Something really unsettling about ‘cartoon-like’ horse
Extreme animal practices were once reserved for breeders of cats and dogs.
But images of this young colt have caused a stir in the world of horses, with veterinarians describing its ‘cartoon-like’ face as ‘horrific’, metro.co.uk.
El Rey Magnum is being dubbed the ‘king of horses’ by its American owner, who reckons it could fetch millions of pounds at auction.
Concerned animal experts have not been won over by the owner’s enthusiasm, and worry that the breeders have put the horse’s breathing at risk.
Equine expert Tim Greet told the Veterinary Record how he wondered whether it was a Photoshop joke at first.
He said: “But clearly it is intended to be deadly serious — which of course is what it is — truly horrific!
“I find the whole thing unbelievable. Arabians have always had a rather ‘dished’ face but this takes things to a ridiculous level.
“Actually this deformity is even more significant for a horse than for a dog.
“Dogs like man can mouth breathe, but horses can only breathe through their nose.
“I suspect exercise would definitely be limited for this horse.”
President of the British Equine Veterinary Association Jonathan Pycock, said: “This is incredible — it’s almost cartoon-like. Quite freakish.
“My gut reaction is it is awful — I don’t like the look of it. It’s not particularly attractive.”
Roly Owers, equine vet and chief executive of World Horse Welfare, said: “In a word, this looks horrific.
“The foal in the video showed a markedly more dished nose even than its mother and had obviously been bred to achieve this.”
Undeterred owner of the ninemonth-old colt, Doug Leadley, believes Orrion Farms, which bred the horse, has come ‘close to perfection’.
“Often times you’ll get the exceptional face that he has but they don’t have a good body, they don’t have good tail carriage, they don’t hold their head high,” he said.
“He does all of that.”