Watch Mexico's Extreme Sport of Horse Sliding

This is la cala, one of nine events that comprise the charreada. Charreada is a Mexican horse sport dating back to the early 17th century. Colonial Spanish estates held competitions where farmhands demonstrated horsemanship by gamifying their daily activities like cattle roping. In la cala the horses slide over 6.1 metres (twenty feet) on their hind legs in an act known as reining. A qualifying slide is longer than 5.9 metres (19.5 feet) and can be scored by the judges. The horses also perform other behaviours in la cala like pivoting on one foot in circles. The sport is steeped in Mexican tradition and has many cultural references, especially when it comes to wardrobe. Recently, the sport has come under fire from animal rights groups, who pushed to get some events banned from California. Many fans and participants of the charreada feel unfairly targeted. They feel their events resemble many authorised US rodeo activities.

Why Are These Wolves Chasing a Dog, But Not Bothering a Horse?

This wolf pack peacefully surrounds a horse in Abruzzo, Italy. Wolves have been known to attack or kill horses, so this behavior is unusual. The horse is displaying normal behaviour. It rolls in the snow, possibly cleaning itself. It seems unthreatened by the wolves. Wolves only hunt when they are hungry. It is possible that the wolves had just eaten and were therefore not interested. It is also possible that the pack is young and inexperienced with hunting, and a horse would be too much to handle. But this video shows a different situation. Here, wolves are attacking and chasing the dog away because some wolf packs are very territorial. That was one lucky pup!
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