Romania has a history of proud partnership with the equine animal, although during the Communist era many of the traditional horse husbandry skills were lost.
Today horses are still used by Romanian farmers to till the land and for transportation, and there are about 1 million horses and 75,000 carts used as registered transportation.
Horse in Romanian is: cal
Image from: Marciela
Image from: Kate B Dixon
Image from: Aleksander Dragnes
Image from: cod_gabriel
Image from: Adam Jones, Ph.D.
Image from: Adam Jones, Ph.D.
Image from: Em and Ernie
Image from: Carnelia TWU
Image from: Ilie Nita
Image from: Basil & Tracy
Be sure to check out more horse pictures from around the world.
The treatement of horses in Romania is pure cruelty. It is inhuman and shameful. Horses are working very hard during a whole day at the end of which they get no food or very little. They are overworked, underfed, exhausted and often beaten. When they become useless during the dead season they are abandoned, left to die of starvation. Horses are not considered as living creatures that can feel pain and fear. Everywhere in the country one can see dead or nearly dead stray horses. Animal welfare organizations do what they can but they don’t have the means to help these hundreds of horses. Your government is not willing to take action.
You make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness.
I love all animals and I care about them… I’ll do just about anything to help.
Shame on you!!!
you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. i’ve lived in romanian and i’ve been around people that had horses. horses are one of the most valued livestock and majority of the time well taken care of
hey, you who wrote this shit. it is so untrue! Romanians do not treat animals badly! you are talking about gypsies here.They are called romany and they come from India.
Did you even know that?
Hi Zdenka,
Many cultures don’t look at animals the same as we do in western society. Sadly, it is often poor nations whose people and children are suffering too.
Horses have always been used as beasts of burden but there is no excuse for the poor treatment of any living creature.
Raising awareness is a good way to help. If you know of any charities or rescues that work with animals in Romania, please contact me and I’ll gladly help promote their services. Every little bit counts.
Fuck you Zdenka. That’s our culture.
We also eat horse salami if you didn’t know.
And yes, there are a lot of underdeveloped places in Romania where horses aren’t treated as a beautiful animal like that deserves to be treated, but trust me, lots of peasants (people who work the land) pride themselves with their horses and most of them take care of their pride better than some of the snot nosed westerners do.
Our culture sees the horse as a work animal, not some pampering toy for 15 year old brats who want unicorns and ponies.
Dear Andrei ,
Starting a reply by using foul and abusive language doesn’t really help you or anybody and only helps to reinforce peoples often wrongly placed prejudices about your country ,
I have lived here for 18 years , in Romania and worked in many other countries with Horses , yes you are right a lot of romanian peasants take great care and pride in their horses and others don’t , I for one saw terrible cruelty against horses in Spain and also here two , just go to a horse fair and watch how they beat and kick the horses , but please try and be a bit more polite and intelligent and remember this country needs ambassadors,not more insulting bad manners , sorry to have to inform you dar am fost un pic rusine cind am citit replyul tau , scuza ma ,
slaut B
Also, have you been to Romania? Have you seen how farmers treat their horses? NO.
We didn’t get to have one of the highest horse populations in Europe because we abandon our horses.
from what i have read in all your messages i think it is very curel to do that to horses what have they done to desarve it. if romania can not look after horses properly they should not evan have horses. its pure mean. i evan cry somtimes. please do somthing about it please, if you do i do not know how i can thank you.
I’m sorry you cry cassie. I can give you a Kleenex if you wish.
I think you misunderstand the Romanian culture.
Some of the farmers who you guys think treat their horses cruelly actually take better care of their horses than some of you westerners do. The horse is used as a work animal and why would a farmer abandon his work animal and not treat it well? Most farmers pride themselves with their horses and I know that it’s hard to understand that we don’t use them as leisure animals like some of you westerners do.
Go to a Romanian farm and see how they’re treated and after that voice an opinion.
I do admit that there are some people who mistreat their horses, but come on, it’s the same everywhere. I have friends working for animal shelters in the US and I seriously think that some underage children treat their horses a lot worse than a farmer family from Romania.
So go ahead and cry, because your tears are the tears of a misinformed westerner.
Andrei, you’re acting like an uneducated hysterical brat. Insulting people around with the fool language of a Tourette syndrome afflicted is not going to help our image at all.
Zdenka is quite correct.
Please check our – only – shelter from Bucharest. You will see there some pictures of the horses we rescued and some before and after pictures.
http://www.cai-abandonati.ro/
They arrived starved, beaten and even stabbed. 2 had their hooves ripped of.
Andrei, you can deny and curse around all you want, and preach about our dear romanian farmers who respect their horses. But I assure you the horses we get at our shelter are not imported from Congo, they’re from Romania, typical cart horses.
Dear I. & Zdenka
I did look at your shelters pictures but u did forget to mention that those horses mostly are taken by the police from gypsies which are not farmers as Andrei was mentioning, gypsies are worse then animals. well anyway i do believe no1 has the right to hurt any1s culture coz as Andrei was saying everywhere u will see such people who treats their horses or pets in bad condition and no1 mentioned England about their treat of animals so why do they have even animal police?? well animal shelter u will see everywhere in any country just look around u and u will see it so no need to go and talk about other countries. everywhere u will see bad people killing and beatting animals and it is very sad and not good.
I travelled throughout romania and was amazed by the use of equine power.So many farmers were using horses. The way I saw the problems, was lack of experience. I saw carts laden so heavy that the back end lifted the horse off the ground, and the driver beating the horse. I saw a horse down and driver beating it to make it get up when it was clear that the horse was near death. The horse stock was very poor. Mere ponies. Larger horses eat more. It is a cultural divide. Out west, (here in California), pedestrians and horses have the right of way, because of our laws. Common law relies on precedent, while Napoleonic Law is by its nature authocratic and most often devoid of common sense. We are a horse culture; we like and respect the horse. We have progressed to a point where we respect the life and rights of the defenseless, while after 60 years of Communist domination, there is no respect for anything, not for human beings, and certainly not for animals.
cant belive it still happens in country like Romania,,about which i used to belive that they are very close to nature,please stop this cruelty.
What the hell??? CRUELTY???
Look AT THE DAMN PICTURES!! THAT HORSES LOOK GREAT, CLEAN, WELL FED, STRONG!! What’s wrong if they help humans?? it’s soo normal as long as we help them back.