Road work is yer only man!
[QUOTE=BornToRide;3188312]
Happy is a relative term isn’t it. Let’s see…their childhood is taken away and they are put into childhood labor for as much as they can tolerate and although they are fed well and receive all the veterinary care they need, they do not get regular turnout or are allowed to be natural horses in any way. How would you like this sort of life as a human??
They indeed have no choice - they are forced to perform for their humans and in too many race horse cases , the owner’s greed causes harm to the horse.
Just feeding and providing medical care is NOT enough to create a happy horse and being exposed to numerous TBs that were rescued off the track confirms this to me. Most have bad behavioral issues and they tend to ping out of their brains for a while thanks to the diet and drugs they have been on while in training.
Yeah, sure, I can certainly see the “happy” horse here that now after being used and abused by so called loving and caring owners/breeders, is being tossed aside when it no longer earns money, or because it is broken down now (most have had career ending injuries - incorrect conditioning training? Anyone??). There are some exceptions of course when it comes to owners, but they should be the norm, not the exception. Perhaps some owners should be legally forced to increase their horses’ overall well-being (no training/racing before horses are fully mature, etc.) and providing a loving home for them when they can no longer race!
Anyone who denies such facts is not facing the true reality of racing.[/QUOTE]
or the realities of showing horses either…because what you speak of goes on in many show barns every single day of the week. Babies weaned, prepped for the futurities, the halter shows, the in hand classes, the 2 year old futurities, etc.
Every single day of the week. And many of those horses burn out, they go lame, they breakdown and they are sent to sale barns or euthanized.
Only thing different is that not that many people notice because it is not “right in their face” on TV…it’s in training barns from coast to coast. Do all owners do this? No. Neither do all race horse owners either. I happen to own a horse that was raced, and he didn’t do squat until he was a 3 year old and he still broke down and came off the track with a fractured seismoid. His owner retired him and found him a home.
So while we can holler about the racing industry, there is enough blame for all those babies being sent off for training, and kept stalled during the days, or turned out alone because of fear of injury.
That’s another topic though…
How many races are held on Derby day? How many horses were euthanized? How many are run each year at each track and how many are euthanized? While injuries are rampant (I have 3 OTTBS - I know they come with all sorts of injuries), are deaths out of line with the numbers running daily/weekly/yearly?
I don’t know how to look up that type of information, but if there were say six races each week, and 50% died at the track…that is a huge problem. If there is 1,000 racers running weekly at tracks around the country (don’t forget the QH, Arab, Paints and Standardbreds too)…and only .0005 percent die, is that number more reasonable.
What I am asking is do the numbers correlate with an “accidental” death scenario versus “we got a huge problem” scenario? I’m sure that someone out there has these numbers and could shed some light on it. I don’t really trust the “deathwatch” sites because they don’t record all the races and all the runners. What would be nice is to see the statistics based on each track, each age group and the length of the race to see if what is showing is a huge increase in deaths at one track, one age group, etc.
How can one affect change if one doesn’t have hard and fast numbers.
BTW - I do love my OTTBs, can’t say I can still ride them due to MY age and physical problems, but they do get their training so they can lead useful lives that they are capable of.
[QUOTE=sporthorsefilly;3188574]
Yes, this thread is about Racing. TBs are bred and born to be race horses. Sometimes, they run with heart and go through the pain, to fall and die. It makes me terribly sad. I look out at the 5 who are my “pasture pets,” and yes, they do love to run…under their own expression…perhaps not so much under stress. But lets get past anger and think a bit more.
What decisions are used to produce a race horse? Are breeders looking for soundness, and boning, or are they looking toward what will sell in the sales ring? Does anyone “track” the bloodlines that stay sound and the ones that do not? Are the modern trainers as clever about horse care as those from the '40s and '50s? These are all things that horsemen should be asking themselves.
I’ve watched horse racing all of my life, I remember seeing Native Dancer, and I remember the first time that I saw a fall, it was Black Hills in the Belmont…1958? OK so I’ve seen many falls, I hate them, I find myself watching races, expecting to see horses fall, it makes me feel sick. In the same breathe, do I love to watch the videos of Secretariat, or Affirmed and Alydar, you bet I do! But yes, I remember Ruffian; Go For Wand; Barbaro and others. AND I remember my own Medal/Maclay horse, a TB, cantering loose around a turn, slipping falling and fracturing his leg. No one was making him run, and he wasn’t going fast. It was an accident, and yes, accidents happen.
