I am not clicking the link, but I am guessing it is footage of a horse breaking a leg in the middle of a race. Yes, it is shocking and sickening. No doubt about that.

However, as a horse owner, I have a more benign view of the racing industry in general. For a start, race horses enjoy good care. They are well fed, receive veterinary attention, and if they are entire (ie, not a gelding) and have reasonable bloodlines, they will probably be sold for breeding purposes and enjoy a good life for many more years. If the Thorobred has been properly broken in as a youngster, they can go on to have a second "career" as a pleasure hack or eventer. Of course, there will be those horses that are treated badly when they are racehorses, but they are the exception not the rule. The racing industry has a code of practice and comes down on trainers and jockeys who do not treat their animals well.

I see plenty of horses that are treated far worse out in agistment paddocks. I see plenty of "pleasure" horses standing out in cold, windswept paddocks (or in the blazing sun) without shelter or a rug to keep them warm. I see plenty of "pleasure" horses that are kept in a pitiful state without sufficient nutrition or parasite control. I see plenty of "pleasure" horses being ridden by riders with no skill or technique who bounce around on their backs hurting the horses and doing permanent damage. I see plenty of horses being ridden by riders who are simply too heavy for the horse. I am yet to see any new report coming down on this sort of cruelty. I am yet to hear anybody say that we should ban the whole pleasure horse industry as a result. I would be satisfied if there was more regulation of it, and I am part of it.

The racing industry has made it possible for a person like me, who owns three retired, pleasure horses, to keep animals economically. I benefit from the number of farriers, equine veterinarians, horse dentists etc that there are around. If these professionals relied solely on the pleasure horse industry, it would cost me far more in $$$ each time I called them out to my nags. Also, I benefit from the research that goes into equine health, most of which would probably not happen if there wasn't a racing industry.

I agree that it is distressing to see racehorses injured on the track and being whipped to run fast. I would never, ever let anything like that happen to Twiggy, Ozzie and Bickie. But the horseracing industry is not all bad. JMHO.

Replies: (list all replies)

(Sam) No, it's not about a horse breaking down, it's about how so many horses - even winners - are sent to the slaughterhouse later in life, just tossed aside like garbage. I posted this before today's race.

Rose Bush I'm sure you were just as hurt and horrified as anyone if you saw the race. Maybe even more. I know you are right about pleasure and pet horses being neglected. All one has to do is watch Animal cops Houston a couple times to see what you describe. Its just not seen by thousands of people like the big races. //serialmom

Of course there are other horses that suffer. Too many animals in general suffer. That doesn't make it okay for the race industry to exist. I've had horses. My daughter was in pony club for years. I have family and friends in the racing industry. I don't care. If something is not right it's not right. Horse racing serves no USEFUL purpose other than entertainmentYes some horses go on to better lives but the majority don't. Most end up as dog food. A lot of stuff goes on at the track. Yes there are people who love horses but there are an awful lot who work there who see them only as property. And most of the people working at the track have addiction problems, there is a lot of drugs and booze. I wouldn't let my child work there, no way. - Pronoun

In the past, I have been to sale yards and seen horses herded in and sold off to the knackery. It is distressing and disturbing to see the poor, frightened creatures being treated this way. We are still in a severe drought and the price of stock feed has gone through the roof. Many horse owners (race horses and pleasure horses) can no longer afford to feed their horses so are selling them off to the knackers. To my mind, this is dispicable. They get only a couple of hundred dollars for the horses, who are transported hundreds of miles interstate for slaughter. On average, it is one month between being picked up and being slaughtered. Those poor horses must be terrified, bewildered. It would be far kinder to have the animal put down in its home paddock (where it will not be stressed) and either burying it or sending it off to the bone man. I should say, that this is never going to happen to my horses. The only reason I bought my property was so I could bury them with dignity when they die. This doesn't look like it is going to be happening any time soon since they are all in good health despite being 34, 27 and 20 years old. Sheeesssshhhh....I will be working until I am 132 years old to pay the mortagage! With regard to horse racing, I can only speak about the racing industry in Australia, which is very well regulated. If you truly believe that the racing industry in North America is such a cesspool, then you should lobby to have it cleaned up and regulated. The racing industry (thorobred, standard bred, sprint racing, steeple chasing etc) are never going to be stopped, so the best you can hope for is that animal welfare is improved. Sure, horse racing is entertainment that exploits the horse's natural instinct of sprinting, but it is better now than it was a century ago, or even 25 years ago. If you really want to see animal cruelty, then you should travel to Asia and have a gander at Harbin Tiger Zoo in China. There, tourists can purchase live goats, chickens or cows to be fed to packs of captive-bred tigers. The poor creature is torn to shreds by the tigers in front of the cheering tourists. This is a far worse example of human beings exploiting the natural instincts of animals for the purpose of entertainment. Why, oh why, was a China rewarded with the Olympic Games when its record on Human Rights and Animal Welfare is so wretchedly bad.....Rose Bush.....eom

