To think using horses the way the royals do needs to be stopped.

[WildFlowerBees]

The way their horses are used in ceremonies really isn't good. I don't expect everyone to get it, lots of people who don't know about horses just see it and think oh look how lovely, lots of riders don't see the issue. I don't find it comfortable watching horses some just under their threshold and a few over it.

I've had horses for years mostly rescues, I don't subscribe to the BHS way of thinking so I'm already labelled as 'odd' I find this sort of treatment of animals sad.

What were the Royals doing to the horses ?

@DepartureLounge

It was a fair question, and no-one can know everything about everything.

You might see that I too (and I am very horsey and very knowledgeable) was put in my place, for suggesting the horse might be taken out.

Ceremonial horses are not pets. They are working animals. They get very well cared for, they get the best of everything regardless of effort & expense and they have very nice lives. In return for this they are occasionally required to step up, put their best hooves forward and do the job they have been fully trained and prepared to do. That is not an unreasonable arrangement.
If horses were never required to work, perform or compete there would be far fewer of them in existence.

Plenty of animals eat rotting meat, including meat from animals they haven't killed themselves. Do you seriously believe they all limit themselves to fresh meet they have killed themselves? And there are quite a few species that are symbiotic, mutualist or parasitical.

A pony is a short horse.

You'd shoe a horse when it'll be doing a lot of road work so it protects it's hoof and it doesn't get worn down too fast. It's not always necessary to shoe a horse if they're in a field for example. Horses can have soft it hard hooves like human nails. Shoeing doesn't hurt at all. It's dead keratin like our nails.

I completely forgot what else you asked sorry 🙄😂

They're stabled to keep them safer and warmer at night or during bad weather for example. Also to save the field so it doesn't become boggy if a horse is treading on it 24/7.

Hmm - that's the thing, it doesn't take much - even accidentally - to be hurt by a horse.

My old (long-gone) ex-racehorse was on his toes at a small show, thinking he was at the races, and went backwards, almost trampling a Jack Russell.
I never hunted, but he had and I once took him out for early morning hound exercise. He barely had more than one foot on the ground at a time!

I remember reading that their stables are multi-level, and didn't even like to think how that works. And agreed, the turnout - lack-of - must mess with their minds, even if they are exercised/schooled/trained daily. Two weeks on a Norfolk beach (or more?) won't make up for the containment the rest of the time.

The expectations placed on these sensitive and beautiful animals is high.

Do you eat vegetables and fruit? By the same token, they are starting to rot as soon as they are cut, picked or pulled out of the ground.

The horse may have a nice life, but it cannot (obviously) consent to this arrangement. It's more like a well-treated slave imo.

• the point of shoeing was originally to enable horses to work on harder surfaces. There is anbig 'barefoot' movement now and many horses successfully compete at a high level unshod. Horses are shod on average every 6 weeks and the hoof trimmed, if you have a barefoot horse then the hoof naturally wears down but you still need it checking and trimming on a rehilar basis. Hooves only become overgrown through neglect and this has serous consequences for the overall wellbeing of the horse + its skeleton.

• typical indicators of mood are: ears/facial expressions and body language. Very generically ears back = horse stressed/unhappy, ears mobile/forwards = horse happy and comfortable, stamping = unhappy or physical issue. Eyes fixed = stress/pain, whites of eyes showing = seroius stress. They are flight animals so their first instincts is to always run away from anything they find scary.

• horses should be turned out in small herds, that is absolutely the most natural way to keep them. They are stabled for various reasons but always ultimately for the convenience of the owner. Horses who are stabled with little or no turnout typically go on to exhibit behavioral issues called stereotypical behaviours.

However, humans can't eat rotting meat without becoming unwell, or at least risking becoming unwell. This is why we invented fridges, and smoking and salting etc to prevent/reduce bacterial growth in the carcass

This is just wrong. There are vast numbers of horses across the country working under pain and duress, it’s called learned helplessness. It’s well documented and there’s a large backlash against it amongst horse people. Check out https://m.facebook.com/groups/276428596113940/

and
https://m.facebook.com/eponatv

@DidyouNO
An example of a horse who had in some way been traumatised, was a mare I met (and rode a lot) at College.

Something had happened to make her very headshy, so in order to put her bridle on, you had to take it apart and put it on almost piece by piece. She was fine with that. She also had to be allowed to go into the stable first, or she would smoosh you against the door frame in her hurry.

The College was probably not the best place for her, and she really needed gentle handling. I got on very well with her for some reason.

They don't forget, and sometime s a memory of pain, rather than something specific.

Regarding mood/behaviour:

Well, they are prey animals, so are typically in flight mode. But will generally only run for about a quarter of a mile and then stop to look back at what the enemy was. But they will do that quarter-mile at full pelt!
Their ears and eyes are very clear indicators, and the most obvious things to watch - ears alert and pointing forwards, they are engaged and alert, usually to what's ahead. One ear or another flicking back or forwards/to the side and they are listening in that direction. Angled back, they are not happy or are worried , and flat back, they are feeling aggressive for some reason. Coupled with whites of eyes, and watch out.

Worth mentioning is that they cannot see directly under their nose - so when people who are unfamiliar reach out their hand and the horse steps back, they worried - but they are (usually) just trying to see better (and if there is a Polo mint in the outstretched hand).

(I could go on but am sure others may answer questions.)

There's a video of one spooked and backing into the crowd already

@LeMoo also a pony is anything that is 14.2hh and under , a horse is above

My miniature horse Florence - 36" to the withers - would disagree with you 😍

@LeMoo I have two ex racers , one is a gentle giant but is still scared of having anyone make any movements near to his head / face ,
He has a lot of scars from pulling a harness where is cut into him and was really really underweight and suffering from stomach Ulcers
He's now a very well fed and happy lawnmower

@LatteOneShotplease oh I love her name too I bet she's adorable 😍😍🤗

People are forever going to eat animals. Circle of life

I agree, horses shouldn't be used in this way, I don't think animals should be used to entertain humans in any way, including for sports

I’m not an expert on horses, but I thought that ceremonial and army horses were very well cared for. The ceremony today was long and in the rain, so I’m sure the horses were fed up today but they have good standards of care don’t they?

I don’t think standing for a long time occasionally is cruel for an animal if they are also well cared for and have responsible and capable owners.

I would be more worried about horses not cared for and also what I think is extreme sports where the horses are trained very hard such as the Grand National which is at the limits of capability.

I only watch it for the horses being arsey.

The mahoosive shire drum horse that insisted on going sideways.

And the police horse in Edinburgh for the late Queen’s procession that pissed about all the way up the Royal Mile.

You just know how there riders are feeling.

I love a bit of well hung beef.

I hope you are a vegan OP all this talk of sentient beings etc. otherwise you and all the others here agreeing with you are hypocrites. We treat horses 1000 times better than we do other animals.

and yes, I’ve been vegan 5 years, veggie 25 before that and disagree with the use of animals for entertainment horse racing etc. I think parading military horses every few years is honestly the least of our problems when it comes to the way we treat animals.