Perhaps looking into better stronger boning; and not pushing horses to gain weight for the sales ring, may help. Looking at bloodlines for their health and not the $$ may help. There are good people in the TB industry, who try their best to produce healthy, wonderful horses, and there are good trainers and good owners who do care. Don’t blame everyone for a breakdown, the “what ifs” the “hind sight”…what if the filly had won the race? What if she hadn’t broken down? What if she hadn’t run in the Derby?
Am I upset that this tragedy happened YES, I wish it hadn’t happened on national TV, do I blame racing…NO, because horses die in many sports, and there are those who are trying very hard to make racing safer for horses and jockeys. Changes are needed, but don’t label horse racing or the people who love it. There are good people and not so good people in all walks of life, and in all sports. Everyone right now is taking a very hard look at why, give those imperfect humans a break, let them think through what can be done, don’t condemn the industry, because there are some wonderful people in the industry, who help to make life better for all horses.[/QUOTE]
I was lurking, as being a hunter rider I didn’t see the need to say anything. :lol: But I will say this, I completely agree. Before I bought Soldier I lived in the land of WB’s and couldn’t care less about racing. Now after buying Soldier (an OTTB) I have a whole new outlook on it. It is absolutely amazing to watch them break from the gate, and I truely do believe they LOVE it. Maybe the horses at the lower tracks don’t love it, but the Derby horses? I think they do.
Any top competitor has to love what they do. A GP jumper has to love it, do you think they’d jump those huge fences if they didn’t want to? Or a GP dressage horse, my mom’s FEI horse LOVES his job, he was a jumper, and an eventer and never was he has been as happy as he is now. Or a working hunter, do you really think they’d canter up so beautifully over those fences if they truely didn’t want to? These are 1000lbs animals, and most of them do know how big they are and know the could get away. I watch my guys in the pasture, Soldier could seriously injure me if he pulled that undersaddle, same with the FEI horse, even my little pony. Sure some are unhappy, but I think the majority (Eight Bells included) LOVE it.
TB’s do give too much sometimes. Soldier once was NQR but the only class we had left was the hack, and my trainer couldn’t see the problem and I felt it maybe once every 10 strides. I pulled from the jumps but decided to hack. He is a competitive horse, went in the ring and WON. I wasn’t pushing him, but he is a different horse in the show ring (in fact I went in ready to pull up if need be). Went home got him a massage ASAP, no biggie a little tight in his back, right behind my saddle. Chances are the horse would have gone in with a broken leg and tried his hardest (but I wouldn’t have put him in ;)). He DOESN’T say no. So that’s where it becomes the trainer’s, owner’s, riders, descision. Is the horse ready, mentally, physically ect…Are you doing right by the horse. That to me is the question. And I think most do, no one wants a tragedy like Eight Bells.
Because preparation isn’t just about fitness. All of these horses, sure, are conditioned to clock around the track at at least :12 for a furlong - and some can hold that more than others. ESPECIALLY THOSE who had worked up to a mile and an eighth race as their final Derby prep. Mental preparation for a horse is just as critical, and some horses aren’t ready for the Derby experience - as trainer Shug McGaughey pointed out when he set an example to the horseracing community a few years back when he opted to keep a perfectly healthy Coronado’s Quest out of the Derby because he acted like an idiot in the paddocks and post parades and McGaughey said he wasn’t mature enough to handle it.
I take nothing away from Eight Belles - she ran an incredible race, she proved she had amazing heart. But when you look at the facts, any person with an open mind about this should have some serious questions. She was the only horse in the field who hadn’t attempted 1 and 1/8. She hadn’t even seen Grade 1 stakes level competition amongst other FILLIES - let alone running against colts. Yet her stablemate Proud Spell, winner of the Oaks, not only had 2 Grade 1s under her belt, but was clearly sent to the more prestigious races for fillies - why is that? Why was Proud Spell running in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland against the best quality fillies in the country in April when Eight Belles was in a G2 race at Oaklawn Park against only 3 other un-notable fillies? If you were aiming her for the Derby, why would you not try to give her some distance? Why not run against colts? Winning Colors ran (and won) the Santa Anita Derby, and Genuine Risk was in the Wood Memorial. You are either conditioning and preparing them for what they will face, or you aren’t.
Those of us who own thoroughbreds know that it is very possible to ‘overface’ them. They are inclined to do what you ask of them, with their incredible work ethic, regardless of what they may have been prepared for. Racehorses are no different. You shouldn’t enter them in a race you haven’t properly prepared them for because some of them WILL run to the detriment of their own health and body, if their heart is too big to learn the lesson of protecting themselves.
