Organized horse fighting

Horses fight in the wild. However, contests between stallions are sometimes organized by humans for entertainment.

Organized horse fighting is a blood sport between two stallions which is organized for the purposes of betting or entertainment.^[1] Although combat between horses occurs naturally in the wild, death or serious injury in these is almost always avoided by ritualised behaviours or the withdrawal of one of the combatants.^[2]

Fights often take place in a fenced ring, which prevents the more submissive stallion from retreating, as it would do in a naturally occurring contest. Two stallions and a mare in heat are brought into the ring by human handlers. The mare is then removed, but kept in the vicinity so that her scent lingers, although in some fights she is tethered to a pole at the center of the ring. At this point, the stallions will often spontaneously attack each other. Those which do not are whipped or startled with loud noises to provoke them into a frenzy. Horse fights may be staged in rounds, or as one-off bouts. They often result in significant injuries, or death, of the stallions.^[3] Horse fights may last between 15 minutes to three hours and have been criticized for their brutality and lethality; however, organizers have claimed that the death of horses in organized horse fighting is rare or non-existent.^[4][5]

Organized horse fighting is a traditional observance of Chinese New Year among the Miao people that has occurred for more than 500 years.^[1] Though illegal, it is also widely practiced in the Philippines where, as of 2008, approximately 1,000 horses were being bred annually for horse fights.^[6] Organized horse fighting has also been recorded in Thailand, in South Korea's Jeju Province, on Muna Island in Indonesia, and among medieval Norse settlers in Iceland.^[7][8]

References

1. Treu, Zachary (3 February 2014). "Villages in southern China ring in Chinese New Year with horse fighting". Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
2. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (1961). "The fighting behavior of animals". Scientific American 205 (6): 112–122.
3. "Horse Fighting". horsefund.org. Horse Fund. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
4. "Manobos defend horse fighting". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
5. "Organized Horse Fighting". networkforanimals.org. Network for Animals. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
6. "Horse Fights". VICE News. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
7. Tozer, Basil (1908). The Horse in History. Methuen. pp. 94–95.
8. Colgan, Jill (29 June 1999). "South Korea – Horse Fighting". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 February 2016.