| Related sites for http://www.idausa.org/facts/horsetripping.html |
| Upal,_Karim Information about himself, a resume, pictures, and links. [JavaScript Required] | | Thomas_Edwin_Scheurich_-_POW/MIA The story of POW/MIA Thomas Edwin Scheurich. | | Sineway_and_Cabinaw Interactive family forum maintained by Connie and Henry Sineway. Includes Assinaway, Agwemigisik, Boda, Dashner, Davenport, Demos, Gaffney, Hamlin, Kiminichagan, King, Kiogima, LeSalle, Martell, Mass | | Muslim-Marriages Service for Muslims seeking a matrimonial partner in the UK. | | Gibraltar_-_British_or_Spanish? Opposes Spanish claims to the isthmus. | | Lifeword_Broadcast_Ministries Features radio and TV programs, ministries, and outreach programs by this broadcasting agency of the Baptist Missionary Association of America. | | The_Anti-Individualist_Philosophy_of_Emerson_and_Thoreau How Emerson and Thoreau failed to apply their non-conformist ideas consistently, making their philosophy of transcendentalism one of conformity rather than liberation. | | \'Morning-After\'_Pill_Available_at_Some_DoD_Clinics Article about controversy over US Pentagon decision to make emergency contraceptives available to female soldiers. (June 3, 2002) | | Ticket_to_Work Ticket-to-Work information from MAXIMUS for Employment Networks and disabled people who want to return to work. | | My_Catharsis Social and political commentary by a libertarian leaning conservative. | | Indian_Fairy_Tales Collected by Joseph Jacobs, e-text at the Gutenberg project. | | Politie_Site_Nederland Provides information about Dutch police. | | AnCem Offers a virtual pet cemetery service with special pet memorials on the death of a pet. | | Pro_Life,_No_Choice_--_by_Pam_Squyres Mother Jones article tells how Catholic heath care chains are absorbing a growing number of small-town hospitals -- leaving local women with nowhere to go for services from abortions to fertility trea | | JConline__Christian_Webmaster_Resources Links to tools for webmasters and search engine submission tips. | | Back_to_God_Hour A radio and television ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. | | Amelia_Earhart_Birthplace_Museum Atchison, Kansas. Overview of the museum, location and hours, biography of the aviator, news clips and facts. | | Woodrow_Wilson_and_the_Fourteen_Points Information and links on the American President, the Fourteen Points, and the League of Nations. | | Kenya_Red_Cross_Society Describes the functions and activities of the program. Fact sheet, career information, details of services provided. | | Celtic_Countries_Magazine Magazine on Celtic cooperation, society and culture, also offering news from all the Celtic countries. |
|
Facts: Horse Tripping
Horse
Tripping—“Break”-ing the Chain of Violence
Imagine the following
situation:
You're
in the front row. A bony Arabian mare stands so close you can see the
scars on her flanks, and the terror in her eyes. Three men on horseback
swoop down on the mare, chasing her with swinging lariats, until she's
galloping 25 miles an hour. Each time the mare races round the ring,
a fourth man aims a rope at the mare's forelegs. The goal: to topple
her to the ground, and win points.
This
mare has already been lassoed several times - those scars you saw were
rope burns that carved away inches of her flesh. But this time the mare
won't get up again. She crashes head over heels, breaks her leg, and
is euthanized.
The
Painful Reality
During
horse-tripping events, also known as piales en lienzo, contestants
score points for literally tripping horses, bulls, or steers. (1) With
the use of electric prods, Mexican cowboys or “charros” force
the animals into full gallop and then lasso their hind legs or forelegs,
causing the animals to come crashing down to the ground. (2) Witnesses
have noted that charros continue to trip animals until they’re lame.
(3)
Thousands
of American horses are severely injured at Mexican-style rodeos each year.
“Charros keep tripping horses until they're lame, or until
the season's up and the go to the slaughter," says Cathleen Doyle,
president of the California Equine Council, which promotes responsible
horsemanship. “Horses break legs, necks and teeth. They fracture
their shoulders, and batter their knees and hocks. You can see deep gashes
on their faces, shoulders, hips, legs and heels. The ropes often burn
their flesh down to the bone.” Mike Ross, animal service director
for Contra Costa County states, “It's unpredictable. There's an
inherent risk of seriously injuring the horse's legs. When that happens,
you may end up destroying the animal.” (4)
Doyle,
who has observed about ten charreada rodeos, kept tabs on 78
horses one charro group rented. “At the end of the five-to-six-month
season, only two horses remained intact. All the rest had gone to slaughter.”
She adds that some charros buy their own horses, and trip them
until they're lame. Injured horses rarely receive veterinary care.
Most charreada
is private, “backyard” sport: 300 or fewer people watching
six or seven horses dodge the rope. About 1,500 people typically attend
the larger charreadas. Charros prefer small, lightweight horses
like Arabs because they are easier to bring down.
