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.

Participants take pictures of themselves as others run past the Tiananmen gate during the Beijing Marathon in Beijing, China, September 17, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Women take a selfie next to a police officer as they take part in New Year's Eve celebrations in the Bund, in Shanghai, China December 31, 2016. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Students attend a stewardess skill training for the upcoming 2017 entrance examination for art majors in colleges in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, January 4, 2017. Along with how to stand, how to sit is also covered in these classes. (Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

A fisherman with a close bond to cormorants uses the flock of birds to catch big fish in Li river in Guilin, China. The aquatic birds can be seen perching on a bamboo raft before swooping into the calm water to grasp hold of prey. (Photo by Julia Wimmerlin/Solnet News & Photo Agency)

A traffic police officer directs traffic in Mohe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, December 29, 2019. Temperatures in Mohe, “north pole” of China, often stand at below minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter mornings. Photo by Yang Siqi/Xinhua News Agency/Alamy Live News)

Medical staff members wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city, arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan on January 25, 2020. The Chinese army deployed medical specialists on January 25 to the epicentre of a spiralling viral outbreak that has killed 41 people and spread around the world, as millions spent their normally festive Lunar New Year holiday under lockdown. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Cosplayers wearing face masks pose for a picture at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy) in Shanghai, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, China on July 31, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)