In my recent post on the defensiveness in these arguments, I mentioned a conversation about tongue ties. For those who do not know, as tongue ties are not common in all horse sport, it is a strip of (usually) rubber that is tied around the tongue then the lower jaw. The purpose is to prevent the horse from putting their tongue over the bit. Those in racing have argued that it is needed for safety reasons – most honestly, the safety of the jockey or driver who loses control if the tongue goes over the bit. Not one seems to understand, nor actually care when explained, why the horse would choose to put its tongue over the bit. If you have ever witnessed this happen, you know that it does not look comfortable in the least, so they do not do it for pure amusement.

A horse puts its tongue over the bit in response to continued and typically excessive pressure from the bit. They are doing it to demonstrate that they are in pain. But, rather than acknowledge there might be a problem for the horse who has not volunteered to race, they silence his voice by tying the tongue down to protect the humans who have chosen to race knowing the risks. If this were a case of an adult doing such a thing to a child, who would also be without choice and freedom, these very people would be outraged! But, because the horse is strong and large, there seems no concern over such bondage and silencing of their voice. Worse still, for those sports where tongue ties are not allowed, such as Dressage, humans have been known to remove the lower portion of the tongue to solve the same problem. (I first heard of a case in the late 80s, and there was a recent report on a Dressage pony where this was discovered, so it has a long history.)

In my previous post, I used the image on the right – that of my now retired Standardbred mare winning a stakes race at three. Though it is hard to see, she does have a tongue tie on, along with a host of other equipment that caused horror for many of the readers of that earlier post. There were, of course, a couple of people who defended all of the equipment seen, including the cupped blinker that blocks nearly her full range of vision and the spiked stick that prevents her from turning her head. The arguments, again, were all based upon the safety of the drivers. They surmised this mare likely didn’t track straight, might go after other horses in the race, etc. I don’t doubt that, having met her at the track, watched her in a race, and seen her behavior in the stable area. But from everything I’ve learned from her and about her past, all of that was her way of screaming to the humans that she hated her job. So, they did everything they could to silence her.

In this photo you can see how this little mare reacted any time any piece of tack was even shown to her. She would turn her back and threaten to kick when the trainer would try to halter her. When harnessed, she would try very hard to kick him. A vet I know, who works at the track where she raced, said “That’s just the way she is!” No! That is the way people have made her. But insiders to any sport just accept stereotypies, aggression, and anomalous behavior as standard, because to do otherwise would require them to reconsider what they are actually doing to the horses. The picture below shows what this little mare has become after nine months – lovely, fun, soft, and curious. We are months away from being able to tack her up, let alone consider riding – but we are establishing lines of communication and she is beginning to see that she will be heard.

When you see the arguments online about any horse sport you will always find the source of the conflict is a horse who is trying to express pain, fear, frustration, anxiety, or some other stress. One side sees the problem and wants a solution. On the other side are insiders who don’t see a problem. These are generally not uncaring people, but they are part of a system that has normalized horse suffering. The trainer and owners of my little mare were really nice people who cared about where she landed – but suggestions that she disliked racing were summarily dismissed. In fact, the very stress signals she gave off were seen as proof that she loved it! This is a typical view in all racing competitions – that stress behavior is actually the sign of a ‘warrior’. There is a long human history of this – just look at the typical military mounted statue or even most carousel horses.

It is difficult to watch almost any horse sport these days, with all of the signals of stress most horses are putting out. Whether it’s a wringing tail on a Dressage horse, a jumper who bucks after every fence, or a race horse having a meltdown in the paddock before the race – horses are crying out for help and being silenced or ignored at every turn. For some, like my little mare, they become increasingly aggressive to get their point across. Others simply shutdown in learned helplessness. If your sport requires tongue ties, tie downs, overchecks, harsh bits, tight nosebands, or any other piece of equipment used to silence the horse’s voice then you should take a very hard look at your sport! And if the reason for any of these items is “rider safety” then perhaps you should question whether the sport should actually exist.

I am not opposed to horse sport, on general principle. I have competed in several sports on horses who enjoyed their jobs. I’ve also retrained numerous horses who did not. I’ve either shown them a softer, kinder way so they could enjoy the given activity; or I found them an occupation that they enjoyed more. I’ve followed numerous other sports where there were horses who were relaxed and seemed to enjoy their jobs – but all of that was a very long time ago.

If you, or anyone you know, needs help in recognizing the signs of distress a horse puts out, I would recommend looking at the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS). I would also recommend looking into the publication of a new book titled Harmonious Horsemanship. It is based upon the work by Sue Dyson, et al, on identifying the behaviors in ridden horses that indicate pain. Many of the signs they cover – wringing tails, gnashing teeth, bucking, rearing, etc. – used to be a normal part of a riders’ and judges’ education as signs of distress in a ridden horse. Now they are all too normalized, and largely ignored by judges.