just because the food doesn’t require chasing and catching, doesn’t mean the animal can always eat without working for it. Even grazing animals will forage for better grazing and look for the tastiest bits. In some weather conditions the search is for any grazing they can find.

So

Did you try R+ with your horse and think he wasn’t motivated by the food? 

If so there are factors to consider other than the food itself that could be causing the problem – it won’t be that the horse isn’t food motivated. He is alive – he eats!

Below suggestions may not include all possibilites – 

Always adapt your training plan to your horse and yourself. Engaging an experienced R+ trainer to help start you off is recommended.

Firstly – his safety

Although a scared or frightened horse can snatch at food as a calming or displacement behaviour, normally a stressed animal won’t eat. 

And they certainly won’t have the brain space to be working out your puzzles if they are stressed, they will be focussed firstly on their own safety.

Set up your training so your horse feels safe. 

Train in sight of his friends; train in an area he is accustomed to; train where he feels secure; Utilise people he feels comfortable with for training; Objects he is comfortable with; keep an eye out for ‘novel’ things - eg is there a new tractor parked too close to somewhere he usually feels safe?

Timing – are you trying to train at a time his friends are being fed? When he is usually fed? When the neighbours horses are running around excitedly? When the kids are doing yahoo after school?

Start with a behaviour with no prior baggage – 

if there are already bad associations with what you are asking, that can be an impediment to further learning, it will certainly contribute to reducing his ‘buy-in’ and his enjoyment

Is he physically able to do what you ask?

Is what you are asking too hard?

Can you break the behaviour into smaller, more achievable pieces?

Does he value the food reward you are offering?

Can you reward more? The consequence may not match the effort

Can you start your teaching with an easier behaviour? 

Build difficuty as he progresses with his training

Is he worried he will get the answer wrong? 

Often traditionally trained horses are TOLD what to do, not given the opportunity to think for themselves, or work the answer out for themselves. 

Many WILL have been ‘corrected’ for offering the ‘wrong’ behaviour, so may be worried about offering a ‘reply’

The history of, or feeling of ‘not being allowed’ to answer or have a voice, would be responsible for many horses that are disinclined to participate – NOT the fact that horses don’t chase the food they eat. 

They have evolved to forage for 16hrs per day after all.

Surely we, as the supposed ‘brains’ of the partnership, can set up the context and antecedents in such a way that our horses choose to participate in exchange for food reinforcement? 

The benefits will be fulfilling.

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine subcommittee

Horses SHOULD NOT be confined to small spaces.

They need room to move. All day.

They need the space and the freedom to express their normal behaviour.

They need room to move WHILE they graze

Eating from stationary feeders and being confined to stables and small solitary yards can have deleterious health and emotional consequences

We should be famliar with the horses’ natural grazing sequence of place one foreleg forward, ‘bite off grass, chew, move head, bite off grass, chew, repeat’ around the extended foreleg, then raise head, progress opposite foreleg, repeat above sequence around new leading leg.

Watch Lucy Rees youtube video for a better explanation!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ObrV64MgAo

Preliminary findings of Lucy Rees/ Christina Salvany documented some 30 foreleg progressions per minute. When distance the foreleg moved was calculated, the figure came up to a possible 30km per day, with head down, stetched back/topline, grazing. 30kms GRAZING.

Lucy Rees posits if you take out the grass, inhibit the forward movement and make it faster – YOU HAVE WEAVING. Stereotypies come from thwarted natural behaviour.

So stabled horses that have no freedom to express normal behaviours often express variations of normal behaviour. These are sometimes called ‘vices”

Vices – another term we need to re-label

(merriam webster dictionary)

: moral depravity or corruption : wickedness

: a moral fault or failing

A moral fault or failing when the ‘vice’ occurs because THE HUMAN HAS FAILED to provide for the horses basic needs?

Unfortunately individual stabling and individual yarding is often looked upon as acceptable –

IT IS NOT.

ALL horse keeping MUST provide the basic needs for the horse, No argument. The ONLY exception is when Veterinary advice is recommended for Injury, or confinement for recovery.

We MUST provide for basic needs, and those needs cover MORE than food, water and shelter.

*Freedom to express normal behaviour MUST be accounted for*

Confinement and prevention of the execution of normal behaviour causes stress; which in many instances can lead to stereotypies.

Stereotypies are defined as repetitive behaviors with no obvious goal and function (Clegg et al., 2008)

Stereotypies have never been observed in free-ranging feral horses, but

Have been reported in more than 15% of domesticated horses (Luescher et al., 1991)

We need to stop normalising incorrect and unsafe horse keeping, for our horses emotional AND physical welfare.

Written by Vicki Conroy PPGA Equine sub-committee

Why do we need research papers to prove that whipping hurts?

This is another – What is wrong with humans? post.

I must be a bit ‘anti-human’ lately, as I seem to pen a few of these!

