Equestrian Centers in Shopping Malls in China
Horses in other countries fascinate me. Growing up in the US, even in my specific region on the east coast has given me very specific ideas of how horses should be raised. But even in different areas of the USA, which is huge, by the way, horse keeping varies widely. For example, I’ve seen maybe examples in California of horses being kept in pens with no actual turnout. There isn’t grass in these areas. It’s just sand and dirt, or maybe brown felt, I don’t know, I’ve never seen it in person. It’s California, so maybe it’s just a movie set.*
*Maybe all of California is a movie set. Maybe it’s not even there. It’s possible they made up California as part of the scam to sell shovels.
There’s different mindsets of horse care all over the world. Even within the US, we’ve all seen appalling treatment of horses, so entire countries cannot be generalized on their treatment of horses. That being said, countries do have a generalized mindset of what’s acceptable treatment of animals, with laws enforcing it. Some countries still use horses primarily for labor, not recreational riding, and just aren’t considered pets. And some countries, seeing the success of the carousel, stick horses in their malls, just take a left from the food court, and go past the Sephora, you can’t miss it.
In the US, I would imagine that’s a lot of restrictions that would not allow this to happen. For instance, a popular law requires 5 acres of land for one horse, and an additional acre after that (although laws vary a lot across different counties and states.) But it doesn’t seem like there’s any law against this in China.
I first discovered this on the gram of insta, which brings me all sorts of weird and wacky things, like my personal favorite, the crab that is running around a street with a knife.
But forget funny crabs and pull on your somber and confused pants for this video.
I saw she’s getting a lot of criticism about going, but I heard her say in the video that she felt uncomfortable and wouldn’t go again. She’s not promoting this kind of place, she was curious about it, which I understand because I too am curious about this.
I’ve since tried to look it up, but it’s pretty hard to find information on. Having horses in shopping malls brings up so many questions. Horses by design are meant to be constantly moving around. It seems highly unlikely that these horses are able to do much more than go to their stalls and exit for the lessons. Lack of movement is going to make them stiff, which could be what the woman noticed in her video.
But, they might also be used in a lot of lessons. How many rides a day are these horses getting? Is there a limit or is it just until they run out of people?
Horseback riding has been on the rise in China. While horses have always been there, historically recreational riding was the sport of the rich (like much of the world). Horses require land, money, and free time. The average citizen didn’t always have these things.
Without going into an in depth examination of China’s economy, economic reforms begin in the 1970’s and privatizations begin to accelerate in 1992. These all lead to an economic boom in China. Standards of living have gone up, urbanization has increased, and it has become more globalized, exposing the country to recreational riding in other countries.
Another big factor in the rise of horseback riding was hosting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Seeing the equestrian events in person inspired many.
But horses require land, and the time to go out into the country. Much of the population is located in cities. So instead of these people having to travel to the horses, someone came up with the idea of bringing the horses into the people.
Bringing horses into cities isn’t a new concept, even in USA. Once upon a time, it was the norm. Before cars, horses were needed for transportation, requiring carriage houses to keep the horses. In New York City, there are still a few carriage houses left for the tourist carriage horses, although it’s predicted they will be gone within the next 20 years.
But the most famous, and perhaps most similar to the shopping mall equestrian centers, was the Claremont Riding Academy. Before it closed in 2007, it was the oldest continuously operated riding center in New York City, and the only one in Manhattan. There was no turnout, and the riding space was an indoor, filled with support pillars for the levels above. The main draw was the extensive riding trails in Central Park. But when the paths begin to deteriorate and opened for others to use, the business suffered. When extensive renovations were required to maintain the building, the owners decided to close the business instead.
So it’s not unheard of for horse centers to exist in cramped city conditions. There were many supporters of Claremont Riding Academy and it’s almost the same setup as the shopping mall equestrian centers.
As of 2018, there’s over 190 of these equestrian centers in malls, with rides costing an estimated $116 converted to USD. These centers fill a niche market – the beginning rider who lives in the city. Even in the video above, you can see the saddle has a grab handle. They are marketed for beginner riders, mostly children. When the children outgrow these types of places, there are more traditional equestrian centers for them to ride at. Even the creator of the the “Happy Pony” riding center is quoted as saying, “Equestrian centers inside malls are offering the first class of horse riding to enlighten children, who will later go to larger outdoor horse ranches if they develop an interest.”
They are basically just a notch above a pony rides, for the purpose of introducing urban dwellers to the idea of horses, something they might not have pursued at all without the convenience. That makes it seem kind of like a noble pursuit… We are all for more people interested in horses, right?
The concern comes in their care. Are the horses actually getting the care they need in these kinds of facilities? The Happy Pony owner says that business costs are very high, and it barely makes ends meet. Will this mean lesser care in order to actually make the operation profitable?
I really can’t say, since I can’t see it, and there isn’t much information online. We instinctively have a knee jerk reaction of “this is terrible horse care!” but is it that much different than horses in the US that are kept in stalls? I can think of a specific Olympic rider that spoke about their horses being in stalls all the time to avoid being injured. And they are certainly not the only one that keeps their horses that way, although sometimes it’s about space and not injury. Look over at what may or may not be California, and their keeping of horses in dirt pens 23 hours a day. That is a pretty similar set up.
I personally would never keep my horse on anything but turnout, but I’m aware that’s not always possible. So I can’t hold these shopping mall equestrian centers to higher standard than some pretty normal and accepted equestrian centers in the US and Europe.
Judging the horses off of a short clip is hard, but they don’t look in terrible condition. They seem to be good weight and I don’t see any saddle sores or injuries. Despite being in a mall, they look pretty decently cared for. They are certainly better off than some working animals in Egypt, for example. Although, just “being better” than some other place isn’t a very good standard to aim for. But there’s a lot of unknowns here. Maybe the horses are rotated out every few weeks and get to go graze in pastures. Maybe they are kept really well, even if it’s in a really weird way.
I’m only speculating, but as the sport grows, there’s going to be more and more eyeballs on these horses. Interest is certainly growing, with more international events like Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ China League and Longines Beijing Masters.
Hopefully these people riding their expensive show horses out in the country will still think fondly about the humble little school horses that gave them their first rides. Hopefully the love of horses will grow, and there will be people watching out for these guys, and making sure they are being well kept.
What do you think of China’s Shopping Mall Equestrian Centers?