Rodeos.....Yay or Nay?

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eroomlorac

eroomlorac

Poppy the mosaic squibbit
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
2,758
Location
Farm country, Northern Illinois
My friend,Tony, is on a website where the subject of rodeos came up. Most of the posters were very pro rodeo and found them great fun and entertaining. Personally, I don't enjoy them and I worry about the animals in the rodeos, as does Tony. He posted on his website that he felt the animals were abused and terrified and he got blasted. There was a video of a team of three men who were supposed to subdue a wild horse. The horse was jumping and coming down in it's side and back.......HARD. The pro rodeo people felt the horses were not getting hurt. Same with bull riding, calf roping, etc. Tony linked me to the thread on his website so I thought I'd post the same question here and see what opinions are here. Then I'll send the link to Tony and show him what opinions we come up with.

So, the question is......do you enjoy rodeos and do you think the animals at rodeos are treated fairly?
 
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I think it depends on the person more than anything. Rodeos in some areas are a way of life and very normal. The animals are fed and cared for, given medical attention and a clean place to sleep (in most cases). You can't really have a rodeo with a sickly cow or horse. On the other hand, if I were an animal rights activist or something, I could come up with a hundred examples of how they are being treated unfairly. Then again, some really extreme people will say even owning pets is cruel and unnatural, no matter how well they are cared for. Go to the other end of the spectrum and look at bullfighting. The bull is bleeding, in pain, and still being taunted, until his eventual death. That is a lot worse than being ridden around a ring for a few seconds, IMO.
 
Personally, I think rodeos are cruel. And I absolutely HATE bull fighting. I really am happy when I see a bull go berserk and trample the people for once. I have never been to a rodeo in person but watching on TV it seems like the animals would be injured quite frequently, especially with the calf roping where they jerk the calf to the ground by its neck. I get that there was a time when these skills were a necessary part of life, but that's not really the case anymore, so why continue to be so inhumane?
 
Actually, calf roping and lassoing is still in practice on ranches today. There's many large ranches out in Montana and surrounding areas as well as down south. So the skills are still necessary. They need to rope the calves to vaccinate them and brand them on occasion. If you have hundreds of cows there's no way you can just slowly and gently grab a hold of them, especially when they're running away from you. Also, they don't slam the calf down to the ground by its neck. First they lasso it's feet and then the head. It's not like it's getting jerked around, in many cases in real life they need to get the calf down as quickly and as easily as possible. And for ranch owners, those calves are their livelihood. If the calf is injured or dies, they loose money, so there would be no reason for them to hurt the calf in the process.

Personally I don't have an issue with rodeos, I've been to a number of them, and never have I seen animals brutally mistreated. It would depend on the people, but most people respect their animals. For them it's a way of life and as such they treat their animals with care. Like was stated, you can't compete with sick animals.

If you think rodeos are cruel, what about horse racing?

I mean, I can bet that as far as it goes, the horses are enjoying what they're doing whether it be barrel racing or what have you. Do the cows enjoy it? Well, do they enjoy sitting in a pen all day on the farm? At least getting them out running around gives them something to do. And for things like bull riding, those bulls are bred for that. They actually have statistics, for how many people the bull has bucked off and it's record, so this is what they do. It's not like they're going in scared and not knowing what's happening. They're experienced and have done it in the past.
 
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I don't have a problem with rodeos. Usually wild horses aren't used for broncs. Most bucking horses and cattle are hand tame, you can walk up to them and pet them and everything when they're not in the shoot. You'll notice everytime an animal goes through the bucking shoot they have a flank rope on, once that is off, they know their work it done. That's the reason they buck.

For calf roping and steer wrestling after so long they actually become so used to it that they are "no good" anymore. They expect it coming and that's when they need to get "fresh stock" in.

I had a horse that would've been a great bucking horse, he was gentle as anything on the ground he followed my kids around, but when you tried to ride him... he exploded, and a guy's had him for a year and a half working with him... he still does, will be riding along fine and just explodes. I am certain that if you put a flank rope on him, he'd make a great bucking horse.

As for the video of people "subduing a wild horse" one video can't speak for everyone. Most rodeos need their stock, it's like how a good chin rancher won't just let their chins sit in dirty cages and never dust them. That's your business, those are your livestock and you need them for your job.

I have no problems with rodeos. I've also been on farms where we roped the calves to castrate, brand, and vaccinate them.
 
I don't have a problem with the roping, I do have a problem with the ropping then slamming the calves onto the ground and tying their legs up. And yes, they do slam them to the ground. In the 3 rodeos I've gone to, not once have they been gentle with the calves. I also have a problem with the bucking belt. No animal that has been hand tamed should have to slap that thing on and be expected to throw themselves all over the place just for entertainment. The same with the riding bulls. The reason they buck is because the pressure is uncomfortable, then the added weight of having some guy jump on their back and trying to throw them off.

I agree with Nicole though - they do take care of their animals in a feed, water, and health kind of way. Just not real sure of the mental aspects of the deal.

Rodeo is not my idea of a good time.
 
There is actually a reason to slamming them down. Because it disorients them making it easier to tie their legs and subdue them. The original meaning for this was to hold them to brand, castrate and treat them ( that's why they don't tie all four legs ). If you're out on 20,000 acres and you have to gently roll them over, chances are they'll get away, and chances are, you won't have a second chance very easily.
 
alli713 said:
Do the cows enjoy it? Well, do they enjoy sitting in a pen all day on the farm? At least getting them out running around gives them something to do..
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Running terrified in a big arena with hundreds of people making noise and a human on a horse is chasing you down is better?