I hear that all the time at Charles Town - “this horse is in good shape because he knows how to protect himself.” It’s true - it’s also why he’s a $4K claimer, because he doesn’t run through adversity. A great horse like Eight Belles will - and it’s why her connections owed it to her to give her the most experience and preparation they could before asking something so huge of her. And I don’t believe that a G2 stakes race at 1 and 1/16 against three other no-name fillies is adequate for this.
My question is,How old are these babies when they have a rider on their backs for the first time? If its under two how can that even be a little bit exceptable, As far as I am concerned its just wrong. How many people on this board would buy a horse if the add said horse was broke and riden at 1 and a half years old? I would say no one would unless they want to save the baby from idiot owners, or just dont care about the babies future.
Gazenna, the quarter horse reiners and cutters are trained that young–18 months old for the wrenching turns and stops–so they can show them in Futurities, no matter that their own futures are ordinarily to become a horse that’s used up before most other horses reach their prime. And, these horses sell as youngsters like three-for-a-dollar pancakes!
[QUOTE=Swale01;3189202]
Because preparation isn’t just about fitness. All of these horses, sure, are conditioned to clock around the track at at least :12 for a furlong - and some can hold that more than others. ESPECIALLY THOSE who had worked up to a mile and an eighth race as their final Derby prep. Mental preparation for a horse is just as critical, and some horses aren’t ready for the Derby experience - as trainer Shug McGaughey pointed out when he set an example to the horseracing community a few years back when he opted to keep a perfectly healthy Coronado’s Quest out of the Derby because he acted like an idiot in the paddocks and post parades and McGaughey said he wasn’t mature enough to handle it.
I take nothing away from Eight Belles - she ran an incredible race, she proved she had amazing heart. But when you look at the facts, any person with an open mind about this should have some serious questions. She was the only horse in the field who hadn’t attempted 1 and 1/8. She hadn’t even seen Grade 1 stakes level competition amongst other FILLIES - let alone running against colts. Yet her stablemate Proud Spell, winner of the Oaks, not only had 2 Grade 1s under her belt, but was clearly sent to the more prestigious races for fillies - why is that? Why was Proud Spell running in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland against the best quality fillies in the country in April when Eight Belles was in a G2 race at Oaklawn Park against only 3 other un-notable fillies? If you were aiming her for the Derby, why would you not try to give her some distance? Why not run against colts? Winning Colors ran (and won) the Santa Anita Derby, and Genuine Risk was in the Wood Memorial. You are either conditioning and preparing them for what they will face, or you aren’t.
Those of us who own thoroughbreds know that it is very possible to ‘overface’ them. They are inclined to do what you ask of them, with their incredible work ethic, regardless of what they may have been prepared for. Racehorses are no different. You shouldn’t enter them in a race you haven’t properly prepared them for because some of them WILL run to the detriment of their own health and body, if their heart is too big to learn the lesson of protecting themselves.
I hear that all the time at Charles Town - “this horse is in good shape because he knows how to protect himself.” It’s true - it’s also why he’s a $4K claimer, because he doesn’t run through adversity. A great horse like Eight Belles will - and it’s why her connections owed it to her to give her the most experience and preparation they could before asking something so huge of her. And I don’t believe that a G2 stakes race at 1 and 1/16 against three other no-name fillies is adequate for this.[/QUOTE]
I am no race horse owner - just plenty of OTTB’s and I have to agree with this logic. It seems that there were quite a few factors that were not taken into account with Eight Belles… and she paid the ultimate price.
I am not saying this does not happen in other equestrian sports as it does… people get greedy and people want instant gratification. Instead of doing the right thing and waiting they push it and either ruin the horse or break it down.
Someone stated on the other Eight Belles thread that we need to take a look at Equestrian sports as whole and I agree with that.
This is a terrible tradgedy for all equestrians but maybe it will make bring some much needed changes to all the equestrian sports…
If we all take nothing away from this and no one does one thing different then Eight Belles death will have been in vain… but it only takes one - one person to say I am going to do things different from here on out… and then one more person who learns from that person and so on and so forth… and then at least some good will have come from this.
Just my two cents.
RIP Eight Belles…God Speed.
