(“I’d be all swooned out by now!”)

Does ANYbody think abuse does not exist in the horse world? Does ANYbody think it’s (God forbid) a good thing or that it somehow does not matter? I’m certainly hoping that in both cases the answer is a resounding NO!

But realities can be a bit more complicated. On college campuses these days there are ethical discussions of conduct (well short of rape) which try to define terms like unwanted sexual contact and non-physical coercion. As a community or a society we can agree that there are lines which must not be crossed, but exactly where simple boorish behavior spills into a legally punishable offense is a bit harder to pinpoint.

A similar conundrum crops up when we talk about horse abuse. Some cases are cut and dried. Starve a horse or beat a horse, and you are in trouble, no questions asked. But I can attest to dozens, if not hundreds, of examples of stupid, ignorant, detestable human actions (many of which are unrecognized by their perpetrators) that still don’t rise to the level of abuse. You can shun, shame, or scold people for bad riding or bad horse handling. But when it comes to meting out punishment, the same blurry lines appear which I spoke of in the male–female relationship example earlier.

Beyond this I have to admit I am tired of so much internet handwringing about “abuse” which I think falls well below the threshold of the real thing. Standards will inevitably change over time, and if you were to ask me in 20 or 40 years, my opinion might be different. Without tiptoeing on the knife edge where your decision could fall either way, let me give you some concrete examples.

I direct you to an equestrian blog titled Writing of Riding which accuses insidious propagandists for dressage of “creating beautiful images using special filters and dramatic camera angles to romanticize bad horsemanship.” Let me show you a few:

So I’m sorry. I am a heathen, a heartless savage with one foot in the pre-enlightened world that acknowledges that living, breathing, functioning equines do not every second look like a da Vinci statue. Some of the above representations are less than ideal. Some don’t bother me at all. Shall I swoon every time a horse comes behind the vertical, tilts his head, or opens his mouth? If so, I’d be all swooned out by now!

I am not saying that one wrong justifies another. But I am saying there are many bigger wrongs than the ones depicted here, and some of these are innocent postures that have nothing to do with serious coercion, pain, or abuse. Seems to me there are more worthwhile battles to fight.