Climbing off of his horse after roping a calf at the PRCA Rodeo at the fair Sept. 27, Luke Garrett said he understands why some people would think that rodeos are cruel to animals.
“I can see if you don’t know anything about it,” the 19-year-old Bakersfield native said.
“But if you realize a lot of us are giving $30,000 or $40,000 for some of these horses and we’re going to make sure they’re taken care of, because if something happens to them, that’s money out of our pocket.”
If animal rights proponents saw what goes into a rodeo to prepare the animals, they might change their stance, he said.
“If people just came and looked at how we take care of everything and just the preparation, they would probably have a different opinion, but just seeing they think of the bull riding, ‘Oh, they’re hurting them.’ ”
Another cowboy, Travis Fowler, 35, from Santa Maria, said that “by no means” are animals mistreated.
“The majority of the people have it opposite. I think we care for our animals and love our animals very much. That’s why we’re in this sport is because we have the love of the animals,” he said.
Cowboys enjoy competing and showing off the animals’ abilities, he added.
Dugan Kelly, 24, from Paso Robles, has been competing in rodeos for four years. His dad is a veterinarian so Kelly has been around horses his whole life.
He said cowboys take “better care of their animals than backyard horses, trail horses or anything else.”
Stock contractors also take excellent care of the bulls and bucking broncs, he said.
“If they’ve got a horse that’s sick or sore you aren’t going to work and you aren’t going to win any money,” he said.
Rodeo animals have a longer lifespan than many others, according to Travis Ortiz, 22, from Acton, Calif, who has roped since he was a child.
“They butcher animals so I don’t think this could be any worse, but they (horses and bulls), work two or three minutes out of the year and the rest of the time they’re turned out and they live to 10, 11, 12 years and horses live until the day they die (naturally). They don’t send them to the butchers or nothing, they’ll just keep them on the ranch and feed them. With the calves, once they get bigger they turn into bulls.”
Thomas Peter, 21, from Modesto has been riding bulls for 10 years. Peter said that animal rights groups are necessary to ensure animals stay safe, he said.
Calves are not roped too many times or even used if they aren’t healthy, he explained.
Bulls have the advantage over riders, he said.
“That’s 2,000 pounds against 185. The bulls (have) got the upper hand that’s for sure.
“They’ve got you in the chute, if they really want to get you then they will,” he said. “A lot of them, they’ll sit there and let you get your things ready, but when the gate opens then it’s their turn to play and they understand that. “The bulls know when it’s their turn to try and do something they give fair shots, some of them don’t, but most of them d