It is a fact that when young horses are put through grueling training and physical strain when their bones and bodies are not fully developed are much more prone to injuries- some minor, some fatal. I’m not saying the racing industry is the only that starts horses too young- they just get the most publicity for it. I’m not against racing- I’m against racing these horses far too young. It would be more beneficial for the horse’s soundness and welfare to start racing intensive training/racing when they are fully developed- around the age of 4-5 years old. Obviously I care about the horses more than anything, but this is coming more from a scientific viewpoint than an emotional one. It is a fact that the body of a thoroughbred is not fully mature until they are between 4 and 5 years old.
I don’t disagree with you but this horse didn’t seem to have any mental issues in her race. She ran boldly and came in second. She couldn’t do that if he wasn’t on her game mentally. In fact, I do believe there was some debate on running the filly but her connections felt she was ready so they went with it in the end.
If the Derby was run for 5 yr olds and she was 5 when this happened would everyone accept it? I mean, at 5 she and the rest of the field certainly would’ve had plenty of opportunity to become more mentally prepared right? No matter what age we start training horses for racing there will always be races that are more than they’ve ever faced before and will be a test mentally as well as physically. No doubt we’d see the same tragedy because things happen. What would everyone do then? Want the age changed to 10?
I am a supporter of giving horses longer to mature mentally and physically before any stressful workouts but there are many that can’t afford to do that. Unfortunately horses are a livelyhood for people not just a pet/friend/pleasure mount. Sometimes it’s greed but in most cases it’s just the cost of doing business-it’s too hard to hang on to something too long without it being productive and earning it’s keep. That, unfortunately, is the way of livestock.
That goes for all livestock. If the chicken doesn’t lay eggs it’s gotta go. Feeds and other artificial means (lights/steroids) help the chickens lay sooner than their bodies would normally. Cows for milk or beef must be ready to give us those products asap. That’s just the unfortunate truth when we use animals for business. I will say that owners/trainers usually treat these livelyhood makers as gold because they know they wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for them but they still have to meet certain expectations.
I don’t like what happened yesterday and I don’t like that it happens all over the world on a daily basis but the point here is that it doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s not as if anyone entered an obviously lame horse into a race and hoped beyond hope that it made it out alive. The horses were entered with the hope that the training methods used would be enough to get the horse around the turns and then their heart would carry them over the line.
When Eight Belles went down I’m sure her connections immediately started questioning their choices but the fact of the matter is it may have been a freak accident or may have been caused by the surface or it may have been the filly’s conformation or it may have been she was not ready physically or it may have been… I’m sure you get the point.
Racing is not turning a blind eye and not pretending it didn’t happen. They will do what they have to do but it’s going to take time. Changes have already been made. More changes will come - that’s a guarantee. It seems everyone wants a complete overhaul of the entire sport which just can’t happen-at least not over night and unfortunately more tragedy will face us before it gets there. For those that upset and that “so done with racing” the best thing they can do is express that to the powers that be of racing otherwise their “boycott” is useless.
I’d like to comment on some of the things Sporthorsefilly said with regards to breeding. I believe bone development is more than just picking the right stallion. Proper nutrition and being out most of the time really do play an important part. Proper nutrition as in lay off the carbs and balance the vits and mins with what is in your forage and if you don’t know what’s in your forage, find out. I try to support growth, not hinder or over develop. My 2 2yo’s in training this year couldn’t be more diffrent in the way they matured. One was much slower than the other but feeding him more was not going to get him there. We just let him do his growing in his time and supported this growth. What they both have is the most incredible bone my trainer has ever seen on babies. I really hate seeing big fat yearlings at sales. Big soft horses that have a huge muscle mass on spindly legs because they’ve been fed too much and they’ve been in too much.
As for racehorses loving what they do, most do. Take my loon of a broodmare who ran off and on til she was 7. She has an ankle like a basketball. Yet whose the one who gallops around like a banshee most days complete with screaming whinny’s, the loon that’s who. She loves running. We do a lot to keep her right and she’s worth all of it. You have to admire her love of everything, such a happy mare.
And as far as other sports not having the throw away horses. My husband has an ISH rather cheaply because he’s a cribber, was a rearer, and a very serious bucker. I watched and rode the horse during his baby years. He had a young girl intent on making him a dressage horse. For 1 1/2 hours per day all they did was annoy him. If he didn’t get something they just forced and forced. They’d get pissed off, kick him, slap him with the reins ect. So annoying to watch never mind being the horse. Well he just got fet up and gave back a little of what he was getting and then became a danger. You just don’t hear about the sour horses in other sports. Quite a few jumpers are washed up by 6 and 7 but I don’t see any rescues for other sports. Such as, meet Jake he’s a 6 yo very well bred jumper, he’s not going to make the big time as his jump isn’t what it’s supposed to be but we’d like to find him a good home, one that won’t jump him because he doesn’t jump anymore. These horses are out there but no one talks about them. I’m not slamming jumpers because I breed them too, just lets acknowledge the fact other sports have issues. It’s much easier for them to sweep them under the carpet. Oh and ISH is happy now as he has my husband as his rider. Foxhunting is now his thing, not dressage, my husband doesn’t do dressage. Many horses enjoy career changes, not just racehorses.