Ive been trying to draft a ‘position statement’ on the use of whips in racing –

I keep getting stuck.

I can be a bit blunt at times (ok often!) - I keep wanting to just write

“Whipping horses so humans can win more money is wrong”

and leave it at that.

I mean, what else do I need to say?

Isn’t that enough?

Do I REALLY need more justification? Whipping animals is wrong.

Doing so for human financial gain is wrongER.

Worse. Despicable. Abhorrent. What other adjectives can I use?

Why do we need research papers (we have them) to prove that whips cause pain?

Do we not know this?

It seems that the people related to the racing industry see things differently.

It apparently doesn’t cause pain? In whose world that is I am not sure!

Claims of ‘in the excitement of the race they don’t feel it’

‘Horses are bigger than people so don’t feel it as much?’

‘Horses have thicker skin than people so don’t feel it as much’

Blah. No Words.

Basic common sense here? We have all seen a horse twitch their skin when a fly lands on it? Even racehorses – who knew? Yet they don’t feel whips? Really?

Does whipping harder give you an edge? If everyone in the race stopped whipping,

NO-ONE would have a whipping advantage. More basic common sense?

We now have research papers whose findings posit that whipped horses don’t run faster – Even if it did make them go faster, it is still whipping a sentient being with perfectly working skin nerve endings, so a human CAN WIN MORE MONEY. And again, if they all stopped whipping there is no advantage

This is the first 4 lines in wikipaedia when I entered ‘whip’

A whip is a blunt melee weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control or strength through pain compliance or fear of pain,

(oh no – now they will claim they whip because of the sound)

Pain

Why do we need research to tell us that whips cause pain?

Greed. Human greed. Or glory.

Sad

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine subcommittee

Affiliative Behaviour - Equine Body Language and what people don’t see

SO many videos and posts about horses ‘bossing each other around’ ‘shifting the other horses’ feet’ and ‘putting the others in line’

Humans place a BIG focus on agonistic behaviour.

Are we primed for it? Waiting for it? Do we enjoy agonistic behaviour? Why do we not see behaviour unless it is a BIG display?

Are we not subtle enough? Not aware enough?

Why do we miss smaller displays? Why do we need displays?

Many humans don’t see that horses grazing together ARE exhibiting affiliative behaviour. They are being cohesive, they are getting along. Often when grazing they will all be facing the same direction (mine do, anyway!)

Affiliative behaviours amongst horses happen nearly ALL the time, yet most people miss these, or mis-understand them

If a horse swishes its tail, lifts a leg or puts his ears back, everyone is quick to notice.

Im suspicious that humans don’t recognise any other affiliative behaviours that horses display, other than mutual grooming

Grazing together is affiliative. Drinking together is affiliative. Following single file to the water trough is affiliative. And no - it isn’t the lead mare that initiates this, or ‘makes it happen’ I would suggest it may be the thirstiest!

Sharing the shade of a big tree is affiliative. Standing quietly next to each other is affiliative. Swishing to keep flies off each other is affiliative. Waiting together when it is hay time is affiliative.

These signals and more horses exhibit ALL the time, and we either ignore them or don’t recognise them, or don’t give them credence for what they are. Do we think that the horse is not ‘doing’ anything? Yet we are quick to point out when things are not so smooth.

I think it is time we acknowledge ALL the good signs, not just focus on the bad.

When we see agonistic displays we need to question WHY they are happening.

They are so rare in normal, stable herd interactions. An agonistic display SHOULD make you think ‘what is wrong?’ – Why is that happening? What needs to change in that herd or environment so that behaviour doesn’t need to occur? What management has the human missed that has caused this?

Agonistic displays account for under 0.01 percent of all horse interactions (1) – yet these are what we focus on?

Humans - I’ll say no more.

1 {Affiliative interactions and responses significantly out number aggressive ones (p<0.01) The Roles of Individuals and Social Networking in a Small Group of Domestic Horses at Pasture C. Ricci-Bonot University of Rennes Marthe Kiley-Worthington Centre d'Eco-Etho Recherche et Education }

Teaching your horse to dance

That heading was underneath a picture of a horse in a clinicians advertisement, the horse in the process of ‘appearing’ to mimic or mirror the actions that the handler was doing

Sounds lovely - right? Wrong!

The horse in the picture was clearly not enjoying the experience.

Ears back, tense cheek muscles, straight tense lip line, tension around eyes.

An unhappy equine expression.

Trainer – smile on face, whip in hand

Just because the behaviour was happening, didn’t make it right.

The contrast between the horses displeasure, and the trainers satisfaction – prompted the comment I received (thankyou Madi Holmes from the Equine sub-committee!!)

“That is like the old western movies, teaching people to ‘dance’ by aiming bullets at their feet”

Does everyone remember seeing that in some old westerns? Recipients were decidedly NOT happy with their dancing lessons!

