Lion riding a horse

I am not going to lie, that picture SHOCKED and HORRIFIED me. That is terrible. There is no reason in the world that people should even do this. For a good show?? That horse is scared to death and I agree, the lion weighs almost as much as the horse.

Unjustly cruel.

I'm glad this came to a discussion :) I've read all answers and it has been interesting.

I can't agree that the horse is overly scared, it looks fine to me.
I feel that the scared feeling some people talk about is more because humans think horses must be scared of lions. But if my cat and my previous rats could willingly sleep together, I don't see why a horse can't accept a lion on it's back without fear.
And I still don't see anything wrong with just having a lion ride a horse.
BUT I do see lots of problems with THAT lion riding THAT horse in THAT environment, and lots of things around it, like training, size, ground etc etc
There's no reason in the world that humans should ride either, except our high pleasure, so circus acts that doesn't injure horses or other animals are fine to me. As long as the animals are trained well both physically and mentally for the act, and are treated with respect. Which I have no clue if it's the case here, but the horse doesn't seem big or strong enough. And I do hope that saddle fits well or else that'd probably hurt a lot.

Anyway, I'm glad there were so many opinions about this :)

Let's look at this from a logical point of view.
They are asking an animal who is by nature a prey animal to be ridden by an animal that would normally kill it.
That's sick and disgusting, and there is no way in the world anyone could tell me that that horse is not terrified out of its mind.
Add to the fact that lions weigh in at about 400lbs, and it just doubles the cruelty. Can you imagine how much hurt that horse would be in when the lion had to jump on his back!?
Its sick and disjusting.

Uhm..you've forgotten that humans normally (naturally) kill horses? They were food long before they were pets.

Humans, on the other hand, don't have massive claws and really sharp teeth that they shove in front of the horse either though...

I assume yoy think it's just as bad to have dogs at the stable, and that the horses are absolutely terrified of dogs and can't ever get used to them? Dogs too are predators and naturally attack horses (in pack, but still predators).
Just because humans thinks lions are bigger, more excotic and dangerous than we'd thnk a wolf or dog, doesn't mean the horse thinks of it like that. It's no harder to get the horse used to a lion than to get it used to a dog. It's all about experiences.
Stat calm, let the horse get used to it and make the xperience with the other animal nice, the horse will accept it.

It's incredible what horses can learn to accept without being scared. Shouting crowds, fireworks etc not to mention having a human on it's back and steering.

Eh...I still think it's wrong. The lion is much bigger & more powerful.
Poor horses; their backs.. :(

No matter what, it is DEFINITELY not acceptable for that lion to ride that horse. Ever. I don't care what people say, that horse is scared.

Gingerr, I agree 100%!

That poor horse is terrified. I personally believe that circus acts should be stopped. Look at that horses eyes. I feel just awful looking at that. Ridiculous. Not to mention that lion doesn't weigh 5 pounds, its huge. Wow, so this is what the world is coming to. Not worthy to own a horse if you want to do that. I'm disgusted with this.