At Least 20 Horses Die in Kabardino-Balkaria During Authorities-Organized Run
At least 20 horses died during the "Caucasus Cup" horse run in Kabardino-Balkaria, organized by the Sports Ministries of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. According to eyewitnesses, many horses were specially "taken to slaughter" so that "certain people would win." This was reported by the "Beware, News" channel.
In one day, 80 horses dropped out of the race, at least 20 of them died. The run started on September 25 in the village of Verkhniy Baksan and will continue for four more days. More than 200 people and horses from all regions of the North Caucasus Federal District are taking part in the event. They will cover a distance of 230 kilometers, including dangerous gorges.
Equestrian community members reported that "the race can be called deadly" since there is no veterinary control at the competition. The organizers are trying to remove negative information and photos of dead animals from the Internet.
The organizer of the horse ride, Ruslan Khvatysh from Karachay-Cherkessia, said that the information about the mass death of horses is not true.
“There are horses that got tired and stopped. There are some that we put IVs on and brought out. Two heads that supposedly died are in the photo… I asked the jockeys who came up to us: “Who?” They couldn’t say… I said: “Who didn’t come?” They said: “We took 190 heads.” “How many did you take?” – “Twenty-something.” – “Whose horses?” – no one said,” said Khvatysh.
