I am still getting negative responses to my post on the Horse Rescue site. Someone there noted that if I didn't like rodeos and using animals that maybe we shouldn't be riding horses, as that is not 'natural', either, and some could say that riding horses is unnecessary and cruel, since we ride for entertainment and enjoyment.
This is my reply:

Well, it seems you have hit the nail on the head - I do not believe in riding horses, after having spent many years doing so. It is only in recent years that I have stepped back and taken a good, hard look at human behaviour, and our need to use animals for our whims and entertainment. Whether it is confinement in zoos, in our homes, pulling cute little carriages, on rodeo circuits, for food, I feel we humans have had the need to conquer and control every creature of the world. In days gone by, no thought was given to the animals' needs or feelings - we made them work for us and entertain us without a thought. The need for animals as workhorses are gone in our society, so perhaps it is time for all of us to make new decisions.
My new belief is that we must stop breeding every creature in captivity and allow them to live only in their own natural environments. We need to support them there by maintaining and improving the lands that they need. Humans have been the sole cause of the 'endangered species' list by our pillaging of land, seas and air. It is now our responsibility to ensure this does not continue - in any aspect.
No, I do not mean that we turn out all of our critters that depend upon us now; we must give them as good a life in our captivity as we are able - and that includes not continuing to force them into unnatural acts such as 'showing' them, riding them, etc. By not breeding any future generations, we will ensure that each species will remain free in their own habitat. I am aware that this will never happen in my lifetime, and selfishly I am rather happy about that. I will continue to take in the existing creatures who need rescue, knowing that there is an endless supply to be loved and cared for, thanks to humans' greed.
I know my opinions on animal welfare are radical, and certainly don't expect many folks to agree with me - they are simply my own reflections.