Terri
[QUOTE=Flypony;3187555]
They are born and bred to run, they love it . If not for racing they would not be. If you don’t like it don’t watch. Go save a seal or a tree.[/QUOTE]
I think you are absolutely right- and I think there are a lot of folks here posting that are ‘in’ the race horse industry- and they make their living this way and that’s fine.
It’s more the rules of the size of the track - the age the horse has to be running on it- the qualifications required and the rest time and size/weight/vital measurement requirements that are necessary to assure that a colt/filly can actually survive a race and be half way ok…that’s all those non-race folks want- me included- some chance of fairness and survival.
If horses have to be put down consistently - then there is something wrong- in the program- with the breeding- or somewhere…and it DOES NEED TO BE FIXED!
[QUOTE=huntereq7;3189717]
It is a fact that when young horses are put through grueling training and physical strain when their bones and bodies are not fully developed are much more prone to injuries- some minor, some fatal. I’m not saying the racing industry is the only that starts horses too young- they just get the most publicity for it. I’m not against racing- I’m against racing these horses far too young. It would be more beneficial for the horse’s soundness and welfare to start racing intensive training/racing when they are fully developed- around the age of 4-5 years old. Obviously I care about the horses more than anything, but this is coming more from a scientific viewpoint than an emotional one. It is a fact that the body of a thoroughbred is not fully mature until they are between 4 and 5 years old.[/QUOTE]
Studies done by The Animal Health Trust in England have shown that by age three, tendon and cartilage development in the horse has basically stopped. As a two year old, you can increase tendon and cartilage strength and resilience with proper conditioning, but by three, all changes tend to become degenerative, rather than adaptive. Bone development is much the same. Dr. Nunamaker at New Bolton Center did the definative study on shin development in the young horse several years ago, which showed that proper training methods in the young horse could completely prevent the incindence of tiny microfractures of the cannon bone, known as “bucked shins”. This is very important, because bucked shins can often lead to saucer fracture leter in life. Young bone adapts and grows stronger more easily in response to stress than bone in an older horse. Older horses have a greater risk of fracture, instead of remodeling in response to the stresses of training and racing.
Oddly enough, the New Bolton study showed that proper bone conditioning was achieved by adding speed early on in the training process, as opposed to long slow mileage. The bone only develops to withstand the amount of strain put on it by training, so by giving the young horse long slow gallops, the bone never develops enough to withstand speed work. The key is to add short bursts of speed at the end of the gallop a few times a week during early training, and gradually increase the amount of work done at speed as training progresses.
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;3188468]
You sure about that? A number of folks noticed he [Big Brown] looked “off” after the race. [/QUOTE]
There was a very quick shot of him walking off, unsaddled, no blanket of roses, and he did look very ouchy. It was quite pronounced and you sort of expected the commentators to say something but it was quiet and the camera quickly went elsewhere. It was surprising to see and I just wondered…Is that what you saw?
[QUOTE=Acertainsmile;3190271]
Studies done by The Animal Health Trust in England have shown that by age three, tendon and cartilage development in the horse has basically stopped. As a two year old, you can increase tendon and cartilage strength and resilience with proper conditioning, but by three, all changes tend to become degenerative, rather than adaptive. Bone development is much the same. Dr. Nunamaker at New Bolton Center did the definative study on shin development in the young horse several years ago, which showed that proper training methods in the young horse could completely prevent the incindence of tiny microfractures of the cannon bone, known as “bucked shins”. This is very important, because bucked shins can often lead to saucer fracture leter in life. Young bone adapts and grows stronger more easily in response to stress than bone in an older horse. Older horses have a greater risk of fracture, instead of remodeling in response to the stresses of training and racing.
