With all the BS about Social License to Operate (which I think is just lip service), is it possible that the people doing the commentary on the Grand Prix could stop referring to all of the horses as “it”?
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Oh, come on. I refer to plenty of animals as it, even my own sometimes. Who cares?
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also I hate how Steven keeps asking Eve some question right at a critical moment she’s trying to watch something nail- biting.
I care. They aren’t tennis racquets or golf clubs.
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And you can ascertain someone’s emotion or level of care toward an animal based on the pronouns they use?
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Agreed. I say “it” more than “he/she” when talking about the animals I ride and take care of/own. I see nothing wrong with it at all, especially for commentating . They’re not using “it” as a way to take away from the horse.
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To each its own.https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jwl-2022-0018/html?lang=en#:~:text=An%20animal%20is%20referred%20to,who”%20or%20“whom”.
Long long ago I was taught that, formally speaking and writing, animals are “it”, and “he” and “she” are reserved for humans.
But informally, it does seem to communicate a level of care toward animals to refer to them as “he” and “she”. I can see where some people might be concerned to hear a BM refer to the horses in their care as “it”. I wouldn’t be, because I’d think they are just following a more formal way of speaking that they were taught, as I was.
In all honesty, these customs are cultural. I’d consider the context before making a judgment on how someone is referring to animals.
In the horse world it seems that a lot of people in a more formal role – trainers, judges, etc. – say “the horse” or “your horse” to refer to a horse, in many contexts where they could also have used “he”, “she” or “it”.
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Oh come on 
. This is probably the least problematic thing we could focus on - “it” is an animal. With how fast these go, who can be checking (sometimes inaccurate or out of order) notes to make sure it’s a mare or stallion/gelding? Easier to say “it” and “this horse” etc. Can be cultural as well.
Let’s not get too anthropomorphic while we have real glaring issue to focus on.
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