Associations that don't protect the horse: tail blocking gone wild

One of my biggest complaints with breed registries is how they ignore, and in some cases promote, abusive methods. The TWHBEA is a classic example, and they provide a whole lot of fodder for those of us that hate animal abuse. I’m not really fond of the saddlebred or other gaited horse associations either. They all suck; they all promote unnatural and unhealthy methods. And don’t come ranting to me about the Rocky Mountain and Kentucky Saddlers or Pasos, you’ve got your share of abusers too.

The stock horse industry isn’t far behind the gaited horse abusers. Training methods are just as remedial and abusive and the drugs use is rampant. Look at any stock horse breed rulebook and the list of drugs allowed in the show ring would make a New York City crack whore swoon with delight. I’m personally surprised more crack whores don’t get into showing horses, just because of the ease of acquiring high end drugs that would make your average smack trip seem like a day of sniffing Sharpies.

But, this isn’t a post about the drug abuse, this is a post returning to one of my earlier statements: WTF is going on with the tail blocking? Why isn’t every single horse organization out there banning this shit and then fining into penury every asshole trainer caught doing it?
It serves *no* purpose except to harm the horse. It can cause extensive scarring and injury, as well as making it impossible for the horse to poop or switch flies. It is such a vanity operation and merely outlines how morally bankrupt the horse industry has become.

Now I have to do something I hate to do, and I rarely do: I have to commend the AQHA for taking action against tail blocking and checking for it at their major shows. Just pisses me off to admit they do something right, because they are the leader in the drug/poor riding/bad trends/over-breeding/genetic defects races. I scrolled through all the online rulebooks I could find and none of the other stock breeds specifically ban tail blocking, although they do have sections about cosmetic alteration.

I have personal knowledge that the ApHC will not do anything about tail blocking. Neither the CEO (who isn’t about to piss off his big trainer buddies) nor the show manager (who isn’t about to do any extra work) are *ever* going to do shit about it. The big trainers need their blocked tails, drugs and shitty equipment so they can pretend they know how to work a horse. Here’s a hint: if you didn’t squeeze your horse into such artificial frames and start them so young you wouldn’t need the drugs, tail blocks and gimmicks. From what I can tell the NCHA, NRHA, PHBA, ABHA, POA and the rest of the stock breeds have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy on tail blocking. Don’t ask us if our sorry assed trainers break rules and abuse their horses and we’ll pretend that the breed we were formed to protect is actually being taken care of properly.

The Horse.com had a great article on tail blocking a few months back and it showcased the hazards of doing blocking, even if a vet does it. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12310

The photos are graphic, so I suggest you don’t eat while reading it. I guess the big question is *why* most breed organizations won’t take action. This is such a simple thing to fix. It requires no major changes that affect the majority of members. It helps the horse. And it shows the public that they organization actually cares about the horse. Of course I doubt the ApHC will ever do anything, at least while they have the current CEO in office, but I’d think that NCHA and NRHA, as bastions of AQHA supporters would step up and enforce a ban on it. This industry is about the horse right, not just the dumb ass trainers that like to cheat?