My family has been ranching in Alberta since 1882. I also grew up around rodeo competing in the Saddle Bronc into my mid 20's. Now I was taught to believe at a very early age that rodeo stock, bulls and horses in the rough stock events, had the easiest job in the world. They only work 8 seconds a week. Which isn't exactly true if you consider the travel, being loaded in and standing in the chute, the 8 seconds of the ride followed by being cleared out of the arena and ran through the stripping chute. Non the less it is a pretty easy life for the most part.
The stock contractors have a lot of money invested in the rough stock. It is their product and they get hired and paid on the performance of their rough stock. Stock contractors will freak out if you do anything to harm their animals while you are putting your gear on them in the chute. Some contractors for instance will give a young bareback rider a tongue lashing if he steps on the back of the horse while he is getting down (if your a world champion it doesn't seem to be a problem). Another time I saw a contractor get very upset with a bull rider who had the buckles of his spurs on the inside of his boot instead of the outside. For the most part these guys really care for these animals.
Now the timed event stock on the other hand is a bit of a different story. A calf can only be roped for so long because it gets too big. The steers in the bull dogging and team roping are only good for a season as well. So they are more expendable if you will. Now people don't go out of their way to intentionally hurt these animals. Accidents do unfortunately happen from time to time. Mostly to the steers by being accidentally stepped on by a horse resulting in broken legs. There are also some rules in place to protect the animals. For instance in calf roping you are disqualified and fined if you pull a calf over backward when it hits the end of your rope. Steers in the team roping wear horn wraps that prevent the rope from hurting the steers when they are roped around the horns.
In my experience more cowboys will be injured in the rough stock events by far compared to the bulls and horses. Horses can hurt themselves in the chutes when they are younger and wilder. Once they become veterans they pretty much know the routine and won't cause too many problems for the cowboys or themselves in the chutes. Same with the bulls.
Now out of the bucking horses, bulls, steers, and calves that are used in rodeo. The calves get the most attention when it comes to animal rights advocates or groups. They are very small compared to the horse and cowboy chasing them, although the calf would out weigh the cowboy 99% of the time. In my experience I can not remember a single incident where a calf was killed in the arena. I'm not saying it couldn't have happened, but it was infrequent enough that I don't recall a single death. Bucking horses on the other hand, I have witnessed many. From horses running into the fence at a full gallop breaking their necks. To horses breaking their legs while they are bucking. To horses breaking their backs while they are bucking (this usually happens after the cowboy has been bucked off and the horse just throws its own back out while bucking).
In my opinion it is a just a matter of time before a sport like calf roping will be out lawed or changed drastically due to public pressure. It may not happen for some time, but the trend of society is definitely heading that way. Rodeo for the most part is dying a slow death anyway. It is expensive and pretty tough on the body.
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