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.

Sarah Gibbons grades a new batch of Maple Syrup at Gibbons Family Farm in Frankville, Ontario, Canada, 31 March 2014. The annual maple syrup season marks the end of the often brutal central Canadian winters and heralds the beginning of spring. The maple tree, whose leaf dominates the Canada's flag, plays both a symbolic and practical role in the identity of Canadians who produce around 95 percent of the world's supply of maple syrup. (Photo by Stephen Morrison/EPA)

Girls take a selfie at the haze shrouded Batanghari River bridge in Jambi, Indonesia Sumatra island, September 14, 2015. Indonesian islands are blanketed in the so-called “haze”, caused by slash-and-burn clearances on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which makes thousands sick, delays flights and pushes air quality to unhealthy levels in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

Maria Sakkara of Greece in action against Ann Li of the United States in her second round match at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on February 22, 2022 in Doha, Qatar (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

A blooming cherry tree is seen along the Tidal Basin on Sunday March 20, 2022 in Washington, DC. As Covid-19 precautions begin to lift around the country large crowds are able to once again descend upon the region for the blossoming cherry trees. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Nepalese army personnel pay tributes before the body of a person who died of COVID-19 before cremating the same in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Children carry firewood on their heads and walk homewards on the outskirts of Rae Bareli, India, Thursday, December 17, 2020. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)

A woman carries a heart shaped balloon while sitting with her husband on a motorbike during Valentine's day, in Karachi on February 14, 2021. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum/AFP Photo)