It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

Visitors to Castle Combe take photographs in the village that was recently featured in Steven Spielberg's latest film, the wartime drama, War Horse, on January 10, 2012 near Chippenham, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Dancers perform at a Carnival parade in Les Cayes, Haiti, Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Haiti's three-day Carnival festivities have brought rum-fueled parties, imaginative costumes and high-energy dance music to a southern city that's still recovering from last year's punishing Hurricane Matthew. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper shows off his socks--one with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and the other with Republican candidate Donald Trump – before entering his former brewpub for a book signing event to mark the release of his autobiography Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Denver. Hickenlooper, who is term-limited, is doing book talk rounds this week, reviving speculation that he is positioning himself to join Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign ticket. (Photo by David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

Students salute after a man cast his vote at a polling station during the new Family Code referendum in Havana on September 25, 2022. Cubans on Sunday are voting in a landmark referendum on whether to legalize same-s*x marriage and adoption, allow surrogate pregnancies, and give greater rights to non-biological parents. (Photo by Adalberto Roque/AFP Photo)

Prime Minister Theresa May meets Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)

A drag queen goes through security a RuPaul’s DragCon in Los Angeles, USA on May 26, 2019. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Soniya, 6, whose family moved to Islamabad from Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province to look for work, stands outside their house on the outskirts of Islamabad January 1, 2015. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)