Headbutting horses

[atolhurst]

Now I'm not a horse-y person and I don't really follow horse racing at all, but I can't believe there are some people (bloke in the Times this morning) saying that whilst that jockey who head-butted his horse wasn't right to do it, he could 'understand how the jockey felt'. I think it's disgusting that this guy isn't immediatey dismissed from the sport and charged by the RSPCA or whoever.

As I see it, a horse is an animal; it has feelings, moods and emotions of it's own (although obviously not as developed as that of a human) so if it doesn't fancy running, it doesn't fancy it. You might smack it like you might a child (or used to) to tell it off for being naughty but you wouldn't head butt a child so why is it 'understandable' that you'd even consider harming an animal, so severely.

People who work in horse racing have got to understand that when they decide to ride animals, there is always room for the animal to have a personality of its own. And that may not always agree with the jockey at every moment, whether it be in a race or otherwise. And if the jockey can't respect that, they shouldn't ride an animal and should perhaps race cars which don't have their own personalities.

Am I being over the top??? It just seems it's being taken rather mildly by people in the sport.

[daftpixie]

No, your bang on mate, its outrageous that these horses are seen as nothing more than sports eqiptment, they know fine well that horses by nature can be temperamental and stubborn, and yet use this as a reason to excuse the jockeys disgusting actions. I only hope that the next horse he gets on, bucks or rears him into a brick wall!

[jno]

well, humans are humans, and some of them lose it from time to time; you have to accept their fallibility too. How badly would a horse be hurt by a head-butt? (Serious question.)

[Ethel]

You are being over the top.

That horse would not have been hurt by the jockey's actions - watch horses and you will see they have very hard heads which they use to headbut each over.

What IS cruel is soppy, over indulgent pet owners who feed their dogs chocolate and cake so they become obese and diabetic, and neglectful horse owners who leave their horses standing in mud for months on end.

[atolhurst]

I'm not 100% sure of how hurt it would have been, jno - as I say, i'm not really a horse-y person. But the jockey was wearing his helmet; some kind of intent to hurt there, surely?

[Rufio]

Totally agree, i saw it and couldnt believe it. Did you see the horse staring at him afterwards though? Couldnt figure out if he was thinking "what was that for?what did i do?" or "yeah, you think so pal? wanna take this outside?"

[daftpixie]

Er, do either of you two own horses? Yes they are physically robust creatures, but a headbut could hurt them if on a certain part of the body, and you are forgetting the impact something like that has on an animal, they may not be as sophisticated as humans, but they are intelligent and sensitive, and can easily suffer a trauma from maltreatment. Oh, but then if humans are just being humans, thats ok then isnt it

[jno]

obviously, I don't own a horse, that's why I asked how much it would hurt and pointed out that this was a serious question. Just because a human would have been hurt doesn't mean a horse would be. So I asked. Still not sure of the answer. Ethel thinks they're hard-headed, daftpixie thinks they're sensitive souls who'd be much more upset than any Italian footballer.

[Oh Bother]

I love horse racing, and can understand a jockey's frustration with a louty horse, but lets not forget these are supposedly professional sportsmen and should be able to deal with it as such.
If I was the owner of the horse I very much doubt that the jockey concerned would ever ride one of my horses again.

[daftpixie]

Ridden and cared for horses all my life, 20 years experience. I dont think jno, I know!

[andy-hughes]

I think it's reasonable to assume that the horse would not suffer undue physical trauma by being head-butted by a jocket, but it is indicative of an attitude to horses which is inappropriate for a professional rider.

I think the jockey should be disciplined, as he would for excessive use of the whip when riding.

Frustration is an understandable emotion - but as humans we should be able to rise above it, and as a professional sportsman, this rider should be fined or suspended.

