Another deep-rooted tradition on the shovel? If it had been up to animal rights organization Dier & Recht, today’s horse race in Hoofddorp would be the last. According to the animal rights organization, horses get headaches from the reins. Is it really that incriminating or do critics mainly give themselves a headache?
A course of approximately 300 meters has been cordoned off in the middle of the center of Hoofddorp. Hundreds of people are behind the fences. Many have bet money. They watch the race with excitement. The horses are hitched in front of a light cart in which the picker sits. At top speed they trot over the road.
Deep-rooted tradition
Every year these short track trotting events take place in many villages and towns. They are grand village festivals. “It really is a folk festival,” says Hans Kas, the organizer of this event. “There is a lot of village cosiness, you always run into acquaintances and many people gamble and then follow the race with even more excitement.”
Short track trotting is a deep-rooted tradition, especially in North Holland. It is not for nothing that many trotting races, including the short track in Hoofddorp, Intangible Heritage. The trotting races are recognized as cultural expressions for a community because they evoke ‘a sense of identity and continuity’. “We are very proud of that”, says Kas.
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If it is up to Dier & Recht, the last race has been run. The organization claims that equine welfare is suffering and is calling for a ban. “Scientific studies show that horses experience a lot of stress and sustain physical injuries during the races,” says animal scientist and behavioral expert Sarah Pesie (35) of Dier & Recht.
“I am a huge animal lover, certainly not an animal abuser”
Caroline Aalbers (47) has been involved in equestrian sports since she was sixteen and today rode as a picker at the short track in Hoofddorp. “I’m a huge animal lover, certainly not an animal abuser,” she says. “It is precisely the interaction with the animals that I always enjoy so much. You really do it together with your horse. Our horses do things that they can do and for which they are trained, and are well cared for: sports are an important part of that. “
“I think it’s only good that it’s being looked at,” she says. “Because people pay close attention, things are also adjusted.” For example, the players are no longer allowed to bring a whip and the starting area has been made longer. “We have an incredible amount of rules, but if something needs to be improved, we are open to it.”
“If the horse doesn’t obey, the coercion means more pain”
According to the animal rights organization, the pikeurs use coercive means. In equestrian sports, on the other hand, these ‘coercive devices’ are called aids. “The combination of biting and high rein pressure cause the injuries. If the horse does not obey, there is more pain due to the restraints. They have no rules against this yet, while when training elephants or lions, pain is completely out of the question.”
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In addition to the scientific research, Dier & Recht itself visits the horse races to capture the horses on camera. “Then you really see how much stress they are under,” she says. “We see that many trotters have a smaller eye that is deeper. That indicates chronic stress. I can imagine that if you see the horse every day, you don’t realize that he is so stressed. That is not ill will.”
“The scientific studies they refer to are not representative in the Netherlands”
According to Paul Mulder, chairman of the Stichting Nederlandse Draf- en Rensport, horse welfare is indeed central. “The scientific studies they refer to are not representative in the Netherlands,” he says. “There are a lot of rules in the Netherlands, there is a committee that monitors horse welfare.”
This is confirmed by the organization of the short track driving company in Hoofddorp. “The horses are top athletes,” says Kas. “They are well cared for. There are horse masters and veterinarians who monitor horse welfare and regulations.”
falsehoods
Aalbers calls it ‘a pity that untruths are being spread’. According to her, these ‘coercive measures’ are actually tools to do better and prevent pain. “And of course there is competition,” she says. “It’s not that they’re stiff with stress, but they’re tense. The same goes for us. But if they were too tense, there wouldn’t be a good performance either.”
According to the animal rights organization, performance does not go down when they are in pain, but up. “Because of the stress, the horse gets adrenaline and the horse starts to trot even faster. The same applies if the pain is very bad: a horse that has broken its leg can still cover kilometers due to the adrenaline that this causes.”
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What Aalbers and Mulder find disappointing is that Dier & Recht does not want to talk to them. “They put us in a bad light without us being able to respond,” says Mulder.
Foot by piece
But the animal rights organization stands firm and does not want to talk. “I think too often the mistake has been made to blame a change on an industry itself,” says Pesie. “Organizations themselves depend on their members and cannot simply push through decisions if the majority of members vote against internally. Moreover, there is a lot of pressure because of the competition money and gambling.”
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The government must intervene, says Dier & Recht. “We aim to cause a societal shift in knowledge.” They believe that more knowledge and more research is needed to bring about change. “There should be an independent veterinarian and an investigation that focuses only on horse welfare, and not on the interests of people.”
Last year questions were asked in the House of Representatives in response to the Animal & Law campaign. Because figures about Dutch harness racing are missing, the minister asked the Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Dronten to conduct research. The welfare damage caused by aids to horses in the Netherlands is still being researched.