These horse battles are held in dozens of villages in the south and prizes can get up to 10,000 yuan (about a thousand quid) which is a big deal for a Chinese farmer. The odd tradition is supposed to have been started by two feuding brothers scrapping over the hand of a fair maiden (just for a change).
In 2010, Hong-Kong based Animals Asia called horse fighting a “horrific spectacle”, saying that the bouts caused “abuse and suffering to animals in the name of entertainment”. I’d say that’s probably a fair description.
Horses don’t scrap that much willy nilly though, so to get them riled and ready for a ruck they introduce a female. As we all know females of any species are capable of making males fight at the drop of a hat. From gnats to gnus. From chimps to chavs. The horse that stands its ground and retains its position next to the lady horse wins the fight on behalf of their owner.
Video of horses fighting on the next page…
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