[noxlumos]

We run an ex-racer rescue so I feel reasonably confident to answer this in a more or less neutral manner. I do think way too much is being made of this, the jockey concerned headbutted the horse who didn't seem at all phased to be honest. It would be like hitting an elephant with a matchstick and clearly didn't hurt the horse or affect it negatively.It might interest people to know that if the horse "doesn't fancy running" or "isn't in the mood" that it is of no use to it's owners whatsoever and will sold at the bloodstock sales and often end up as meat at 3 years old or so, or if very lucky will come to an organsiation like us or one of the many other ex-racer rescues or a private home. Ex racers can be dificult to re-school and as such often end up being horribly neglected by their new owners who end up scared stiff of them after a few performances like the horse in question gave.That animal is big enough to kill you and as such need to be treated with common sense and authority.That jockey honestly did not do that horse a serious dis-service. I abhor ill treatment of animals but that is not a prime example. He got frustrated and shouldn't have done it, but the horse was honestly not harmed in any way. You only have to watch the footage to see how unbothered the horse was.It's being taken mildly because people in the racing industry know what they are talking about and in the big scheme of things with regard to horses this was a non event.

[Amara]

I think the issue of whether the horse was hurt or not is not relevant here. The actions of this person were cruel and unecessary and show a complete lack of self control and respect for another living creature.

[daftpixie]

Your right Amara, ok so in this instance the horse seemed unaffected by it. But that doesnt mean another couldnt be hurt or distressed. The point is a jockey should not be behaving like this, this might be a non event in the racing world, but what message is it sending to all the numbnuts out there that own animals and are totally unfit to do so, this is all the encouragement they need, headbut horses, they wont feel a thing!

[jno]

thanks for that noxlumos. I did think myself that the horse didn't look traumatised, but have no knowledge of horseflesh. It may well be that daftpixie rides more sensitive beasts. I don't like animal cruelty but I think sustained neglect and maltreatment are more serious matters than the occasional kick at a pigeon.

[naz_nomad]

If that was my horse, I'd have punched the daylights out of it.

[jiggy-gb]

It would have been more fair if the jockey had butted him without his helmet on, but I don't suppose the vertically challenged one would have risked that would he! I hope that horse back hoofs him right in the nads next time they meet!

[noxlumos]

I don't think it sends out any such message to be honest daft pixie as there has been such a drastic over-reaction by people such as yourself that now the poor jockey is some sort of pariah outside of the racing world.
Half of the horses we have to re-school ( we re-school so called "problem" horses as well as run the rescue) are problem horses not because they have been too severly treated but because they have been allowed to get away with behaviour that is dangerous, unacceptable and leads them to take more and more of the proverbial mile from the inch they've been allowed to have.
Fair enough this jockey should not have behaved this way but a far greater problem is as jno says neglect from dealers and owners who think that a horse is some plaything,dress it up in the latest fashion staements form Pony Magazine, treat it like a toy and then wonder why the animal becomes unrideable.They then decide it's a "problem" or "nasty" horse and either throw it into the nearest sale so someone else inherits their mistakes or "because the horse is unrideable and it's the kindest thing for the horse" have it euthanised, when actually there is nothing wrong with the horse whatsoever except it has been allowed to behave however it likes.You can harm as much with handling that is not firm enough as you can with handling such as that dished out to the horse we are discussing.I just wish more people would adopt some common sense with their horses, then we wouldn't have so many.

[daftpixie]

your completely right noxlumos, I have had a number of horses that have been complete handfuls, far too highly strung and pampered, and have bitten and kicked its owner because of exactly the situation you describe.

And yes jno is also right in saying that this situation in comparison to systematic neglect and as ethel says, soppy over indulgent owners.

I am just concerned that because it was done so publicly, that heavy handed tactics will adopted by owners that wont know as much about horse handling as yourself, or indeed the jockey in question.

[daftpixie]

sorry meant to say jno is also right that this in comparison to..... is not a major incident for concern.

[daftpixie]

I must be coming across as a right over sensitive reactionary! Im not, its just situations like this make me feel very uncomfortable as I have met some real pieces of work who own horses, and they have no idea what they are doing. But like you say, this instance needs putting in context. x