Oddly enough, the New Bolton study showed that proper bone conditioning was achieved by adding speed early on in the training process, as opposed to long slow mileage. The bone only develops to withstand the amount of strain put on it by training, so by giving the young horse long slow gallops, the bone never develops enough to withstand speed work. The key is to add short bursts of speed at the end of the gallop a few times a week during early training, and gradually increase the amount of work done at speed as training progresses.[/QUOTE]
THANK YOU. At the barn I worked in, we got in a couple of 4 year old mares that had done NOTHING, owners ran out of money and the horses were out to pasture til the end of their 4 year old year. When they started training, they cropped with WORSE issues than the 2 year olds that had come in. People harken back to the ‘old days’ of training when horses lasted longer. Well, those horses ran ALOT more than the 2 year olds of today, and instead of 2 year old sale breezes they actually had YEARLING “trials” to see which of the babies was the best of their crop. 2 year old champions frequently garnered accolades as 3 year olds, and races like the Futurity for 2 year olds were some of the riches and most important races. So, I don’t buy into the whole “racing too young” problem.
In my opinion, it comes down to breeding unsoundness over HUNDREDS OF YEARS(this is not anything new, it’s just finally catching up), hot housing babies for sales instead of letting them run around a pasture and develop, the influx of racing partnerships that are out for profit vs the death of the great breeders who raced their own horses(honestly, how many quality homebreds do you see nowadays?), and ironically enough, advances in vetrinary medicine that allow a horse to continue training. Back when, if a horse was sore or injured, they were basically turned out til they recovered. Now you can just give them some drugs or inject them and keep training. I don’t believe tracks are at fault, with the advances in track maintenance over the years, I have a hard time believing that tracks nowadays are harder on horses than ones 100 years ago when they were basically racing on a plowed field. But the horses HAVE gotten weaker. Synthetic surfaces may help but they are not THE answer.
Racing needs to do something about the breeding industry and the medication issue for certain. They would have to have to deal with an abundance of unwanted horses(which is an issue they should deal with anyways) and short term it would be difficult, but would be immensely better for the sport in the long run.
Well, it’s hard to say as lots of folks here have seen that, myself included. I thought “is he off” but with everything happening I didn’t know if it was from the spook or what–sort of a hard angle too and he was semi bouncing along. When his rider remounted after the spook he did look back at the right hind for a moment but then went back to jogging off.
It has been stated openly that BB has terrible feet and that even though all was well going into the race they very much expected it to not be well coming out of the race. Hopefully that’s all it is. Time will tell as he will either be scratched from the Preakness or he’ll run.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;3186820]
Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. Take the Op with you please.[/QUOTE]
A little DEFENSIVE perhaps???
This quote from the Washington Post kinda sums things up, IMO:
“Horses are being over bred and over raced, until their bodies cannot support their own ambitions, or those of the humans who race them”
Sally Jenkins
Washington Post
May 4, 2008
I have a question, please don’t flame me. :sadsmile: I never come on this forum because well I really don’t know ANYTHING about racing. I’ve been to Keeneland last year and it was the only race I’d ever been to.
But
My question is Why do they start the TB so young? What was the orginial thinking behind this? Are they just that much faster when their young? Would the race not be as exciting if the youngest race was a group of 4 year olds? Just wondering. I know Western does it to in the futurities and I think its to young for those horses also but you hear such a different side about the race world. That the owners don’t care, its all about the money, if the horse can’t do it then they are sent to slaughter or rescues if they are lucky. You don’t see that happening with western futurity horses really. This is a serious question and I’m just trying to understand. thanks
Please read post #109 for your answer.
People don’t understand if horses didn’t get any intense training till they were late 3 or 4 your would have a lot of problems. Everyone that we got that had been turned out, forgotten about and never wore a saddle until over half-way through it’s 3 yr old year, could not hold up to racing. Their bones just couldnt’ handle it. It is a trainer’s job to know when to push and when to stop. Unfortunately, as in all disciplines there are good and bad trainers.
I only read a small portion of the original post and it bothers me that people jump on the bandwagon that have no clue about racing. When a horse breaks down IT IS TRAGIC, no doubt. But injuries (fatal and non-fatal) happen. It happens in all aspects of horses. My OTTB retired sound at 7 from racing, I turned him out in a paddock and he severly fractured his pelvis and had to be PTS, so do I never turn out another horse because a tragedy could happen? I could get killed/maimed or paralyzed from being around horses, because I do something I love, should I go live in a bubble?
Note to self: don’t post when PJ (who I bred) runs because some idiot that doesn’t know me or how badly he is spoiled, will tell me I’m horrible.
I am really getting so annoyed at the slams on the racing industry. Most of the horses that are involved in racing are very well treated.
