(I know you know all this) It would only resemble real life skill if they did try to buck them out till they stopped, but it doesn't make good enough sport, so they try to make them worse. That's why it's a perversion of the cowboy life. What they do doesn't resemble the way you would break a horse. On the ranch there'd be no bucking strap, there'd be no attempt to make the horse buck more and harder, they'd encourage the horse to run and move forward till he got tuckered rather than buck.
The horses retire to slaughter when they stop fighting. I can't imagine them making good riding horses after that start either.
Oh I realize that it is not exactly like the cowboys use to do it. There'd be no way to keep enough stock bucking if they did it the "real" way:). But cowboys did buck out horses, they did not buck out bulls.
Becky
No worse then horses trained at 2 for racing:( IMO. I don't believe race horses are as dependable of horses as they could be with less intense training to run at such a young age.
I've learned recently that in other countries they don't race horses that young. Only in America:)
If the animal rights people are going to go after the rodeo's they need to go after the racehorse industray as well, IMO.
Becky
I don't know for sure, I think some rodeo people will have to weigh in here but I think when the horses stop bucking well they go to pasture to raise more bucking horses for the contractor.