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What are your opinions on this YouTube rant?

19K views 93 replies 31 participants last post by  tinyliny 
#1 · (Edited)
I don't watch RaleighLink14 myself (I find her very immature and she gives dangerous advice), but a friend who watches her videos linked me this;

I hope that the other young teens that watch her videos don't get sucked into the idea that being in charge while riding is evil, telling your horse to do things is evil, stalls are evil, the industry is always evil, etc.

What are your opinions about the points she brings up, and do you think genetic engineering belongs in the horse world?

EDIT: At around the ten minute mark, she claims ''horses weren't 'put on the Earth' to win us ribbons''... uh, the ones you know and love were. Horses would be extinct or farmed like cows for meat (in larger quantities that is) if we didn't domesticate them to be creatures of labor. She probably wouldn't be sitting in her warm comfy home if it weren't for the service of animals for hundreds of years, lol.
 
#2 ·
I have to admit to not watching the whole thing.. I started raising my eyebrows when she talked about making the first video at work (not sure what she does, but pretty sure its NOT making random rants to put on YouTube) and they just kept rising..

While I am all about treating animals with empathy and kindness.. I don't need a random person on the internet telling me what is in the "best interest" for my horses.
 
#4 ·
I haven't watched the video yet but agree with the OP - today's horses have all been bred to be of some use to humans, whether it was back in the day when they were the 'cars, trucks and farm tractors' and carried men into battle to todays leisure and competition horses. Even the horses raised for meat in parts of Europe have been selectively bred to be the best for that use.
That happened a long, long time ago and you can't put the clock back to return the refined modern day horse to being something close to the Przewalski horse.
 
#5 ·
I have liked some of her videos in the past (I didn't watch this one), but stopped watching a long time ago when every video was a rant, bash, or cussing about something endlessly. Not saying she's a bad person, but your opinions of what's "right" for your horse isn't always right.
 
#6 ·
I think it depends on what the modifications are. Selective breeding for bigger, stronger, faster, sounder, more athletic, etc., horses has been happening for millennia. If genetic alterations can create a healthier, sounder horse with a longer career before arthritis, injuries, etc. break them down, that's a win for rider AND horse. If the long term health of the animal isn't a major goal in genetically engineering a horse, and they're just going for short term success at the expense of the horse's health and well being, then it's not ethical. But those questions of ethics are no different than in normal breeding.
 
#7 ·
I think she still comes off as emotional and immature. I don't agree with "making" a super horse in the lab. But then again I don't think embryo transfer is right either. The way I look at it is this. We breed for certain characteristics and discard the off spring that don't "fit the bill" If we can custom order our horse from a lab we may be able to lessen the unwanted horse population. Reduce those that go to slaughter, create a horse that never gets Navicular, EPM, Uveitis - etc.

Modern genetics and modern medicine are all a 2 edged sword.
 
#8 ·
Lol. I think first of all she is to young to really no what she is talking about lol. Just likes to here herself talk. Lol. Anyone can watch a video and say something about it. I used to be in the rodeo, and have been on horses all my life. First off. The rodeo animals are some of the most well kept animals out there. There treated better then people. Horses have helped people going back long ago, plowing fields helping people work the land. Working and bringing cattle in from pastures. They are very well maintained. There will always be people that abuse animals just like people kill each other. But for the majority of us, we love and take care of our animals. There is a lot of people on YouTube that just talk cause they think it sounds good but really just annoying to listen to people that really no nothing. Lol
 
#9 ·
I think that the point could come across better if she had better rhetoric skills and didn't seem like an angsty teenager. I don't know much about these cloned horses. It's weird, it's probably not the best thing, it's tampering with God's natural way of things, but if there was some more proof given in valid order and without useless expletives, then her argument would be more convincing. Selective breeding is different than actually lab-forming an embryo. Genetic engineering causes a whole lot of problems and I personally think it won't be the best idea. Also, those animals would probably be crazy expensive and, like other "clones", infertile. So I think it's weird, if not creepy that there are these GE horses out there. Saying that, even IF I was as much of an activist as she, I'd probably dislike this video as it's really immature and really, really making a mountain out of a mole hill. there are more effective ways to get your point across. Didn't finish the video, got tired of the cussing and ranting. However, in the portion I saw, she came across being very immature.
 
#10 ·
Also, those animals would probably be crazy expensive and, like other "clones", infertile. .
Clones aren't infertile. There is a Highbrow Cat clone, Copy Cat, who was created for the purposed of breeding. Unless the sex cells of the embryo were purposely modified, there's no reason a close or GE animal would be sterile.
 
