Agree 100% as to why studies don’t focus on Eventing or other disciplines, but I just can’t fathom how keeping a simple database of injuries or fatalities would be so costly. I worked for the nation’s largest COVID contact tracing effort - predicated on a database with far more regulation (privacy) - and maintained databases in the entertainment field when it was more costly and technically difficult to do so than it is today. It’s my opinion that it wouldn’t be that hard to establish a reporting system and maintain a database in a cost-effective way if the governing bodies had a will to do so.
I would assume someone at USEA/USEF/FEI has data on fatalities they occur at recognized events. It’s just not publicly available.
Eventing is nothing like racing. The only thing they have in common are horses. That’s where the similarities end.
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I believe that USEA and FEI are tracking these safety statistics, but there isn’t the manpower at the end of the day to take the raw info and streamline it into data that is available to the public.That takes time and accuracy - some people have one or the other, very rarely do people have both.
On the time and accuracy, I will agree. We certainly wrestled with QA issues and how to distill data for public consumption. We literally launched and executed the largest ever contact tracing effort in the western world. It dan be done. It is tough, especially when you have to report out data to the public. That said, on this scale, I am fairly certain that I could easily devise a plan that is both relatively cheap and manageable. I imagine a lot of other people could, too.
Interestingly, though, the FEI does track the number of horse falls per year, the kinds of falls, and the numbers of injuries and deaths to riders. They make that info available to the public on their website. (I quoted those stats in one of my posts above.) So the lack of reporting on horse deaths wouldn’t seem to be a manpower issue.
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I think the FEI has an entirely different level of manpower in play. I know that for FEI show jumping classes, the FEI will typically have at least four judges and six stewards just for those events. Even if the classes don’t have many entries in them.
I’ve seen classes where the ratio of officials to horses might be one official for each two horses in the class. And that’s not even counting people like the veterinarian or the announcer.
So I think that is an entirely different level of paperwork and record keeping compared to most national organizations.
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I thought deaths that occur at the track had to be reported per most track management even if not an afternoon event, but again I guess we have to read the fine print to see if they are included in the statistics?(edited—I stand corrected I see it is fatality per start, not sure where the other data for deaths reported at the track ends up going….other than the particular track’s information.)
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Gave me a hard time too. Most on this grief gave me grief when they did not like my opinion or it differed from them 10% might know something, the rest are a bunch of bullies and BS artist. Good study on this site if you want to watch human behavior at its worse… It is amazing how nasty people can be over nothing to each other. And very sad.
Check out the thread in the Eventing forum “WTF are we doing…” that I started years ago. Tracked the fatalities the best I could for many years.
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The irony in this comment?
I’m sorry my post somewhere at some point upset you. I don’t know what you are referring to though. I just actually searched through your old posts and I only see where we had a laugh one time at how hard dressage is. Maybe you’re confusing me with someone else.
Anyways….
Wasn’t the number of TBs sent to slaughter last year something like 11k? So around 18k bred and then 11k sent to slaughter?
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No, you NEVER upset me. You have ALWAYS been very respectful and provided good feedback and comment. I have just found many on the racing forum to be nasty if one doesn’t agree with them. Agree with them, however, and all is fine.
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It’s not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing.
Many of your opinions, thoughts, and assumptions are wrong. When people politely (or impolitely) point that out, you double down on these incorrect beliefs or argue that you are entitled to your opinion.
Racing has enough problems. We don’t need to add to that with people spewing disinformation or their personal conspiracy theories.
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I posted this article in the current events forum. Any racing-savvy people have comments? It’s shocking to me.
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The article is 15 years old.
The woman referenced in it, Ellen Parker, is someone who tried very hard to make herself famous by saying “I saw that coming” after any horse broke down. Too bad she never spoke up before it happened.
Her genetic theories have been debunked many times since this article came out. (If all horses with Native Dancer in their pedigrees broke down, there would be virtually no Thoroughbreds left to race.) With no personal breeding or racing experience of her own, Ellen Parker positioned herself as a racing guru who could fix everyone’s problems–if only they would spend their money to do things her way. Did she put her own money where her mouth was? Nope.
Sensationalism titillates and always has. Witness this tripe being dredged up again from 2008.
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Thanks for the explanation! I did wonder if this was legit.
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Interestingly. Eight Belles owner, Fox Hill Farm. which was owned by Rick Porter, became far more protective after this tragedy. When Songbird “wasn’t right”, in direct defiance of his trainer, he had her sent to Bramlage, who examined the mare, and gave Porter the results of his careful examination. Porter retired her immediately.
This speaks to me of the love that Porter had for his horses. Would that they all had this kind of advocate.
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That’s good to hear. After the tragedy with Eight Bells, I soured on racing. I’ve owned five Thoroughbreds, two raced. Both horses that raced had bone spurs in their hocks. While I’m too old to take on a horse off the track, I think the breeding is vastly improved and there are some really gorgeous horses available for the transition to sport.
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I watch “America’s Day At The Races”, and they have many great features about horses, jockeys, track workers, flower people/garland makers, outriders, breeding farms, etc. They have, also, featured some of the Thoroughbred aftercare programs—they said that there are over 80 programs for former racehorses. (I don’t know if that number includes those dedicated to the former Standardbred and Quarter Horse racers.)
I have to applaud the effort of the Thoroughbred industry to find places for the retired animals under their care.
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The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was formed in 2012 and, since then, has raised and disbursed more than 28M to accredited aftercare programs. Every time a TB is registered with the JC, sells at auction, is bred, or races, a percentage of the money paid goes to the TAA. It’s an amazing program.
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Rick Porter also spent a ton of money in his last days bringing up injured TBs from
Louisiana to Lexington and getting them healthy before adopting them out. (See NTWO). It looks like they have now shifted their focus to tracking fatalities.
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