Archive for the ‘Anthropmorphism’ Category

Horses in cages?

Written by Hiddenhorse on 19/05/2010 – 3:11 pm -

Horses in Cages, surely not? What kind of unprincipled person would put a horse in a cage? Well, as we shall see, whether you see it as a cage or a stable, it is really only a matter of perspective. Read more »

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Anthropomorphic Addiction

Written by Hiddenhorse on 02/03/2010 – 6:46 pm -

This article is about addiction. But please don’t be put off. It is about one of the most common addictions in the world, an addiction suffered by probably 99% of all people that work with animals and certainly, almost everyone who doesn’t. Like all addictions it is very powerful (addictive) because it is very rewarding – and sadly, like all addictions, it is very damaging not only to ourselves, but also to those around us. This addiction costs us billions every year, globally it has spawned multi-billion dollar industries to feed our passions, on a personal level, it frequently consumes all our time, our relationships and our resources. Our passion and fascination with this addiction can last a lifetime and many of us are prepared to devote our lives to the pursuit of the pleasure that it gives us. Read more »

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Stripping down the horse

Written by Hiddenhorse on 30/11/2009 – 3:25 pm -

Imagine your horse lives at the center of three concentric circles or better yet, spheres and imagine if you can that your horse is imprisoned inside these two outer shells. These shells are curved and semi-opaque and therefore distort what is inside. You can travel inside them at will but your horse is trapped, this is because these two shells are human inventions and under the control of humans, only the human can create them or destroy them through choice. Read more »

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What is Anthropomorphism?

Written by Hiddenhorse on 08/09/2009 – 4:06 pm -

Since the second world war the relationship between humans and horses has changed. The traditional function of the horse as a working animal is much less appropriate because today, the majority of horses are used mainly for leisure and pleasure purposes. It is logical to assume that this situation has improved the lot of the horse with advances in animal welfare and animal husbandry and veterinary science, this really should be the case, – but it isn’t. Sadly, domestic horses are dying younger, suffering more ill-health and the numbers of horses with severe psychological and emotional problems are increasing all the time and most important of all, horses are becoming increasingly dangerous to be around. Why should this be? Read more »

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The Anthropomorphic Model

Written by Hiddenhorse on 03/09/2009 – 12:24 pm -

In the last post I looked at the traditional utility model and you might think that that is the end of the story, rightly or wrongly horses are defined by their use, – but this is not so.

At the end of the second world war (1945) and perhaps for some years before, the role of the horse began to change, the jobs that had previously been done by horses now began to be performed by machines, so horses, that had, for hundreds of years, been solely defined by their function, now no longer had any function. So they no longer had anything to dictate how they were bred or fed or trained or treated. In some people’s eyes the horse literally became use-less. But as we all know this was not the end for the horse because as people’s leisure time and income increased in the post-war years, more and more horses found a new use as ‘recreational’ animals. Read more »

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