#11 ·
i Agree that she is immature and ranting.
What she is referring to, though, is not selective breeding but genetic engineering

Genetically engineered ?super-horses? could win Olympics* | Daily Mail Online

It has some useful techniques,like eliminating hemophilia in humans, and other genetic defects , however, there is a fine line between using it to eliminate genetic defects and in creating 'super' horses,
Yes, I agree genetic engineering is controversial, but her approach is immature,tackless (loves the F word),plus once she goes into all bits, spurs, crops being evil , any credibility goes out the window!
Cloning is not the same as modifying the DNA sequence in an animal


Crispr is a tool for making precise edits in DNA, discovered in bacteria.

The acronym stands for 'Clustered Regularly Inter-Spaced Palindromic Repeats'.

The technique involves a DNA cutting enzyme and a small tag which tells the enzyme where to cut.

By editing this tag, scientists are able to target specific regions of DNA and make precise cuts, wherever they like.

Here, the scientists focused on the myostatin gene sequence which controls and limits the growth of muscles.

By changing this, the horses will be able to develop significantly more muscle mass.

By suppressing the myostatin gene sequence the horses can develop greater muscle mass.
 
#20 ·
i Agree that she is immature and ranting.
What she is referring to, though, is not selective breeding but genetic engineering

Genetically engineered ?super-horses? could win Olympics* | Daily Mail Online

It has some useful techniques,like eliminating hemophilia in humans, and other genetic defects , however, there is a fine line between using it to eliminate genetic defects and in creating 'super' horses,
Yes, I agree genetic engineering is controversial, but her approach is immature,tackless (loves the F word),plus once she goes into all bits, spurs, crops being evil , any credibility goes out the window!
Cloning is not the same as modifying the DNA sequence in an animal


Crispr is a tool for making precise edits in DNA, discovered in bacteria.

The acronym stands for 'Clustered Regularly Inter-Spaced Palindromic Repeats'.

The technique involves a DNA cutting enzyme and a small tag which tells the enzyme where to cut.

By editing this tag, scientists are able to target specific regions of DNA and make precise cuts, wherever they like.

Here, the scientists focused on the myostatin gene sequence which controls and limits the growth of muscles.

By changing this, the horses will be able to develop significantly more muscle mass.

By suppressing the myostatin gene sequence the horses can develop greater muscle mass.
See, this is intelligent discussion. Contrary to a kid ranting because she has a camera and an Internet connection @Smilie brings valid scientific knowledge to the table.
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
Oh lordy. :icon_rolleyes: Holier than thou...

Maybe I wouldn't like to go work, but I still have to. As well as us, the horses have their job. If I want a dog, I have a dog, but I don't get a horse just for company and to decorate the yard. The relationship is different and in my experience most horses actually like having a job and routine.

I don't agree at all with genetically engineered horses. That's just so wrong.

The part where she says horses where not put on earth for yada yada proves that she doesn't know much. Does she think that we would have this amount of different breeds, and horses in general, if it weren't for the different disciplines and uses that motivate people to acquire them?

Hard to take a person who thinks 'you don't need to wear a helmet if you are a smart rider' seriously. If you know horses at all, you should know they are prey animals and not 100% predictable, and crap happens. You cannot control everything.
 
#61 ·
These are my -exact- thoughts.

As for Raleigh, I watch her ironically. I literally listen to hear videos to get a laugh. I totally am behind exposing bad practices in industries, but the fact that her viewers are mostly children, she should really reel back on the excessive profanity and ranting, and maybe more would take her seriously. The anti-helmet thing to me is no different than telling a motorcyclist that they shouldn't bother with a helmet, because it only protects their noggin.

In working ranch situations, where heat stroke is a factor as boots pointed out, I totally understand that, and that is one of those situations where I get not wearing a helmet.

I'll admit, I've taken several trail rides without a helmet... and for the most ASSIGN reason, I was having a good hair day and didn't want to have to go to town after to run errands with helmet hair. My new solution? Wear a ball cap after haha.
 
#18 ·
I too am big on animal rights & humane treatment & unfortunately there's a lot of stuff in the horse world that goes against that grain. Ddon't get me confused with the fanatics tho, who would rather feral horseys be cooped up in feedlots eternally than humanely culled, or who don't believe in ever riding horses, etc, etc.

But nope, just can't stand watching a rant vid about it - I did try for the sake of objectivity, got thru about 3 mins, but that will do. So sorry Ember, can't give an objective opinion on it for you.
 
#21 ·
Riding a horse occurs on a wide spectrum, just as "putting children to work" does. You can make your child mow the lawn once a week, or you can make your child go down to the Nike factory to sow sneakers all day all week. You can insist that your child practice the piano to help him through a slump in motivation, or you can make your child practice all day every day so you can live your life vicariously through your child's music ribbons and prize moneys. You can insist that your child play outside and be active, or you can send your child to an Olympic training farm (as they exist in most totalitarian countries).

