For me, the worst we humans do to animals is take away their autonomy, their freedom. Stick them in a cage, a crate, a tank, or, in the case of racehorses, a tiny 12×12 stall for the vast majority of their day(s). It is cruelty defined, all the more so for being done to social animals like horses. And, it is profoundly sad.
As part of an ongoing effort to educate the public, I have asked various equine experts to weigh in on confinement. Here are two more (past ones here).
“I spent many years at local tracks – as an employee, as an owner, as a hot walker, and as an occasional exercise rider. The confinement of the horses was one of the most difficult things to see and deal with.
“A large number of these horses are young, causing them to become ‘barn sour,’ angry, sullen, depressed. As they get older, it only gets worse for them. The majority of the horses do not get to have any pasture time, and are often shuttled from track to track, from one meet to the next. This is very unnatural for them. They are herd animals and, as my vet said, grazing animals.
“Many confined horses develop neurotic habits – wood chewing, cribbing, teeth raking on the walls (including concrete walls), weaving, obsessively circling, etc. Many would lunge angrily at people/other horses as they walked by, often snapping and biting at whoever dared get in front of them. I have seen horses kick walls and gates. The ones who broke my heart were those who hid in the corners of their stalls, their heads hanging low, clearly depressed. They would barely engage with anyone who entered their stalls.
“Once these same confined horses got out on the track for training, more bad consequences of confinement followed. They would be so full of energy; they would buck, whirl, bolt, and run off. I saw collisions with the rails and other horses. I saw horses jumping the rails, dumping their riders, and running uncontrollably on the asphalt driveways and roadways between barns. Collisions with other horses and objects are highly unusual when a horse is out in a pasture. My horses run in the pasture and have never collided with each other or my fences.
“Hot-walking machines are another danger. These same confined horses would be put on an electric, circular walking machine. I saw horses flip, fall, rear, and catch their legs on the arms of the machine. I saw horses whirl and kick at other horses or people, all the while being forced to walk slowly in a small circle. Again, unnatural for a high-energy animal who has been cooped up in a stall for the previous 24-48 hours.” – Marie Dugan
“I was all about horses growing up. Beginning in 1990, I was the hands-on caregiver of over a dozen horses of mixed breeds. I have also passed multiple equine laws in California, including the ‘Horse Tripping Bill’ and the ‘California Ballot Initiative to Prohibit the Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption.’
“To stand in a 12×12 stall, isolated, possibly blanketed all day except when taken out for ‘training,’ is unnatural and inhumane. Horses are grazing, herd animals and should be allowed time every day to put their noses to the ground, roll, swat flies, and tell lies with their turn-out buddies. ‘Mandatory Turn Out’ should be a basic right.
“Horses do not live at a racetrack by choice, and it just makes common sense to afford them basic humane management for the term of their unnaturally short lives as indentured servants to gambling.” – Cathleen Doyle
This is an excellent series. Confinement is often overlooked in horse welfare yet it affects health and behavior. Behaviors like stall kicking, weaving, and cribbing often show that a horse’s environment isn’t meeting his needs. Thank you for bringing together horse people to explain the behavioral science behind confinement. With regard to stall kicking, I have seen horses kick walls and gates. And I have seen ankle chains (hobbles) or anti-kicking chains used to discourage horses that repeatedly kick the walls of their stalls. Here’s how they work.
A lightweight chain and leather strap is fastened loosely around one hind pastern (just above the hoof). Some designs connect both hind legs with a short chain, though this is less common. When the horse begins to lift a hind leg to kick, the chain bumps the leg. The unexpected sensation is intended to interrupt the kicking behavior. The chains are meant to distract the horse from kicking. Risks include skin irritation or sores around the pastern; horse becoming frightened or tangled if the equipment is poorly fitted; and masking the underlying problem. Stall kicking is caused by boredom, stress, frustration, pain, or insufficient turnout rather than simply being a bad habit. Kicking chains replace one bad consequence of confinement with another.
One thing I’ve noticed is so many barns use solid walls in their stalls – if they were half partitions with bars, the horses could see each other and at least have minimal contact, plus it would go a long way towards better ventilation and lighting. And from the pictures, I don’t think those racetrack stalls have been properly washed and cleaned since the day they were put up. Yuck.
There is also a lot to be said about the quality of the pasture and the fencing.
Today on Facebook, there is a post with pictures of some extremely thin, emaciated horses standing and grazing in a pasture that is said to be on Freestone County Road 890, Teague, Texas, East of Waco.
The person posting asks, “how is this okay?” That is a fair question.