Australian Olympian Heath Ryan has been filmed video of him whipping a horse 42 times, and it has brought a lot of anger, but Ryan, the equestrian star, says that the horse was on a “rescue mission” and that they were trying to help the distressed animal.
The shocking footage that was shared with Daily Mail Australia shows Ryan running around the hor,se hitting it while it rears and struggles. The incident that triggered the video lasted some minutes. The animal welfare advocates and fellow riders have reacted furiously to it.
On the other hand, Ryan has spoken up for his conduct and claimed that the horse was in a “dangerous situation” and that the only way to get it out of there was by going in and physically helping it.
Shocking Footage Sparks Outrage
The film shows Ryan, a three-time Olympic champion and a well-respected equestrian coach, pulling the whip as the horse fights against his instructions. The animal rears a few times, calmly, appearing very upset, while Ryan goes on hitting it. When he is recounting numbers, he does so very quickly, and the last one is 42 times.
Many viewers strongly detested the video showing “excessive” and “cruel” behavior and were willing to find out the truth about Ryan’s training methods.
“No one can convince me that whipping a terrified animal over 40 times is right,” according to one social media user. “This is abuse, not training,” they went on to say.
Ryan’s Defence: ‘I Was Saving the Horse’
Ryan strongly denied that he had done any wrong, explaining to Daily Mail Australia that the horse was in a “panic situation” and that his actions were the only way to regain control.
“It was a rescue operation, not abuse,” Ryan stated. “The horse was at a very high level of distress, I had to intervene, otherwise, the horse could have gotten very hurt or hurt somebody.”
He went on to say that the animal had changed into “stuck” in an unsafe habit and that the continuous hitting was the intention to “get the animal out of its panic” and not to give pain.
“Those who are not horse trainers may interpret this as a case of cruelty; however, there are times when you must act in a strong way to avoid danger,” Ryan stated.
Equestrian Australia Investigating
Equestrian Australia (EA) affirmed that it is still watching the video and has set up an inquiry to get to the bottom of the affair.
“We are fully committed to ensuring that all issues related to animal welfare are given our utmost attention,” an EA representative said. “The issue is currently being investigated, and if there is a need, suitable measures will be taken accordingly.”
Animal rights groups, such as RSPCA Australia, are advocating for more rigorous rules regarding the use of different training methods in equestrian sports.
Mixed Reactions from Equestrian Community
On one hand, some supporters of Ryan have said that the horse handlers with more experience sometimes need to use strong measures in high-pressure situations. On the other hand, a video has been released that proves that the people were not able to come up with a solution to this problem.
“If you have to hit a horse so many times, your way of training has gone wrong,” a professional rider, who asked not to be named, said. “No one has to use violent methods to calm a scared horse.”
Ryan is a great Australian past student, who competed in three Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Nevertheless, this incident has also brought up the matter of the ethics of practices in competitive horse sport.
What Happens Next?
The probe is still going on, and EA is deciding if they will impose any punishment upon Ryan in case they find out that his methods are not in line with the animal welfare standards. Besides that, a heated discussion over the ways of training horses in elite sports is still hot.
At the moment, Ryan is very positive about his commitment to the actions that he has taken. Ryan claims that if he were a pilot, only the horse’s safety and the public and sports organizations’ judgment would matter, whether his explanation would be accepted or not.
