Clearing up a misunderstanding

A few days ago I posted a clip of Martin Lacey Jr. with King Tonga where it was noted that Tonga had two lower fangs missing. One of the sorriest things about our profession is that ignorant people will use an accident that can happen to the best, to cast aspersions on an individual they don't like. I have seen felines break off fangs in a vicious fight with each other, and I actually knocked a fang out of a tiger attempting to get him off of the throat of a weaker adversary. I had a tiger break off a fang years ago when he was in the squeeze cage to be vaccinated, and he went into a frenzy and started bitting the bars. I have also seen monster's back in the "good old day's" knock out fangs as part of their training process. That is a sad thing that most who have been in this profession more then 25 years have seen, and that is what some will reference to criticize somebody much better then they are.
Tonga lost his lower fangs in I believe 2005 in an unfortunate incident as he was maturing, and became possessive of a food pan, and started chewing it. Circus Krone, and Martin being more caring then most, spent a goodly sum of money having an orthodontist model a tooth out of acrylic and attempted to wire it to the existing tooth, a process that is virtually impossible to sustain, but the funds were spent anyway in an attempt which as suggested didn't work. Tonga's missing fangs are no means a reflection of Martin's ability and skills, so don't ever go there again, anonymous. Spend more time working harder, and possibly you will be at Martin Jr's level some day.

In a further attempt to educate the uninformed, I have posted pictures above of Flavio Tognis horses. I posted a similar photo with the same horse's working with 4 Bactrian camels a week or so ago, and alluded to the one with no tail, but nobody responded. It is mind boggling that people can watch an animal act, or look at a picture, but not really "see" the animal. Yet they will "declare" hour after hour, year after year, who is a good animal trainer and who is not, and pass themselves off as experts or knowledgeable of what they speak. I also posted an obvious picture of a tiger without a tail, that nobody noticed. Again a rare unfortunate accident, no way reflecting on the individual owning and /or presenting it. It is my hope if you really want to help captive animals and are concerned that you will learn to look past the smile and cute butt, past the fancy costume, music and lights, put friendships aside and LOOK WITH AN EDUCATED UNBIASED EYE AT THE ANIMALS.

The horse above with no tail that you have all looked at before, but may not have noticed, suffers from a terrible affliction that affects about 80% of all grey horses, and is by no means what so ever, a reflection on the high quality of animals Flavio Togni uses in his shows or a reflection on his superior skill in training and the husbandry of the blood stock he uses.
The above horse suffered from a carcinoma melanistic tumor which as stated affects 80% of all grey horses, Arabians, Lipizzan, Andalusin etc. and is not isolated in one breed. Sometimes if you are lucky the tumor can be removed. If you are not lucky the affected appendage has to be removed with is the case with the horse above.
Excerpted from my UC Davis Book of Horses: Melanoma is a tumor of pigment cells in the skin and is common in older horses. Unlike the situation in people, melanoma's in horses do not appear to be caused by excessive exposure to sunlight, rather, the equine tumors are coat color related. It may be accurate to call this the "old grey horse disease" since more then 80% of grey horses develop the melanoma's, typically after 15 years of age. The tumors are most commonly found on the underside of the tail, or around the anus, however, they may arise anywhere on the body. Melanoma's are firm in consistency and black or grey in color. Most often they grow slowly and are unlikely to spread, thus are frequently left untreated. Melanomas can be surgically removed but complete excision is often difficult, depending on their location.
There is an artificial tail made which can be put on a horse for show purposes. In the case of Flavio's horse it appears that too much of the dock had to be removed and keeping an artificial tail on would be difficult.
In reference to some people knowing more then somebody else, it's usually because they have listened and learned form other's smarter, more knowledgeable then them. I wasn't aware of the full impact of carcinoma melanistic tumor's until I was watching a horse show with Dianne Olds Rossi. I noted that one of the Andalusians in the quadrille had an unnatural looking tail that didn't move right. She pointed out that the horse's tail had been amputated and an artificial tail was what I was looking at. Sure enough as I looked closer I could see it wasn't the horses natural tail. I am by no means a "know everything" but that is how I have tried to learn. I have since studied it on my own. When you have an incredibly talented animal as this horse apparently is because he is used for high school as well as liberty and does a hind leg walk, you don't just get rid of them. You do what is best for them, and continue giving them the greatest, loving care in the world.
To really understand, and eliminate "cute and charming" you will note it is Flavio riding this particular horse in the high school number. I'm betting he is the only one that can get out of the horse, what the horse is capable of, and I suggest they have a "bond/understanding", that other members of the family may not have with this particular animal.