Horses in parades??????????
I was recently at a 4th of July parade that thousands of people in my area attend and there was a Percheron who was obviously stressed out about the situation he was in, even better the politician riding him was going helmetless. I recently saw an article on AOL about 2 horses trampling people at a parade. What are your thoughts on horses in parades?
Update:I am for horses in parades, but I've rarely seen horses that respond well to that environment. The horses I ride live next to an airport with planes landing constantly, as well as a bike path that runs right through the property so they are used to things a lot of horses aren't, but I don't think they'd ever be okay with the silly string, poppers, balloons, and over all setting of a parade.
Comments
Well, yesterday one lady was killed and 4 people are critically injured after the bridle fell off of one of two carriage horses in a parade for some unknown (so far) reason.
I used to ride in big parades, and I think horses are often ill prepared for the atmosphere of parades. People line the streets and are fair game if a horse decides to flip out, and most people just assume the horses are better trained than many of them are. Even a well trained horse can flip out, which most people don't realize when they bring their children to watch the parades. I think parade horses should be trained for parades. and it is imperative that their movement in every direction can be controlled reliably. I think horses that are not specially trained for it shouldn't be ridden or driven in parades, since the risks skyrocket when both horse and rider are not at the top of their games.
As for yesterday's disaster, how do you bring your horses to a parade and have a bridle just fall off of one of them? What does that say about the owners of horses being used in parades?
Add....a total of 24 people were injured including 15 children yesterday, as the horses pulling the full carriage panicked, ran into a combine and then bolted onto the sidewalk, and at some point the horses broke free from the carriage. A woman riding in the carriage was killed when she was hurled onto the concrete. The horses then ran through crowds of people for six blocks, and then finally fell when they ran into a float and they were restrained from getting up again.
According to the search I did, there are no statistics available on the number of equine related parade injuries in the US annually, but there are supposedly many hundreds of parade related injuries every year in the US.
I honestly don't think it is that much of a problem. Many people enjoy seeing the horses (I was in a Parade with amazingly gaited Puerto Rican Paso Finos) and it's really fun for the people and horse. Well...given that both horse and rider are ready and competant for this job.
I only know 1 of the examples you stated, but I will try to address both. (lets read this fail..haha)
Ok, with the Percheron. That was extreamly stupid. A spooky DRAFT horse that is stressed and ready to bolt (what is that, 1,000+ pounds of muscle + stress and fear = screwed) and then riding it without a helmet? That is stupidity.
The 2 horses trampling people. The horses had no fault in this. They were scared, yet people pushed them on. That is stupid, and we see now that 1 women died from it, and smaller kids were injured.
But, like at the parade I was in, the horses didn't spook easily, I am helped a mare with all of the noises and we had no issues. But if you know your horse is spooky, and you either push it, or ride without a helmet...well that' going to stink for you, eh?
I have nothing against horses in parades. I am all for them. I ride my horses/drive our team in the parade at every parade we can get to.
There are plenty of things for horses to spook at in a parade: the floats, the sirens, the noises, all the people, the banners, the announcer, etc.
I don't think people should put their horses in a parade if they are not semi-okay with all of the things they will see and experience at a parade. People should know that.
All around, horses spook at things even if they are very well-broke and very okay with many things. Sometimes, people have no control over what spooks a horse, some things scare them, some things don't.
After that big ordeal, people are probably not gonna let people drive teams in parades anymore. I'm am not okay with that.
These are just my thoughts on this.
PNB
i don't have a problem with horses in parades either ridden or hitched and i have been in a few on paints,quarters and Clydesdale's all under saddle and no i have never worn a helmet in any of my riding. assuming the politician was over the age of 18? he is able to consider his own safety and not wear a helmet. i live in the west so helmets are not a part of western riding history and most adults (and some under the age of 18) don't wear them even in competitions. as for the safety of the public in parades, out of the thousands of horses and carriages that are in parades all across the country it is a great safety record and considering that these are animals it is excellent. i recall a parade two years ago where a child riding on a flatbed semi trailer fell off and was run over by the trailer tires so accidents will happen in any parade. as for the accident, i cant see any excuse as to why he didnt have either outriders or a walking groom with him.
I don't see a problem with horses in parades, so long as the horses are properly trained specifically for being in parades. And by that I mean so that they won't spook. I think parade horses should go through similar training that police horses must go through. You don't see riot horses spooking that much. I realize that that kind of training can take years, but some simple but effective de-spooking training can save lives.
I am perfectly fine with it. But the horses NEED to be trained to that kind of thing. The people, noises, little kids running around, ect. If the horse isnt trained its like a kid a glass store! Anything can happen and when it does it will be bad. So they should have the horses used to doing that kind of stuff so they know what to expect. Just like getting a pro barrel horse use to the rodeos, take them and tie them to your trailer the first few times, or ride them in the arena and let them get used to the announcer, cheering, cows, bells, ect. Because if you dont your gonna be on a runaway the first time you take them to a rodeo and they have never been around it they are gonna FREAK. So if they are used to it and not a risk then ya go ahead put your horse in it, and have fun.
Riding your horse in a parade can be a fantastic and very memorable experience, but it takes the right kind of horse and the right kind of training to create a parade horse that can handle the high intensity parade atmosphere while keeping himself, his rider, and spectators safe.The best parade horses are naturally showy but also very difficult to spook. Before entering your horse in their first parade you should make a list of all the new things the horse might encounter at a parade, and make it a point to expose and over-expose the horse to those things in the weeks and months leading up to the parade. Such a list might include:
flags, balloons, manhole covers, brick streets, bridges, small children, wheelchairs, strollers, miniature horses, draft horses, horses pulling carts, women in pouffy dresses, sirens, fire trucks, applause, announcers, shriner vehicles, floats, marching bands, candy being thrown, etc, etc, etc. You can get tape recordings of parade sounds somewhere online to use to desensitize your horse to sirens, marching bands, etc.
For your first parade, you might want to consider having a person, dressed appropriately, walking along side "heading" your horse in case something happens. (this is VERY common with harness horses in parades, but is done with young ridden parade horses too).
Most of all, have fun! A parade is an excellent opportunity for the non-horse public to experience America's horses!
I think it's fine, so long as the horse knows how to do it's job and doesn't spook easily. I think they're beautiful and add so much to a parade.
I don't see any problem with it so long as the horse is competent for the job.