I've been watching the ranch show on Animal Planet and will give in to the fact that is is tradition and a way of life and they are some of the hardest working humans on the planet.... and there is a purpose for what they are doing. . However, having rodeos for fun is unnecessary IMO.

Tradition doesn't always excuse everything that is done. There was recently one town in Spain that outlawed bullfighting. They came to their senses and realized that it was dangerous and cruel. Hopefully that is one tradition that will gradually die out totally.
 
I just don't have a problem with rodeos. Bull fighting? Yes, but to me, that's a totally different subject not even on the same level as a rodeo. No animals are killed needlessly at a rodeo.

If your argument is that they're scared and that's not fair, well then I guess we shouldn't do chin shows. Because I'm sure that many chins who have never been outside of their run in a ranch are scared on the table. And under some bright lights with a stranger lifting their show cage up and then tapping it occasionally to get them to move is cruel too since they're scared.
 
He!! yes to rodeos and HOT cowboys! Sorry Carol, but I love the rodeo. I don't like bull fighting, but I love to watch bull & bronc riding. I also really enjoy watching the barrel racing as well.
 
Laurie said:
He!! yes to rodeos and HOT cowboys! Sorry Carol, but I love the rodeo. I don't like bull fighting, but I love to watch bull & bronc riding. I also really enjoy watching the barrel racing as well.
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No need to apologize. I'm looking for opinions and points of view. No right or wrong here. I kind of agree with the "hot cowboy" part, though. ;)
 
alli713 said:
I just don't have a problem with rodeos. Bull fighting? Yes, but to me, that's a totally different subject not even on the same level as a rodeo. No animals are killed needlessly at a rodeo.

If your argument is that they're scared and that's not fair, well then I guess we shouldn't do chin shows. Because I'm sure that many chins who have never been outside of their run in a ranch are scared on the table. And under some bright lights with a stranger lifting their show cage up and then tapping it occasionally to get them to move is cruel too since they're scared.
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Sorry...I don't think that is the same. Are you sure animals don't die at rodeos? Not on purpose..I know. I don't like horse racing either. For every good owner, there are 10 bad apples.
 
Sorry I missed the edit time.

This is what bothers me:
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2010/07/135.shtml

I was watching the Last Cowboy on Animal Planet the other day and they were gathering up calves to be branded and get their shots. The cowboys gently roped the calves and gently (as possible riding a horse) dragged them to where the events were taking place. It really didn't seem half as dramatic as the rodeos. I'm not against the cowboys and what they do in real life.
 
I think it depends on the event. Bull and Bronc riding, as well as calf roping (as a spectacle, not an animal management practice), horse tripping, etc. are unnecessary and dangerous. But the sorts of events that feature the relationship between a rider and an animal, like barrel races or Roman/trick riding, I do enjoy when the animals and humans are safe and well-vetted.
 
I don't mind them. They are a lot stricter now on the calf roping, jerking a calf too hard will get them DQ'd and fined. I bought a horse from a rodeo contractor who provided the horses, bulls, and calfs for rodeos, some of their bulls were selected for the big one in Las Vegas for a few years. They loved them, they were fat and happy and tame, they would come running up to you in the field. The oldies were retired to have babies. If you watch a lot of the time the bulls and horses will stop bucking as soon as they hear that buzzer. If they do one rodeo a week (I'm sure its less than that), 8 seconds of work, they work for only 7 minutes a year. Not a bad deal. I think things have changed a lot for the better, they know they are being watched for anything that goes wrong. Accidents happen, but they can happen anytime.
 
ok, I live on a farm, we have cattle here and sometimes you have to get rough with them to get the job done without people getting hurt.

I have done photography at rodeos before, Ive been around the bulls behind the scenes and they are as tame as a backyard puppy. If they are mean or hard to handle they do not go to the rodeos.

They are a trained animal much the same as any other animal trained to preform at the circus, zoo or for movies. Plus most rodeo animals are treated FAR BETTER the the beef on your supper table tonight.

If you want to talk animal cruelty, look at your major stockyards............
 
I love rodeos, almost everyone around here is pro or intermediate or they just like watching it; to me it doesn't seem like the animals go through any harm it just looks the same way it does when you but them through the chute to be vaccinated or what not. Honestly, from what I've witnessed the rider gets hurt more than the bull does, because the cattle are donated by local farmers who generally want their animals back in good condition.

Where I live we support our rodeo's and our riders, our old farm hand is a bull rider and I've heard more stories about him getting hurt than any animal at the rodeo, heck one I went to the bull was trotting around as if it were a horse going for a stroll. It gets the farmers meat out there so more people will buy from them if they see how great of product they would be buying, or at least that's why we donate our bulls for the local rodeos, but typically we get them back.
 
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I think rodeos are alot like other things. In my opinion rodeo is the only "true sport",you just can't bribe a Brahma!! But seriously,your professional organization rodeos have ASPCA all over their butts so their animals are treated humanely. The unsanctioned local "beer and bull" rodeo as I like to call them can go either way.What it boils down to is the stock supplier.My old geriatric lawn mower 1/4 horse was 8yrs old when I bought him.I had no idea until I went to look at him that he was used for flag carrier and pickup in the rodeo. I got a first hand look at all of the fellow's rodeo stock.I petted a Brahma,scratched noses of Broncs and all were well cared for and gentle.After talking awhile with this gentleman he made a comment that really stuck with me and yes he is a contracted rodeo stock provider "why in the world would I let anyone hurt an animal that pays my bills??My rodeo stock is an expensive investment that I protect."
 
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