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October 2007 • VOLUME 26 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
By Susan Garvin The reflections expressed in this article bump rather painfully up against moral and ethical matters which are too complex to go into thoroughly here. I refer to the sticky question of when ignorance becomes wilful ignorance, when adherence to tradition stops being an honouring of those who have gone before us and becomes an excuse not to change because change can so often be inconvenient. Especially in the horse world where the way of keeping horses has up to now been based totally on man’s convenience with no real regard to the needs and instincts of the horse. What defines this dividing line? Who am I to say you, or he, or she, has crossed it? What do I know of your motives, of his, of hers, really and truly? And who am I to say X is wilfully ignorant while Y is merely ignorant and can therefore be excused? I don’t pretend to even address these issues here, let alone give any answers, but it is as well to clear the ground before starting on what I hope are more reflections than accusations. I must say, however, that I do think many people fall into the ‘wilful ignorance’ category: the lives they lead, the things they say, the rights they claim for themselves all speak of a higher knowledge which is called upon when convenient, so any lacunae must fall under suspicion – how come you are so enlightened here but not there? So open and modern there but not here? Basically my gripe with many people I come across in the horse world is that it isn't only lack of feel, lack of knowledge or lack of skill which makes most horses suffer, it's also
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