WOW I never heard that about China before. But I wouldn't doubt it one bit. Yes why do we treat China so well when they are so horrid not just to animals but to people and yet we can't have normal relations with Cuba just 90 miles away from the USA eom CG

Bill Clinto wanted the trade with China to feather his cap, so he is the one that sanctioned most favored nation trading status, which by default accepted their human rights conditions as ok. Inside is a link to the transcript of the white house statement he made. MzChris

---

Posted by: serialmom
Date posted: Sat May 3 22:48:16 2008
Message:

Twenty 1000+ lb animals clustered together, each being whipped with a crop, made to run at breakneck speed and one falls down?   What a surprise?   Who would expect THAT to happen?

Oh well, on the positive side, she'll never have to be whipped into a frenzy again. 

I am being sarcastic because it makes me so angry.  Its such an ugly, ugly tradition.

 

---

Posted by: DebS
Date posted: Sat May 3 22:40:25 2008
Message:

I can't click on the link either. I don't have the heart to read/see/hear about animals being hurt/abused/killed. So I'll take your word for it.

I never watch horse racing anyway - and was never interested in watching it to begin with. The same goes for dog racing.

---

Posted by: rushlan
Date posted: Sat May 3 21:33:17 2008
Message:
I am just sick over Eight Belles being euthanized today.  What a horrible injury to happen to a horse.  I understand why it was done, but it's still heartbreaking. 

---

Posted by: Pronoun
Date posted: Sat May 3 21:06:27 2008
Message:

I'm not clicking either. But I am in total agreement. There is always some disaster at the track. The thoroughbreds have toothpick legs and are pushed to the limit and I hate it. Afterwards what do you think happens to those horses? A good many are sold for meat.  I'm also against rodeos. I don't know how people think it is entertaining to see a steer roped and slammed onto the ground, and the chuckwagon races are the worst.

It should not be believed that all things exist for the sake of man.  On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of something else. – Moses Maimonides (AD 1135-1204)

 

---

Posted by: Mrs. Betty Slocombe
Date posted: Sat May 3 20:08:59 2008
Message:
I don't think I have the stomach to click on your link, but if it makes you sick then I can safely say it will do the same to me.
I totally despise horse (or any other kind) of animal racing. It's just to help rich people get richer on the backs of poor animals and is downright cruel IMO. I resent anyone who thinks animals are here for our use and abuse, no matter what animal they are.

---

Posted by: Paige
Date posted: Sat May 3 18:53:43 2008
Message:
I saw this post and was going to respond the same as Claudia did just below, although I've never watched the races. But for many years, I lived only a few miles from the New Bolton Center, where Barbaro was sent to have surgery/recuperate following the Preakness. Unfortunately, he had to be euthanized in the end, not even four years old. I know there is a long-standing tradition and a huge deal is made of horse-racing (especially the Triple Crown), but I just don't believe the risk to the horses is worth it.

---

Posted by: Claudia
Date posted: Sat May 3 18:32:39 2008
Message:

I no long like horse racing and after a horse fell and broke both ankles and had to be euthanized immediately today its the end of my race watching

 

Replies: (list all replies)

(Sam) The last time I went, a horse had a heart attack and died right in front of the grandstand. I walked out. Never felt really comfortable being there in the first place so I was glad there was a catalyst to kick me over to the other side.

---

---