Just because the behaviour is taught, learned and reproducible, doesn’t make it right. How the horse FEELS while performing the behaviour, AND how he felt while he was being taught, is WAY more important than if it works or not.

I would strongly posit that the horse pictured in that ad was taught the behaviour via negative reinforcement. Meaning that the aid applied to elicit the behaviour was unpleasant, and did not go away until the behaviour was displayed.

That equals force.

Being forced to dance? The steps are there but the joy isn’t. Isn’t dancing a joyous thing?

Compare that unhappy display with the attitude and willingness of a horse taught by positive reinforcement – happy, engaged, keen to do the correct behaviour, because it makes good things happen! Joyous!

The learning process itself is fun for both parties, not just the finished performance.

A learner who wants to be with you, wants to learn with you, wants to spend time with you – that is the goal. And not only is the performance good – it is generally BETTER!

It is learned faster, performed with joy; with more engagement and rapport, and MOST IMPORTANTLY- it is performed by an equine who wants to be there, wants to participate, and wants to get it right.

Dancing for joy?

Pic taken from ad on internet

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine sub-committee

You cant make a horse do something he doesn’t want to do

I read a great response to this the other day - google ‘slavery’

(Slavery should, I hope, be hard for those humans to deny or distort, as they do with horses)

They claim that you can’t ‘force’ a 500kg animal to do something he doesn’t want to do.

You can

Easily in the case of horses, as they are such kind and obliging creatures.

They are ‘hardwired’ to get along. Being a cohesive part of a herd (getting along) is intrinsic to their survival.

You can

Sometimes the force is insidious, it starts small and is built upon, and the subject becomes trapped.

You can

Sometimes they are scared, frightened, or coerced into responding. Threatened if they don’t respond. Here you could consider domestic violence recipients. Do as you are told or receive the brunt of my anger.

The horse also, he responds to avoid the threat, he works to avoid the aversive

You can

Un-knowing people may question why the beaten wife stays. So many times they are too scared to leave. In the horses’ case he is often held by a rope, or contained in a yard. He can not leave

Many episodes of being unable to leave, or leaving being thwarted, can lead the victim (here you can also substitute horse) to believe that they can NOT leave. Ever

Can not leave. Confined to a yard or stable. Confined by fear.

Can not leave

None of those slaves or domestic violence victims – or coerced horses - want to be there

The threat of the overseer with the whip is ever present.

The threat of retaliation, or the threat of the consequence that will occur AFTER the ‘rebellious’ action, is ever present

Can not leave

Psychological threat or physical -

Any one or any being, who can scare you or overpower you or threaten you or hurt you, CAN force you to do things you don’t wish to do. When it happens enough you stop trying.

Can not leave,

As with horses. Especially as in the past we were fed the incorrect ‘be the boss’ protocol. Our relationship with our equines shouldn’t be a dictatorship or a power struggle

Can not leave

Initially ’trained’ by force. Then conditioned - it has happened so often it will always happen

Ropes, whips, yards, enclosures. Psychological intimidation. Fear and anxiety. Past and present conditioning. Not allowing alternative answers.

So many facets of force can creep into our training – even if we mistakenly believe it is not so

You can’t force a horse?

You can

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine sub committee

A christmas message from Idi Amin

I remember during my very first job, kennel hand at the Local Veterinary clinic working after school at 14yo – lovely place, nice people, a good community to join, and great people to teach me new things. I was young and didn’t have much ‘real world’ experience.

One afternoon in December there was a message on the noticeboard (written by one of the older Vet nurses) that I saw during break time. It read

A Christmas message from Idi Amin – everybody will smile or be shot

I of course went home to enquire who or what was Idi Amin. That saying stuck with me for a bit, it was probably one of the first political statements I became aware of (no internet back then, and politics wasn’t horse related!)

Fast forward to today – so often that line pops into my head while scrolling social media.

Ads for horse clinicians – promoting feel and partnership usually – but showing a horse pictured with a facial expression that says the horse would rather be anywhere else but there!

Ditto private horse owner posts showing their horse at ‘liberty’ (generally no bridle, ropes or headcollar) Posts bragging about communication and understanding, when the facial expression of the horse again says “I don’t want to be here’

Horse expressions that range from shutdown, unhappy, hyper-vigilant, zoned out, wary. Scared. Predominantly unhappy.

Clinician smiling and holding a whip.

That’s as great a depiction of “everybody will smile or be shot” as any I can think of.

Horse bridle-less to prove they have ‘rapport’

And that Idi Amin sentiment is exactly what is happening in so many places in the horse world.

I will force you to endure this

You will participate and not project your displeasure

There is no escape from me and my whip

I will ignore every message you try to convey that says you are unhappy

I am the leader and you must obey me

Your choice is a rock or a hard place

You will perform as I wish, because I will make you do so

I will bend you to my will

Everybody will smile or be shot

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine sub committee

(Picture downloaded from a public facebook liberty page)