“… HIS TONGUE BECOMING NECROTIC AND REQUIRING PARTIAL AMPUTATION”
A rising percentage of horses are racing in tongue ties with 62.5% of trainers reporting using them and 38% reporting complications.
A tongue tie is a piece of nylon or rubber wrapped around the tongue and tied down under the bottom jaw.
As well as impacting on the welfare of the horse, a major problem with tongue ties is that they address a symptom, rather than the cause.
Many people find this practice barbaric and untenable because it is akin to a tourniquet and can cause lasting damage to the tongue.
In one case, a tongue tie was left on My Cousin James by trainer Steve Phelps, resulting in his tongue becoming necrotic and requiring partial amputation.
https://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/PHELPS-S-Stewards-Report.pdf
Tongue ties appear to be accepted by those in the racing industry because it reduces airway blockage. However, research has shown that tongue ties can cause far-reaching damage to the tongue and hyoid apparatus, and researchers believe they should be banned.
https://horsesandpeople.com.au/the-hype-about-the-hyoid/
https://onlinepethealth.com/2019/07/11/the-role-of-the-tongue-and-hyoid-in-movement/
Animal welfare scientists find they cannot support the use of tongue ties because of ischaemia and trauma to the tongue.
In NSW, MP Mark Pearson is presenting a Racehorse Welfare Bill to parliament which, if passed will see a ban on the use of whips, spurs and tongue ties.
#MOHM NEEDS YOUR HELP!
We’ve been threatened by those in the horse racing industry and those who benefit from horse slaughter more times than we can count.
But we are not going away.
We are going to persist until horse slaughter no longer exists for any purpose within Australia -- and until the horse racing industry makes drastic changes.
We are going to continue our hands-on work to offer lifelong sanctuary to as many horses as possible. We generally have 20 at just one of our locations - at any given time.
We have the acreage to take on more horses as financial support allows.
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