Fighting
for a Ban
Charros claim that they are not trying to harm the horses and
that they only bring a horse down one out of every ten tries. However,
horse-tripping is so cruel that it has been banned in several U.S. states,
including California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
and Texas, in film and TV production, by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association (PRCA), and by the American Quarter Horse Association. (4)
Citizens are fighting for a ban in other states. However, like bullfighting,
horse tripping has been a part of the Mexican culture for centuries. A
tiny percentage of Hispanics have tripped horses in the U.S. for decades
and claim cultural imperialism when confronted with the cruelty. However,
Doyle responds, “If other industries were tripping horses and we
told the charros they couldn’t, we’d be discriminating.
But movies and TV banned horse-tripping over 50 years ago. Even the Professional
Rodeo Cowboys Association and the American Quarter Horse Association don't
allow it.”
However,
in the states where horse-tripping is banned, it’s only considered
a misdemeanor. The current laws have not eradicated tripping; they've
only reduced it. While the $1,000 fine and the risk of six months in jail
has curbed the practice of horse-tripping at large charreadas, at the
many small events, the practice has only decreased. (5) “Much of
the horse-tripping that was going on in the large commercial venues has
stopped,” Doyle says. “Before, every week we were seeing mangled
horses back from the charreadas. Now we see them only rarely.” Doyle
feels that more people would obey the law if horse-tripping were a felony.
Before
Illinois outlawed horse-tripping, State Representative Terry Parke said,
“In a few months, we legislators will attend a charreada
to watch horse tripping. Once we see the tripping ourselves, we'll decide
whether to bring the bill (to ban tripping) out of committee for a vote.”
The charros
would know when their lawmakers were watching - and Doyle predicted they'd
be on their best behavior. However, Gabriel Lopez, lobbyist for the Illinois
Federation of Charros, reassured, “We’ve invited lawmakers
to come see that we don't hurt our horses. We’ll conduct our rodeo
the same whether they're there or not.” Doyle counters, “In
California, whenever the press or general public tried to witness tripping,
the charros dropped the rope. They would not bring the horses
down.”
You
Can Help:
To learn how to ban horse tripping and/or steer tailing from your area,
contact:
Cathleen Doyle
California Equine Council
P.O. Box 40000
Studio City, CA 91614
Phone: (818) 771-0702
E-mail: savethehorse@earthlink.net
To provide a tax-deductible
donation to provide food and veterinary care to horses rescued from charreadas,
contact:
Equus Sanctuary
P.O. Box 3273
Glendale, CA 91221
Of the
California Equine Council’s achievement, Doyle says “We were
only successful once we got the law enforcement and horse industries on
our side. The first year, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
cattle industry and state farm bureau opposed our bill. They saw mostly
animal welfare groups behind, and so they were afraid they'd eventually
have to give up the calf-roping too.” Therefore the second year,
the California Veterinary Medical Association co-sponsored the bill with
Doyle’s group. Many other groups endorsed the bill such as California
breeder’s associations, racing federation, police and sheriff council,
district attorney's association -- even the Mexican American Chamber of
Commerce and the United Steel Workers of America. “With this much
support, the bill had to pass,” Doyle says. “Illinois and
New Mexico banned horse-tripping using that same strategy.”
1 María-Cristina
García, “Charrería,” The Handbook of Texas
Online, 23 Jul. 2002.
2 Kline, Chris. Mexico's charros are a breed apart. Cnn.com. Available
[online]: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9705/04/mexico.charros/.
Accessed 09 Jan 2004.
3 Kit Paraventi, “Horse Conversations: A Visit to the Equus Sanctuary,”
Animal News, 1998
4 Cuff, Denis. Mexican rodeo tradition under fire. Contra Costa Times.
7 August, 2004. Available from http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/9344077.htm.
Accessed 13 August 2004.
5 Eric Mills, Why Rodeo. Animal Issues, Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring
2002.
Do
you want to give hay and veterinary care to horses who've been rescued
from "charreadas"?
You
can send a tax-deductable donation to
Equus Sanctuary,
PO Box 3273,
Glendale, CA 91221.
Want
to help get horse tripping banned in your state? Dowle says you can learn
from her group's mistakes. "We were only successful once we got the
law enforcement and horse industries on our side," she says. "The
first year, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, cattle industry
and state farm bureau opposed our bill. They saw mostly animal welfare
groups behind, and so they were afraid they'd eventually have to give
up the calf-roping too."
So the
second year, the California Veterinary Medical Association co-sponsored
the bill with Doyle's group. Many other groups endorsed the bill: for
example, California breeders associations, racing federation, police and
sheriff council, district attorney's association -- even the Mexican American
Chamber of Commerce and the United Steel Workers of America. "With
this much support, the bill had to pass," Doyle says. "Illinois
and New Mexico banned horse-tripping using that same strategy."
In the
stated where horse tripping is banned, it's a misdemeanor: the most you'd
get is six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. Doyle feels that more
people would obey the lay if horse-tripping were a felony. The current
laws have not eradicated tripping; they've only lessened it. "Much
of the horse-tripping that was going on in the large commercial venues
has stopped," Doyle says. "Before, every week we were seeing
mangled horses back from the charreadas. Now we see them only rarely."
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd., San Rafael, CA 94901. Tel.: 415-388-9641
www.idausa.org email: ida@idausa.org
|
|
