My motivation to escape to an equestrian lifestyle in the countryside was to experience a pleasant respite from the hectic pace and often callous and compassionless interactions of the city. But despite the allure of the charming rural scenery with elegant dressage shows and exciting jumping competitions, I soon learned that beneath the veneer of gentrified civility history often has a disquieting tendency to repeat itself.Age-old battles when horses were mercilessly used and sacrificed without empathy or humaneness to achieve power and victory, proved to be not so different than the modern day conflict I became entangled in between altruistic animal lovers, and conniving charlatans with thinly veiled, malevolent intentions...