Rhetorical Essay

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Elizabeth Yermakova

Instructor: Justin Falk-Gee

Class: ENG 11000: Fall 2019

Date: 09/03/19

 

           When one discusses the topic of animal abuse, normally domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, come to one’s mind, but what about farm animals such as horses? Horses became a part of entertainment such as racing way back in 1665, but such entertainment was recognized as an animal abuse at the end of the 18th century. In 1820s the law of prohibiting horse abuse was proposed, but not adopted. Horse racing is an equestrian sport, where horses are competing with each other over a set course or distance. Even though horse racing seems like an interesting session to attend, we don’t really know what is being hidden behind the curtains of this entertainment? Why do people love seeing horse races and bet their money on it? When does it come to the extent of abuse?

          In the magazine article “Going off the track” by Tim Layden brings up the issue of animal cruelty and the enormous usage of different medications. In Southern California’s Santa Anita Park on one of the racing days a 4 year old horse name Psychedelicat broke his leg during a competition and couldn’t be recovered. Since the horse was not going to bring any profit in the future, the owner decided to euthanized the horse. After this accident there were 21 horses killed in 66 days because of the fact that they couldn’t recover afterwards. The track was closed for an inspection, but that didn’t make a difference. Only after a few days of reopening the track another horse was injured and killed. There were different opinions on why horses get injured in the same tracks. Some owners say that the surface hurts the horses especially after rains when tracks are heavier and deeper. Others say it’s because of the enormous amount of Lasix (medication). People are concerned about medications that are being used on horses, specifically Lasix, which is an anti-inflammatory drug that is used to limit bleeding inside of the lungs during races. The owners are arguing that horses are actually enjoying the races and are treated well. While on the other hand people outside of business concerned about horses being forced without their consent. Unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer and we will never discover the truth.

        In this particular article the author is trying to address the issue of horse abuse and motivate the audience to make some changes about “fun entertainment”. Such an article could be useful for the general public, as well as for a scholarly audience, who are actually concerned about animal abuse and study the topic. In the article the tone that is being used by the author is informative, but also dramatic and sympathetic at the same time, which connects to the purpose of the article as to inform the reader of what is really going on in races and how horses are being treated. The author’s point of view on this specific issue remains neutral and considers both sides of the story, in which different perspectives are included such as the owners of horses and people who are outside of the business. In terms of genre and medium this article falls into the category of tragedy(which provides the audience with information of how many horses are being euthanized and killed) and non-fiction which is posted in magazine article.

       There are different types of horse abuse which includes racing and what is called “ Tennessee Walking Horse”. The newspaper article by US Today “ Two bills aim to rein in horse abuse”, written by Duane W. Gang, addresses the issue of abusing horses to walk with a higher step. The U.S. government is trying to ban the use of special shoes and metal chains which force horses to perform high walks. Trainers are also using different chemicals for horses’ legs that

will cause pain for horses and make them perform specific movement. Lawmakers did pass the act that prohibits of transporting a horse that has been sore, but still working on banning the special shoes and chains.

        In this specific newspaper article Duane W. Gang brings up a concern about specific horse abuse that has been used over decades and  provides the general public audience with legislations that are being passed in U.S. government in order to prevent horse abuse. The tone of this non-fiction article is informative and also shows the author’s concern about this issue. The author’s purpose is to provide the reader with the changes that U.S. government is making in order to stop horse abuse specifically in high walks competitions. The author states,” Dripping harsh chemicals on the horse’s front ankles or putting foreign objects into their hooves, forces them, because of pain, to lift their legs higher and shift their weight to their back legs.” this shows us that Duane W. Gang is against horse abuse and feel sympathetic towards it. The author provides the reader with different legislations and acts that are being passed to limit the rights of the owners and trainers.

       Is it reasonable to use horses in sports? In the article “When does use become abuse in equestrian sport?” by M.L.H. Cambell, the author does a great job by providing different arguments about whether or not we should use animals in sports. As the author points out many might not realize that using animals in sports can also be considered animal abuse even if they are being well taken care of. By using different types of examples, the author suggests people to minimize the risk of animals getting hurt in sports instead of eliminating the sport in general. M.L.H. Cambell provides us with different opinions on the use of anabolic steroids. On one hand we have people who see steroids as a necessary factor of use in training and competition. On the other hand steroids are considered as an animal abuse that can lead to hepatic, cardiovascular, reproductive, dermatological, and psychiatric problems. Steroids are banned specifically in UK, but still being used worldwide. The author points out that it’s unreasonable to use horses in sport, just like any other animals, but if we are, we should definitely perform research and try to minimize any types of abuse.

