Chuckwagon horse deaths at Stampede spur protests

Animal rights activists want chuckwagon races suspended at the Calgary Stampedeafter three horses died in a crash on Thursday night.

The accident happened in the fourth heat of the GMC Rangeland Derby when the left lead horse on Chad Harden's wagon collapsed in the back stretch.

The crashbrought down the three other horses in the rig, and caused one of the two outriders and his horse to collide with the wagon.

A necropsy done Friday determined that the first horse died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm near the kidney, said Stampede spokesmanDoug Fraser.

Harden and his outrider were not hurt in the crash.

The outrider horse and the right lead horse, both badly injured in the crash, were euthanized by veterinarians.

A third horse, on the right wheel, was also injured but was expected to survive.

Protests planned

Michael Alvarez-Toye of the Calgary Animal Rights Coalition wants an outright ban on rodeos.

"It always shocks and infuriates me you'd think after 100 years they'd come to realize they cannot prevent deaths."

Animal rights groupsare planning protests to take place at the Stampede on Friday and Saturday. They are protesting what they describe asthe cruel andunnecessary use of animals at the Stampede rodeoand chuckwagon events.

Thegroups say horses continue to die needlessly and an outright ban is the answer.

The Calgary Humane Society agrees, although it won't be out protesting, instead vowing to keep working with the Stampede to protect the health of the horses.

"Because there are no laws being broken we are monitoring what's going on down there, but certainly we would like tomake sure that with the inherent risks in these events that we are doing whatever we can to make these events as safe as possible for the animals," saidChristy Thompson of theCalgary Humane Society.

She said they have peace officers down on the grounds every day ensuring the welfare of the animals.

Horses 'part of the family'

The president of the Alberta Professional Chuckwagon and Chariot Association says horses at the Stampede are treated well.

Shane Cartier is a good friend ofthe driver of the wagon involved inThursday night's crash.

"They all drive horses because they love to drive horses and have horses in their life," he said. "If they didn't want to, they wouldn't be there, because it's way too much work. If you didn't like horses why would you feed 30 head of horses and take care of them and everything if you didn't love them."

Cartier sawthe crashon TV and saidit is always hard to watch.

"About as tough as it gets," he said. "He's a good friend and I know howmuch he caresfor his horses, so it's a tough one to take. It wasa terrible feeling for me watching it, and I know exactly what he is going through."

Cartier says rodeo and chuckwagon horses are like part of the family, echoing what the driver involved in the crash said in a emotional statement to the media.

"They're just like humans, they're our family," said Harden after the loss of his horses Thursday night. "It's just devastating for our whole family. It's hard to take."

Safety review wanted

Peter Fricker, a spokesman for the Vancouver Humane Society, says there should be a full safety review to find out why the accident happened.

Following the death of four chuckwagon horses in 2010, Stampede officials revamped the rules in a bid to make the sport safer.

The number of outriders for each chuckwagonwas cut from four to two to make the track less congested.

Pre-race health checks by veterinarians and rest days for the horses were also made mandatory.

But Fricker said it's clear now those changes haven't made thesport safer.

"We think that there's something more fundamentally wrong with the race, and we're calling for a suspension of the chuckwagon races and a full and fundamental safety review to be conducted," he said.