Under no circumstances do I condone this practice, however it does exist and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Talking about it and getting involved will.
The Story
These images have been circulating the web for some time now & have generated quite a bit of controversy. Perhaps first popularized by an article in the Daily Mail.
The article goes on to give a scathing review of the animal park in Xiamen (south east China) where these practices take place. They list a whole load of atrocities committed against these poor creatures.
Don’t think China is alone, I’ve seen accounts of this type of animal shows in other countries (like Germany) too.
Cultural Norms
While it’s fair to say that different cultures have different views on animal welfare, it’s hard to deny my own cultural upbringing. Abusing another creature for entertainment purposes is both wicked & cruel. No matter where you come from, compassion towards life is a virtue.
Oh My!
There is even video of these shows, of the tigers anyway. Here is what I could find.
Woo Hoo
Thankfully, there are people that want to help, Save China’s Tigers works to save animals from China’s abusive zoos & provides public education to raise awareness in China. If this cause is important to you, contact them to see how you can help. 
I don’t condone this practice either, but aren’t WE predators riding horses?
You’ve got a point there Judy. That’s exactly what we are.
If i may… we are riding horses in a compeletly different way. we take the time to create a bond with our horse and the relationship between a man and a horse is very strong they learn to love us as much as we love them we also take care of them whereas these animals cannot do any of those things not to mention the fact that we would never eat our horse…. all i am saying is you have to look at it from a distance this is cruel and unhealthy practice people riding is not we will change something if it is harming them they will not
That’s what I was thinking watching the video, the horse was at liberty to buck, which may have stimulated predator mode in the tiger but the horse’s way of going didn’t show that it was concerned at all.
Yes we are…..but I think this goes way beyond that
THIS IS TRULY DISGUSTING!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK WILD ANIMALS RIDING HORSES IS F’ING ENTERTAINING.
The horse doesn’t appear sound enough to be working, much less working on a circle with a 500 lb + tiger on his back. He doesn’t seem particularly disturbed by the tiger, but he does appear to be in pain, which could account for him not bucking, etc.
Yes, it is awful. To think that animals are being treated like that for entertainment is very disturbing. It would be scary for both animals, for the predator to be on the horse, it must be petrified, and for the horse, haveng to ride around with an animal which could kill it right there on the spot. Hannah, you are right about humans, still being predators riding on the horse, have an understanding with the horse.
I think it is fantastic to think that Bears have developed enough to ride a horse! Great thinking by the Chinese
You seriously discuss me.I can’t imagine what kind of people would have fun watching this torture.And I have to say that Hanna is totally right and even though some people do treat animals and in this case horses with the cruelest ways there are others who try to be gently and carrying with their animals..Also a human is usually around 50-70 kilos not 500 like a tiger or a bear…Not staying only in what you see, just imagine how much all these animals will have suffered to get to this..Not only pain and whipping but also less food and sometimes these animals don’t even have food.If people in China or in any other place of the world want to have fun they have better to watch movies, tell jokes or go to a circus where PEOPLE will do fancinating and unbelievable things not torture animals for their own pleasure…
By the way only David is discusing me ..And it’s not personal or anything but David with his comment, represents to me all the people that think like him…
Oh my God ..I’m so angry with this and if you watch these videos you’ll see that the guys or to be specific these ASSHOLES that even the word (asshole) itself can’t look at them who do the show are bowing in the of it like they did something great so that to be enthusiastied about it…..
The largest tigers max out at 572 pounds, or 260 kilos (according to the Encyclopedia of Mammals). This tiger was probably smaller than that. Still pretty heavy for the horse to carry.
That looked like a sun bear on the other video, they max out at 143 pounds, or 65 kilos, about the same as an adult human.
If the horse were in really bad shape, or starving, it couldn’t carry the tiger at all.
The practice of tigers & bears riding on horses is bad enough without exaggerating the conditions.