BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: gnu
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 04:38 PM

"... leaps sideways with all four feet off the ground."

Oh, now THAT I gotta see.

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 04:42 PM

PM me your email address, Gary, and I'll forward it to you.

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: gnu
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 04:45 PM

I tried searching but everything I get is just gore at You Tube... well, a lot of it.

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 06:24 PM

Send me your email address again, Gary, and I'll forward it to you.

Eb

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 02:13 AM

Googling to learn more about Portuguese bullfighting, I found the full original video on YouTube. The rider is Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, the horse is Merlin. There is some of the training here (with a person charging with an "artificial" bull), and more of just the horse and rider outside the ring.

The horse's athleticism is amazing. It's a very disturbing thing to watch the bullfight, though.

Here's a longer (10 minute) video of bullfighting, with de Mendoza on additional horses: click.

I watched these with the sound off.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 02:28 AM

One last thought: the PBS Nature program featured cutting horses, dressage, and polo. These bullfighting horses combine aspects of all three...

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: GREEN WELLIES
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 05:18 AM

This practice is utterly disgusting.

These horses have their vocal cords operated on so that they are unable to make any sound when gored. Its a small operation which is virturally undetectable to the untrained eye.

Anyone who supports this activity is as sick as the people who organise it.

If you want to see horses moving gracefully watch dressage.

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 09:41 AM

The movements of dressage originated with training for war. The bullring also puts the movements in a more "practical" context -- although it is an obvious performance as well. It is interesting to see -- once -- but I definitely would rather that these were historical documents, and not a continuing practice.

I did read that in addition to cutting the horse's vocal cords, they have their ears either plugged or deafened with drugs for the ring.

I wonder if there are differences in the care of the horses between the Spanish style and the Portuguese style of bullfighting. The Spanish picadores (the ones with the padding on the horses nowadays) are not featured in the same way. The Portuguese horse and rider must have a trusting relationship with one another. Most of the reports seem to refer to Spanish bullfighting.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: GUEST,The Bull
Date: 25 Aug 09 - 08:31 PM

Here, at least once, the bull gets a chance at this bunch of dolled-up pansies (I've never seen a more ridiculous-looking, cowardly group of ignoramouses - shame on the lot of them):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic4P2hq5IEQ

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: jeddy
Date: 25 Aug 09 - 09:07 PM

i am tempted to click the links given. but i shall not because they will horrify me and upset me. how anyone can think that pitting anything against something just for the hell of it,is entertaining is beyond me.

jade x x

Subject: RE: BS: Wow! Bullfighting on Horseback
From: Smokey.
Date: 25 Aug 09 - 09:21 PM

It should be beyond humanity, but sadly it's not. We have a long way to go before our species learns not to be sadistic monkeys, and that it is fundamentally wrong to mutilate and kill for fun.