The girl in the video likes to stir the pot and create controversy. She's not entirely wrong with her observations, but she's observing character traits that are endemic in humanity. Just see how we treat the planet for the sake of prize money (a.k.a. "profits").

What I don't like about the video is that she's only making emotional argument. What exactly are the ethical implications of editing genes vs. deciding which stallion can procreate with which mare? Both have the same end effect: they manipulate the species genetic make up. So yes, some valid points made on an emotional level, but sound ethical and scientific arguments are largely absent. Well, she doesn't get paid for those - she gets paid for putting eyes on ads. Using horses.
 
#22 ·
There is not much intelligent discussion to be found in this video. Your 100% right.

This is exactly the reason I usually avoid watching argumentative videos from other young people... I don't have time to be slammed by one-sided rants from kids who are too young to have experience in practical and social logic. Teens are simply incapable of forming complete, intelligent thoughts and seeing the whole picture the same as adults can. Young brains aren't developed fully.
I hardly ever see a teen make a rational argument that acknowledges both sides of the discussion fairly and with real scientific research to back. And that applies to both sides of any argument. I see it everywhere.
Occasionally I see an impressive and reasonable discussion from a young adult or teenager, but that's the exception and not the rule.

That's just my opinion and experience on that matter. And by my own standards, even this is another one-sided teen opinion... Ironic.
 
#25 ·
I think a lot of us would tend to agree with you @EmberScarlet, but I think there are some teens who are quite capable of having intelligent, rational thoughts so I'm glad that you acknowledge that it is possible.

Perhaps what you are pointing out is that it has become far too easy for anyone with an opinion to spew out nonsense and get a following in our age of social media. Kids have always been immature, that's sort of the definition of immature. But no one listened to those crazy rants when I was a kid because there was no forum to post them on. Now, anyone with a big mouth can become viral.

As a teacher of late teens/early adults, I don't see a generation of idiots, but I do see a generation of kids struggling to sift through an information overload to separate fact from opinion. The single most important thing kids need to learn today is critical thought. Forget about whether you agree or disagree with her opinions - does her line of argument hold up? Is she basing her statements on facts that are objectively verifiable? Does she take into account various sources of information generally scientifically accepted? Is she appealing to reason or to emotions? It isn't hard to pick apart someone like this. I'm sure she means well, but someone needs to sit down with her and explain the basics of debating, not to mention horsemanship, and animal husbandry.
 
#29 ·
Acadian, wish I could 'love' not just like your post! You hit the nails!

Yes, so agree, critical, rational thinking is one of the most important things kids should be taught & all too often overlooked... Not just lately - current teens arent the only ones without those skills by far Ember. While kids have less life experience of course, I don't see them as at all stupid, less able in the brain dept... Or even less irrational & objective on the whole than most adults. That also much of the time haven't learned to consider stuff rationally.

While the principal said 'they're too young for that' I was stoked that even back in grade 3(8-9yo kids) my kid's teacher said 'rubbish' & insisted on teaching them stuff like 'persuasive writing', learning about alternate points of view(fosters respect for other's views too) & what makes rational arguments(tho it made parenting harder when they practiced that on me! :lol:). This year, new highschool, my youngest has just started, they are big on this - tho sadly it seems a novel thing for most kids - they even teach philosophy as one of the subjects from 7th grade up!
 
#30 ·
In all reality horses are not jumping any higher than they were decades ago.

The highest jumped by horse and rider was 8' 1.25" (2.74m) way back in 1949.

Fastest US Derby time was Secretariat in 1973

Fastest Epsom Derby was Workforce 2010 2m 31.33 s. .33 seconds faster than Ocean Swell way back in 1944.

Things have changed a lot. Better understanding of the mechanics, fitness veterinary and nutrition as well as training, has given horses better lives but genetic engineering hasn't improved their ability.
 
#32 · (Edited by Moderator)
so Ive literally watched her since I started riding and heres my thoughts.
I don't think this has much to do with her being a youtuber as they can actually be very successful and influential but her whole black and white ideas on the horse world cause some of her fans to become literally the most ignorant riders I've met...
I think the main issue is that the only people who actually believe her advice are beginners, and her advice WILL cause injurys, no questions asked. she literally tells people that if they wear helmets their a bad rider, and those who care about her opinion (usually beginners) may listen and put them selves at a greater risk.
she has a lot of ignorant and wrong points from other eq youtubers, since most just parrot each other, and none of them ever share statistics or FACTS. if you want my opinion she gets all her sources from another youtuber who has a very black and white opinion on how to treat horses.

