They have needs, wants and interests that are entirely independent of our expectations of them. There can be no defending this abusive madness.Īlthough humans have long made demands on them, horses are not here to serve us. When forced to participate in egregiously cruel and frightening events like the Suicide Race, horses can break their legs or backs and lose their lives. They naturally congregate in large numbers, graze together in meadows, and trot great distances. Our facilities for horseback riding, riding lessons, cross country riding, trail rides and horse jumping are unmatched in Adelaide and South Australia. Horses are sensitive animals who tend to be skittish. He said that he received 15 to 20 messages a day from people opposed to the race. The article revealed that former Omak Mayor Dale Sparber brazenly admitted to setting up his inbox so that any e-mail messages containing the words “suicide race” were automatically sent to his delete folder. The Wall Street Journal called it “ The Race Where Horses Die.” Yet local officials, who apparently are indifferent to animal suffering, remain unmoved. The race has been condemned by animal protection organizations and caring people around the world. The race’s origin wasn’t based on Native culture it was nothing more than a promotion to attract visitors to the stampede and, more pragmatically, to increase revenue to the town of Omak. Putting horses at risk of fatal injuries is the antithesis of that. The vast majority of Native tribes foster a deep reverence for nature and animals. Groups of horses are forced to participate in this sadistic spectacle every day- for four days.ĭefended as a rite of passage for young Native Americans from the nearby Colville Reservation, the Suicide Race has little to do with Native culture or tradition. The frightened horses must next swim about 100 yards across the river to reach the other side and then make a final sprint to the finish line. Some have had to be euthanized after sustaining catastrophic injuries, and others have even drowned.īut the ordeal isn’t over for those who manage to make it to the bottom of the cliff still standing. Horses frequently end up falling down the steep slope after losing their footing or colliding with another horse. The race sends horses careening downhill in an almost vertical 210-foot drop to the Okanogan River. Yet nearly 250 years after its founding, horses are still being used, abused and exploited by humans in ways that should have gone the way of the Pony Express.Īn event that exemplifies horse exploitation is the “World Famous Suicide Race,” a deadly display that is part of the annual Omak Stampede held in Washington state. These noble equines played an integral role in the development and expansion of our country as we know it today. If you don't ride, you don't live it.Perhaps no other animal exemplifies the American West more than the horse. When the horse comes too close to the jump, these forces are drastically increased (20 000N) It was also found that a water jump produced slightly higher forces on the. It is a feeling you have to live through. When combining these factors with physics, it is found that the forces on the horse are 16 000 N (equal to approximately 1600 kilo) when landing after jumping a 1.60 meter jump. "The tradition goes back to the Middle Ages and nothing has ever happened. "There is no danger," 14-year-old participant Sonsoles Hernandez Martin told AFP. Yet the villagers of San Bartolomé remain fiercely attached to the tradition, which is said to have begun during a time of sickness around 500 years ago. Riders say the animals are used to it and do not suffer, but animal rights activists have long complained that the practice is cruel, according to Al Jazeera. The horses are doused with water before the jump to prevent their coats from singeing. "With the smoke and the fire the animals are blessed so they will be purified for the whole year and won't get hurt or ill." "It is really a pagan tradition," San Bartolomé native Anibal Martinez told Agence France-Presse. Tradition has it that the smoke cleanses the horses and strengthens them for the coming year. To celebrate the feast day of St Anthony, the patron saint of animals, daring riders jump their steeds through a string of bonfires lining the narrow streets. That's what people have done for hundreds of years each January in the village of San Bartolomé de Pinares, in central Spain. and then you can make it jump through fire.
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