        M.L.H. Cambell argues on the use of steroids and other medication that are being used in training and horse competitions. He suggests that we should try to minimize any kind of abuse and take care of horses. The author is trying to address the issue and solutions specifically to worldwide horse administrations (as an example of British administration banning the steroids) and for scholarly audience to gain more information. Throughout the scholarly article the author changes the tone from starting more in informative way and by the end we can clearly see that he’s concerned about the issue and his point of view. As an example the author states “Reasonable and ethical use of horses for sport requires that we identify the causes of risk, and develop ways of minimizing risk during training as well as during competition.”, which provides the reader with an understanding of what the author’s tone is. The author’s purpose is not to ban horse sport in general, but to make it safe, not abusive, and to ban unnecessary use of medications and drugs. M.L.H Cambell’s  point of view suggests to take careful consideration on the way we use horses in sports and how well we are taking care of them. He definitely feels sympathetic and concerned about animal abuse, moreover he thinks we should help horses and release them from sufferings that they get from drugs, improper care, and competitions.

     On the Turkish public broadcast, TRT world, focuses on the negative affiliations that horses endure during races. TRT world brings news and politics into our modern society establishing current affairs and emphasizes the complications that horses endure in everyday life, on the track, in the beginning of their life, and towards the end of their life. Approximately 3 horses die on US tracks every day and on Australian racecourses every 3 days. People don’t quite understand how horses are being treated and how empathetic we should feel. The broadcast brings up a comparison between horses and imaging if an NFL player was dying every week in order for the audience to comprehend the situation on hand. A horse’s career starts at the age of 2 and according to PETA it’s too physically demanding for them to run at unnatural speed. Another thing that brings up an argument is drug abuse that has been always an issue in equestrian sport especially the use of Lasix (which decreases lung bleeding and enhance performance,) and thyroxine (that make horses run through pain). Horse activists are trying to convince people and administrations to make changes and restrictions on horse abuse, but if the equestrian sport will ever become cruelty-free is still a question.

       The TRT newscast persuades to make changes regarding horse abuse, they are bringing different examples, such as “What if all professional sports had this fatality rate?” which makes people think about reality, and to understand that horses are actually important, just like any other animals. The broadcast tries to reach out to the audience, which is general public to face the truth and make changes. The tone of the broadcast doesn’t change and stays the same, but at the same time tries to provide people with information and show the truth about what is really going on behind the curtains of horse races, how unfairly horses are being treated. They are making the audience to question themselves and face reality. The broadcast’s genre could be described as non-fiction, drama and tragedy, but at the same time the medium considered as a social media. The broadcast’s view is not careless, they are trying to make changes even though at the same time they are just providing news and new information. By the way the speaker was talking on the broadcast it gives us a really scary, but motivational thoughts at the same time.

 

    Unfortunately, horse abuse has become a serious issue over this years. Some people stay careless about the issue of horse abuse and are not trying to make any changes, others are concerned about it. Same goes to authors like M.L.H. Cambell and TRT newscast who were trying to use a tragic tone to make people feel compassionate, while Tim Layden and Duane W. Gang tried to stay more or less in a natural and informative way of providing the audience with the material. Each and every author is trying to portray the same purpose to make equestrian sport cruelty-free, but in different ways. Tim Layden is using the data of how many deaths are happening on racecourses and euthanizing horses when that can’t be recovered. On the other hand Duane W. Gang’s purpose is to provide the reader with statistics of laws and bills that are being passed by U.S. government in order to limit horse abuse. M.L.H Cambell has a totally different strategy of keeping the sport, but minimizing it in terms of abuse and taking care of horses. While TNT makes audience to face the reality and make changes about the problem. 

  Even though authors are using different strategies, tones, and purpose to convince the reader, they are all coming down to the same issue of “ABUSE”.

 

 “Work Cited”

 

 Layden, Tim “Going off the track” Sports Illustrated. 4/8/2019, Vol. 130 Issue 7, p14-15. 2p. 2 Color Photographs. https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=1b9872e7-45e0-454b-b57e-09a6eabc5643%40sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=135705959&db=a9h

 

Duane W. Gang “ Two bills aim to rein in horse abuse”  USA Today. 03/12/2014

https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=3eaa14ed-d1df-40c2-ba1d-929f4b8c4dfb%40sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=J0E154164720214&db=a9h

 

M.L.H. Cambell “When does use become abuse in equestrian sport?”  Equine Veterinary Education. Oct2013, Vol. 25 Issue 10, p489-492. 4p.

https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/full/10.1111/eve.12087

 

TRT World newscast “Is horse racing cruel?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDjeJui_1o