Four horses dead, one rider injured at Calgary Stampede

The deaths of four horses and serious injury of a rider at the Calgary Stampede are being called “depressingly predictable” by at least one animal welfare organization. Three horses died on Monday alone. The first death occurred when a horse in a chuckwagon team suffered a fatal heart attack while doing routine training exercises. A few hours later, a horse without a rider bucked so hard during the novice saddle bronc event it broke its back and had to be euthanized. A third horse died on Monday evening when it pulled up with a shoulder injury during a chuckwagon race and collapsed. A veterinarian determined the animal needed to be euthanized. Peter Ficker of the Vancouver Humane Society said his organization had taken out a full-page ad in a Calgary newspaper this year calling the Stampede a cruel spectacle of animal abuse. Rider Amy Carver was also hurt during a team cattle penning event on Sunday when her horse had a fatal heart attack and collapsed on top of her. Carver is in intensive care in hospital with a head injury and a broken shoulder blade.

Toronto Star