On a new bucking horse, the strap around its flank causes a tickle, or at most an irritation but so does any new piece of equipment on a new horse — even a saddle. On a practiced bucking horse or bull, the flank strap acts as a conditioning tool — the animal learns to associate the flank strap with performing.
The strap is adjustable to fit each individual horse or bull but is not possible to make an animal buck simply by adding a flank strap. If this were the case, then any animal could be bucking stock. While the animal stands in the chute, the flank strap is loosely fitted.
Events include bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, team roping and steer wrestling. The RSPCA is opposed to rodeos and rodeo schools because of the potential for significant injury, suffering or distress to the animals involved.
Rodeos are held in all states and territories in Australia except for the Australian Capital Territory where they are prohibited. Rodeo horses and bulls buck repeatedly as an instinctive reaction to being repeatedly kicked with metal spurs and to the tightened flank strap around their sensitive underbelly. Horses and cattle are prey animals and their reaction to being ridden in this way is the same as their reaction to being attacked by a predator, a situation where they experience increased fear, stress and panic.
It is not uncommon to see horses and bulls hurl themselves at solid objects in order to rid themselves of the rider. Only when the rider has been thrown or dismounts and the flank straps loosened do they quieten down. Also, some ridden animals are so distressed that they then charge the rider on the ground, further demonstrating this very strong fear response.
A study of bull behaviour at rodeos determined that nearly one third of animals assessed showed signs of distress leading up to the start of bull-riding events and that those who did not react may have either become habituated to the aversive situation or have given up and endure the negative experience [ 1 ].
A relatively new form of rodeo being promoted in Australia is professional bull riding where bulls are ridden while subjected to loud noises and pyrotechnics amid clapping and cheering.
In December , a bull suffered a broken leg and had to be euthanased during one of these events in Adelaide. Forcing animals to endure this suffering for sport and entertainment is unnecessary and inhumane. Although all rodeo events pose significant animal welfare risks, calf roping also known as rope-and-tie raises serious concerns, as it subjects young vulnerable animals to unnecessary harm and distress. What began in the late s as a skill contest among cowboys has become a show motivated by greed and profit.
Standard rodeo events include calf roping, steer wrestling, bareback horse and bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer roping and wild cow milking. The animals used in rodeos are captive performers. Most are relatively tame but understandably distrustful of human beings because of the harsh treatment that they have received.
Many of these animals are not aggressive by nature; they are physically provoked into displaying "wild" behavior to make the cowboys look brave. Electric prods, sharp sticks, caustic ointments, and other torturous devices are used to irritate and enrage animals used in rodeos.
The flank or "bucking" strap used to make horses and bulls buck is tightly cinched around their abdomens, where there is no rib cage protection. Tightened near the large and small intestines and other vital organs, the belt pinches the groin and genitals. The pain causes the animals to buck, which is what the rodeo promoters want the animal to do in order to put on a good show for the crowds.
In a study conducted by the Humane Society of the United States, two horses known for their gentle temperament were subjected to the use of a flank strap. Both bucked until the strap was removed. Then several rodeo-circuit horses were released from a pen without the usual flank straps and did not buck, illustrating that the "wild," frenzied behavior in the animals is artificially induced by the rodeo cowboys and promoters of rodeo events.
Haber, a veterinarian who spent 30 years as a federal meat inspector, worked in slaughterhouses and saw many animals discarded from rodeos and sold for slaughter. Just as there are two ways a horse makes its way into rodeo, there are two types of bucking horses.
The type of horse used for bareback riding varies from the type used in the saddle bronc-riding event. Many saddle bronc horses are draft horse crosses, these large sturdy animals have the perfect classic bucking action as well as the strength and durability that make them excellent athletes for long-term careers in the sport of rodeo. Classic Velvet is the perfect example of the horses that have come to rodeo because they bucked.
Milhous tried in vain to train the horse to drive pull a cart and finally gave up. Cotton Rosser, a famed California stock contractor, was called to try the horse as a bucking horse and knew almost immediately he would be a star.
After bucking off one too many ranch hands on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, Khadafy was sold to Franzen and has racked up the awards for his bucking talent since. Of the 60 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association stock contractors, about 40 operate some type of livestock breeding program. Sankey said Custer was a solid, middle of the road horse that always bucked but was never sensational.
Because he was not a spectacular bucking horse, no one knows why his colts are so much better than others. However, with Custer as the foundation sire, Sankey claims that 85 percent of the colts born into his breeding program grow up to become successful bucking horses. One of the best indicators of the suitability of horses to the sport of rodeo is their longevity of life and career.
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