Within the equine community there are a lot of prejudices and assumptions, but none are so harmful to a group of people than anti-gypsy, Roma and irish traveller. I distinctly remember leading some horses to the field, when one of the yard staff told us “make sure you lock the gate properly, there’s gypsies nearby”. The shock I felt that someone held these sentiments in 2020 and was so freely saying them is indescribable. Outside of the equestrian industry, anti-Roma, gypsy, and irish traveller prejudice can lead to dehumanisation, threats, and violence against these communities. These communities differ in their history and culture, but they all share a long history with horses, and by the average person are lumped in together. After the recent UK census, these groups were defined as: “Gypsies (including English Gypsies, Scottish Gypsies or Travellers, Welsh Gypsies and other Romany people), Irish Travellers (who have specific Irish roots), and Roma, understood to be more recent migrants from Central and Eastern Europe”. As these communities have shared experiences surrounding prejudice and bias surrounding horse care these communities will be discussed together unless stated otherwise.
I have heard many similar prejudices throughout my time working with horses, and last month I sent out a questionnaire to investigate how many/ what kind of stereotypes other individuals might have heard. 42/44 respondents had heard stereotypes about gypsies, Roma and irish travellers, here are the general categories they fit into:
Some key negative quotes from the questionnaire:
“I believe some [horses] are looked after but a lot could be looked after much better”
“they ride/drive far too young and they dump them when no longer useful”
“I'd like to say it's the minority but it isn't.. if they've got animals they rarely treat them well”
“[they] never had the vet, do their own farriering, a lot in bad condition”
“generally though they don’t seem to care for their animals“
Some key positive quotes from the questionnaire:
“Yes they usually move them on to fresh grass and give them water. Lots of handling as well and teaching them manners”
“old traveller methods for caring for horses do work when used alongside modern medicines”
“Misconceptions due to not having horses as the average person would, doesn't mean they aren't well cared for”
“A lot of general public can’t cope with seeing ponies in a field in the middle of winter without a rug on when actually they have the coat of a woolly mammoth”
Roma and Irish traveller’s horse history
Horses, primarily coloured cobs and vanners (Gypsy or Irish Cob), play a huge role in these cultures, they historically (and presently) pulled the homes of Irish travellers to new locations to facilitate their nomadic lifestyle. To Roma people, horses also have a spiritual connection (when communicating with an animal you are communicating with the god O Baro Del making it a deeply respectful act) and to some, are sacred animals. Horses are specifically bred for the nomadic life and are “strong, healthy, gentle and loving horses”. They also provided a source of income business, as often members of the community would have blacksmithing skills that were utilised by the non-traveller communities they went through. Nowadays horses are still a major industry, often through breeding and selling in fairs.
Current research
A recent paper looked at welfare measurements of the horses in the care of Irish travellers, looking at animal, resource and management-based measures. Using a QBA (qualitative behaviour assessment) 6 Irish Traveller horse owners were given a set of behaviour descriptors to describe their horses. These same protocols were then used to assess 10 non-traveller owned horses. 104 horses were assessed for the final study, starting with the QBA and then followed by an observation of the horse.
Results
The sample was composed of 56 mares, 24 stallions and 24 geldings, with the majority being cobs. 55 were tethered, 11 were loose in a field, and 34 were assessed during handling, while attached to a gig, or standing in a yard.
81% of the horses scored a BCS or 3/5 (good), and only 10% scored 4/5 (fat), 2% scored 1/5 (poor)and 8% scored 2/5 (moderate). 95% of horses did not have a cresty neck, 76% had a healthy coat (some horses had a muddy coat from the environment and couldn’t be fully assessed), and 62-96% had no lesions, hairless patches, rain scald, sunburn, or skin irritation. Only 1 horse showed abnormal behaviour in the form of wood chewing, and 80% of horses had a friendly demeanour when approached.
This paper is open access meaning you are able to read the entire thing for free: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12182402
More research
Another study conducted a few years ago also looked at Irish travellers, and how well they understood health and obesity in horses, and their use of a new technique to them, body condition scoring (BCS). They were shown to have good knowledge about identifying when a horse was unwell through behavioural changes. They also demonstrated understanding of herd dynamics, that some horses will form strong bonds with each other, and other horses are more likely to bully others (exacerbated through limited land) and that bullying behaviour needs to be stopped for the benefit of the others. All of the people interviewed stated a clear understanding of horses emotions, with key states mentioned being: fear, pain, and loneliness.
They also discussed how crucial it is that horses live out, and in a herd, as well as more natural feeding management (allowing weight gain in Summer that will then be used to keep warm in Winter when food is scarcer). They also agreed that horses only required rugs in exceptional circumstances. There was a 66.67% agreement rate between the interviewed Irish travellers and experts in regard to assessing the horse’s BCS.
BCS and weight are good indicators of welfare, as fat or underweight horses are both in poor welfare. One paper looking at how well non-travellers could estimate their horses’ BCS showed that 40% of them significantly underestimate their horses BCS, and another paper looking at how well non-traveller owners could estimate their horses’ weight showed that 25% of horses were overweight and owners often underestimated their horses weight.