I don't think theres any thing wrong with genetic engineering for horses. its been totally blown out of proportion, pretty much all meat we eat is gm, plants too. it could be a lot better for horses too, you could lower the chance of arthritis, hoof issues, what ever you want which I don't see as an issue.
the likely hood of the horses being born heavily mutated is actually very low but obviously she wouldn't have looked into genetic modification at all before posting. but I guess creating a healthier animal is abuse?
I don't think some one should ever be judged by the horse they ride, as long as its healthy and sound enough, breed, size or colour a horse is a horse. gm has given us entire BREEDS of animals and they suffer less than their genetic counter parts as they are literally made to suit their function.
 
#34 ·
pretty much all meat we eat is gm, plants too. it could be a lot better for horses too, you could lower the chance of atheritis, hoof issues, what ever you want which I don't see as an issue..
This is not true, unless you confuse artificial selection with genetic modification. The meat you eat is from animals bred (the parents are selected by human beings) for human purposes. That's the exact same process as domestication and has been going on for thousands of years.

Genetic modification, which is tinkering with a species' DNA in a lab, is a new thing. In commercial food plants, it is mainly corn and soybeans which have been so modified. Not fruits or vegetables, by and large. So far.

Cloning is an entirely separate process from the two above. It appears that cloning of superior or desired individuals is becoming more common. As long as someone has the money and desire to do something that is humanly possible, you bet it will be done.
 
#33 ·
I agree with her that horses are living breathing animals with feelings and emotions. Horses speak in emotion, in my opinion. Horses have been bred to "perfection" by humanity, but humanity also has been bred to "perfection" by humanity (though sometimes I feel like we are heading toward that comedy idiocrity). I do feel like show people should consider treating horses with more empathy, especially with things like the big lick and rollkur. Whips, Spurs and bits can be objects of abuse but in the right hands can be a tool for refinement.
My problem is a lot of people I know think if they read a book and watch a TV show (not even a tutorial like Warrick but a movie like Warhorse) they're experts. Then they get a horse and try to apply human logic to the horse and blame the horse for being a horse. I've seen barrel racers on Instagram yank on the reins and kick and spur and whip horses willing to do the thing and they do it out of ignorance... And the horse suffers. I've seen dressage people (in person) beat their horses for winning 2nd place in a show. These are a small percentage of the horse community that make the whole horse community look bad. They do it for money, they do it for fame.

I chose to be a voice for my horse. I chose to do what I do for my horses. I'm not the best and I never will be, but I will always keep my horse in mind before acting. But I'm of the opinion that what I do with my horses is none of anyone's business unless I make it their business, and I feel the same about others.

I feel like she has a decent message in this video. Sometimes she (to me) comes across like a mean girl. But that's the whole youtube provocative​ culture that's been popping up lately.

But honestly I don't mind these people being provocative because if one horse is treated with more empathy because the human second guessed their methods because of a rant, she did her job. But horses are treated more humanely now than in the past. Before cars, horses were viewed like machines. They were rode hard, put away wet, never appreciated or considered. I have been reading a horse training book from 1920 and even in the last 100 years, training in most places has come to be more geared toward keeping the horse in mind, especially Warricks methods.

My 2¢
 
#36 ·
But honestly I don't mind these people being provocative because if one horse is treated with more empathy because the human second guessed their methods because of a rant, she did her job. But horses are treated more humanely now than in the past. Before cars, horses were viewed like machines. They were rode hard, put away wet, never appreciated or considered. I have been reading a horse training book from 1920 and even in the last 100 years, training in most places has come to be more geared toward keeping the horse in mind, especially Warricks methods.

My 2¢
See, that's the problem. I never said I thought cloning horses was a good idea. I'm suggesting that her rant is ineffective because of how she goes about expressing herself. Of course I didn't get very far into it before turning it off.

I practice liberty training with my spooky, anxious mare. I ride bitless. We do clicker training too. My daughter is into show jumping, and it helps her 13 year old self get motivated about improving her riding and her relationship with her horse. I've seen her unhappy with a first place ribbon (because she was the only one in the class, and knew she hadn't done as well as she could have), and be thrilled with a fifth place (against 12 older, far more experienced riders). So it's not all about the ribbons. At my daughter's barn, I see nothing but supportive, helpful, friendly girls and healthy, happy horses that are keen on doing their job. My daughter's horse loves to jump. He's depressed when he doesn't have a job to do. Show him a jump, and he perks up, gets excited, and thinks his little 14.2 self can fly! Like people, I think horses do feel good about having a job to do.

Horses get abused, absolutely. People can be selfish, for sure. But her rant does nothing to prevent horse abuse. Abusers will not watch her rant and suddenly see the light. They'll tune her out in a second, giving her a lot less time than I did.

She's allowed to have an opinion, but it should be an informed opinion, and she should express it in a rational way.

Oh, and telling people to ride without a helmet? That takes away ANY credibility she might have hoped to have had.
 
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