Anthropomorphization: Maybe we've always done it, but not to the extent as it appears to be taking over our collective consciousness in the 21st century. The attribution of human form or personality to things not human in the case of small animals has seen an expansion of the pet industry to something which would have been inconceivable 30 or 40 years ago.
In parallel, the place of the horse in society has diminished, since the invention of motorised vehicles at the turn of the 20th century. Horses became less and less relevant to everyday life, to where today the majority of people living in our cities have possibly never actually seen a horse up close and personal. They have no connection, “so what,” you might say, but what you forget is we have had a relationship with horses for over 6,000 years, in the words of John Moore
“Wherever man has left his footprint in the long ascent from barbarism to civilisation we will find the hoof print of the horse beside it.”
We would not be here without the horse, and it is only in the last 100 or so years there has been an ever increasing disconnect. Even with that disconnect, people still recognised there was something in what the Greeks prescribed many centuries ago, and by mid-20th century Riding for the Disabled had been established around the world. Since then using horses as therapeutic facilitators has gained more and more momentum, to where today there are thousands upon thousands of programmes around the world using horses to help people…..and it IS Life changing.
What we in the racing industry fail to recognise is the connection mankind has to horses. They are hard wired into our DNA, and as such the Horse is the most potent drug on the planet. We need to tell our story, yes, but we also need to package this beautiful gift we are lucky enough to spend our lives involved with, and to market it.
We also need to realise we are living in a very different world today, where the horse has zero relevance to most people's lives, and anthropomorphization is the new norm. So when animal rights activists say racing is cruel, they are addressing a very different demographic from times past. Telling our story, showing how well we treat our horses and what a great game it truly is, is a fantastic start, but we need to do much more to resonate with today's population. Racing has survived through war, strife, famine, economic hardship, social unrest for over 2,000 years, but today it is facing the Grim Reaper of changing attitudes. One of which is “All use of horses is abuse.” We have to show how horses not only enrich those involved in the various equestrian fields, but society in general.
The story we need to embrace is our age old connection to these magnificent and magical animals, and how we as a society are incomplete without them, in fact they are more relevant today than perhaps ever before. For we live in a world where technology has replaced the need for human connection, and where the ramifications of COVID 19 are being dramatically felt by a generation, especially the younger population. We are becoming more and more isolated and lonely, and unknowingly in need of what horses bring to our world–connection.
We need to show people the complete cycle of the Thoroughbred from the beautiful nurture, nature of the breeding farms where their lives begin. Their playfulness and sheer joy of innocence.
Then to the adrenaline-filled excitement, competitiveness, speed, beauty, strength, sheer power and determination of the of the Thoroughbred doing what they was bred to do over three hundred years ago–Race.
To the third cycle, a stage which can take many forms. Those successful on the racecourse go back to the breeding farms. While others are re-trained by many wonderful Thoroughbred aftercare organisations to participate in other competitive fields. They do this because They Can. The Thoroughbred is an art form as close to perfection as you will ever find, and as such can excel in any field of endeavour.
And what people are beginning to discover is that they are incredible empaths, and as such are creating an enormous buzz within the equine assisted activity world with programmes such as HorsebackUK, the Man O' War project, Racing Hearts, Stable Recovery, equine-facilitated prison programmes, and many, many more. It is to this, we need to turn our attention if the horse racing industry is to survive to see another decade. As a society we are in trouble. We are becoming more and more disconnected and isolated from each other, the consequences of which can manifest is depression, self-doubt, lack of esteem, anxiety and suicide.
Ask yourself who has carried us to safe ground for thousands of years–the very being who has become totally irrelevant in the 21st century. It's time we as an industry begin to let the wider world in on our secret. We should not be taking a defensive stand, we need to show society what Horses can do for it, and in so doing we can re-establish our Social Licence, and the Horse's role in society.
Suzi Prichard-Jones, owner, breeder and founder of the Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation
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