This is key to understanding why many of the perceptions of gypsy, Roma and Irish traveller-owned horses is that they are underweight or malnourished. If non-travellers often underestimate their horses’ BCS and weight, they will see a healthy horse and assume they are underweight. It is also known (and stated by various welfare charities) that grooming should be kept to a minimum for unrugged, field-kept horses, this means horses living out might look scruffier but be in better welfare than a horse who looks perfectly clean.
Personal experiences
Roma
In personal communication with a Roma person, they explained how their family were forced into a position where they had to sell their much loved horses. Despite owning land, the council wouldn’t allow them to keep their horses or caravan there, leading to them selling the horses to another Roma family who could house them.
As a response to my questionnaire, one said:
“When we owned some land … the local people protested to the council that they didn't want Romani people to be on that land … locals accused us of neglecting (our horses)! In the end we had to sell the land and put the horses into rented stables which was a pain.”
“The rare times I've seen Traveller horses in bad welfare it has been due to poverty of the family and difficulty finding safe stopping places and good health care for the horse“
Showman Traveller
Another questionnaire respondent said they had avoided identifying themself as a traveller to people in case they experience prejudice or harassment. They also said “a non-traveller friend of mine had her settled traveller husband and half-traveller children banned from their new yard before the owner had even met them for being a traveller/half traveller”.
These examples show the real world impact that these biases can have, from the council denying legal land ownership, to private yard owners denying livery. Views, such as these from my questionnaire expressed by two different respondents, also further impact care: “a start would be to make tethering at the sign of the road illegal and to confiscate any animal left tethered; the practice of tethering by the side if fast moving major roads is at best foolish and at worst tantamount to a death sentence for the horse”.
Removing the ability of nomadic horse-carers to tether horses can prevent them from having any space to care for their horses. This is doubly so when yards are prejudice and don't allow traveller owned horses to stay on their yards, and the general public complain when Roma communities own land and use it for their own horses.
How can you be less biased?
Anti-gypsy, Roma, and irish traveller sentiments are often context-specific rather than pan-national. A “living library” protocol was implemented in some schools in Hungary where they found that they were able to reduce prejudice against Roma people. Talking to individuals from a group or culture can allow individuals a greater understanding of them, and reduce bias and prejudice.
The traveller and Roma people who responded to my questionnaire have this to say about their animal care, and how non-travellers have viewed them:
“(the public) also threatened us and made living (on our own land) impossible”
“ I live and breathe horses as many do. My horses are up to date on farrier, dentist, worming, vaccinations, etc”
“There are a number of factors, which deserve to be judged on an individual basis.”
“Our own beautiful horses are specially bred to be strong, healthy, gentle and loving horses, we bond with them carefully and have a strong relationship with them - Roma would never want a gorgie[non-roma person] horse!”
“We believe in forming a close bond with our animals, one of trust and understanding “
“non-Roma treat horses in ways we would never dream because they bully and subjugate the horse instead of building a bond of love and trust”
It isn’t always possible to speak to people in person, but social media is a great tool. Follow some pages about Travellers: Friends, Families and Travellers (Facebook); Standing on the shoulders of giants (Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzFEiwU_iXU&list=PLVcBbVHmO3VWKb_z84N555rrkzrtcRsJm&index=1); London Gypsies and Travellers (Facebook)
Or purchase some books written by Romani or Irish Travellers about their culture, heritage and plights: Irish Travellers: Culture and Ethnicity, 1994; Irish Travellers : Representations and Realities, 2006; The Color of Smoke: An Epic Novel of the Roma, 1975 ; Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two, 2009
Community links
References
Rowland. M, Coombs. T, and Connor, M, (2019) A study of traveller horse owners’ attitudes to horse care and welfare using an equine Body Condition Scoring system Animals 9(4) pp. 162 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040162
Potter. S.J, Bamford. N.J, Harris P.A, and Bailey. S.R, (2016) Prevalence of obesity and owners’ perceptions of body condition in pleasure horses and ponies in south‐eastern Australia Australian Veterinary Journal 94(11) pp. 427-432 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12506
Rowland. M, Hudson. N, Connor. M, Dwyer. C, and Coombs. T, (2022) The Welfare of Traveller and Gypsy Owned Horses in the UK and Ireland Animals 12(18) pp. 2402 DOI: 10.3390/ani12182402
Kende. A, Hadarics. M, Bigazzi. S, Boza. M, Kunst. J.R, and Lantos. N.A, Lášticová. B, Minescu. A, Pivetti. M & Urbiola. A, (2021) The last acceptable prejudice in Europe? Anti-Gypsyism as the obstacle to Roma inclusion Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 24(3) pp. 388-410
Orosz. G, Bánki. E, Bőthe. B, Tóth‐Király. I, and Tropp. L.R, (2016) Don't judge a living book by its cover: Effectiveness of the living library intervention in reducing prejudice toward Roma and LGBT people Journal of Applied Social Psychology 46(9) pp. 510-517
Orosz. G, Bruneau. E, Tropp. L.R, Sebestyén. N, Tóth‐Király. I, and Bőthe. B, (2018) What predicts anti‐Roma prejudice? Qualitative and quantitative analysis of everyday sentiments about the Roma Journal of Applied Social Psychology 48(6) pp. 317-328
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