What Caused This 'Big Lick' Tennessee Walking Horse To Throw His Rider Asheville, NC???

This took place on Friday night, Oct. 7, 2016, in the Amateur Specialty Geldling Class at "Big Lick" North Carolina Championship Horse Show being held at the Western NC Agricultural Center in Asheville, North Carolina. (Note: This video is 3x slo mo so what happened can be closely observed).

[silverchex]

Everything about their movements look unnatural. Those stacks are a disgrace. I spend everyday working on horses to keep them feeling good and I see these people purposely doing things to make their feet hurt. That they are still allowed to abuse these horses and purposely cause them pain is beyond me. Pain caused that horse to fall and those unnatural stacks.

[laurakelley]

I was there when it happened and I can tell you that horse was sore! The horse fell over because he is forced to wear very heavy stacks that are extremely clumsy for a horse to have to balance on, and this is combined with toxic chemicals that are "cooked" into the horse's front legs so that the pain makes the horse flick their front legs out in front of him. We have got to encourage our politicians to outlaw this absurd and cruel practice of nailing stacks (the "trainers" call them pads, but when you see them for real, you will see that they are NOT pads) that weigh up to and over 8 lbs on each hoof - this must be made illegal if we are ever going to help these poor horses out of this miserable existence. They are forced to wear these stacks 24/7, and this does more than ruin their hooves, it harms their entire musculoskeletal system.

[julieabdullah]

This horrific abuse is one of the many reasons I hate humans. I really wish I could do to these trainers, owners, and riders what has been done to these poor horses.

[charliehubb]

Even when the person is off the horse... It still struggles to get up, it still struggles to walk, it still struggles to be a horse. What is wrong with people

[harlows.mr.cloudss]

Good job horse. I can’t even explain how bad I feel for these horses, they don’t deserve to be In this kind of pain.

[rosepetal]

Nothing f*cking cause him to fall off it’s just the fact that the horse is in so much god damn pain that he wanted to get the man off but he fell over while doing it cause they can’t even stand! This isn’t even a equine sport, this is an absolute disgrace.




I had to say something cause I’m so agitated and disgusted by this

[laurakelley]

I was there to prove this torture exists. I was not and never did support this abuse, and have fought against it for years. I want people to know so that they can pass the information along and maybe someday there will be enforced legislation banning the devices and methods used to force these poor horses to walk (crippled).

[devondrasser]

This is an example of LEGAL ANIMAL ABUSE! These horses have BATTERY ACID and other such irritants poured on their legs, weighted shoes that mess them up for life, and weights up to 8 pounds attached to their legs. Their tails are broken so they carry them higher. The ASPCA did an investigation and the barn they went to, one of the "best", had horses who were so abused and terrified they didn't want anyone to touch their legs. The ones who could even stand up, anyway. How is this still legal, and people pay to go see it in action?!?!

[brandonbullardjr]

I as a thirteen year old who owns a horse and rides almost daily, cannot comprehend why a man would do this to a horse. Fashion can be very cruel to a horse. And in this case it is most definitely is. I pray that this uncalled for cruelty will be stopped in Jesus name!!

[lesliegoodyear]

Legislation that finally criminalizes this cannot come soon enough. This shameful abuse needs to be stopped.

[lindan]

good job from the horse. this severe!! animal abuse.

[brendacooper]

Sorry but the whole thing is grotesque, everyone from the judges, trainors and audience that encourage this crap should be charged with abuse, none of them can say they aren't aware, all you have to do is look at the way the poor things move.

[Nast]

The hooves!! It's grotesque, especially the old troll on that pitiful horse in the background. This has gotta stop, these horses don't deserve this!

[RumbleDelta]

You can see that in the horse's face and body language that he's clearly in pain in his legs from the chains. Horses don't naturally throw their heads when walking unless they're in pain or agitated. His nostrals are flared and his ears are back and he looks tense and reluctant as he walks. If you watch him for a few moments be fore he rears you can see his body is tense and boxy, indicating he's either going to rear or flee. The combination of the pain and probably fear caused him to do it.

[snowwhite]

I have ridden every style including saddleseat (a Morgan and a Saddlebred) and I have competed in every style and against every style. The majority of saddleseat riders are talentless hacks. The horses high action helps to disguise their complete lack of skills, equitation, and understanding of basic horsemanship.
I stopped riding in my 20’s and now in my 40’s I want to go back to riding. I’ve had two back surgeries so I figured riding a gaited horse would reduce the amount of impact on my back. I wanted to try Tennessee Walkers but I honestly can’t bring myself to participate in such an unnatural and barbaric style. It’s shameful this is still allowed. They have been trying to change these practices since the 80’s- 90’s and they have not been able to make any changes aside from outlawing soring. I love saddleseat and I love competing, but my love for horses would never allow me to participate in this.
As for the girl that got thrown, serves you right. You have a whip and spurs but those don’t make up for your lack of horsemanship.

[KFrost-fxdt]

Tennessee walkers are docile and well-behaved horses. They're great for young riders because they are patient beyond measure. This horse was not being naughty, it was in destress.

[silverchex]

Pain caused that. Too much pain. what a farce these people are. They are not true horsemen. Horsemen always put their horses welfare first. Awful 😠

[wendycav]

How can such cruelty be allowed? These people are sadists.

[fairday]

Pain is what I see in this horse. I didn't even know Asheville had horse shows.

[cjjohnson]

The entire concept of making these horses move this way is so unnatural. It seems like an old fashioned torture that should have died out years ago. The entire parade looks silly and uneducated. LIke they are trying to turn horses into clown figures. There is nothing elegant about it. Its creepy and sad. Is there something else these horses can do to show off their natural gait in a painless way? It's hard to imagine what kind of life these horses have on ruined hooves after their show days are over.