Horse Racing- The dark side

[Brodie]

So basically me and Luke are working at the races at the moment, i absolutely hate it, but it's such good money that we really really need at the moment.
We are deeply saddened by what we witnessed yesterday.
I'm not sure how many of you actually have me on facebook, but my status about yesterdays events started a huge debate, about weather horses are happy racing. I say no. As did Tabitha and many other horse lovers. Only one person thought that some horses may love what they do. I disagree.

Yesterday during the 2013 Emirates Melbourne Cup, a horse fell, broke her leg, and a sheet was put up to cover her, wile they shot her right there on the field.
Don't get me wrong, i know this had to be done, and i now know there is no way to remove the horse from the field to have this done, But at the same time- DON'T RACE HORSES IF THIS IS THE RESULT!
It just makes me so mad, i'm still upset and shocked about it. People are animals, greedy money loving animals. The animals are more loving and caring then the majority of us.
The thing that got me the most, was that after the race had finished, and people had come first, second, third, and won some money, no one even cared about the poor horse anymore. It's terrible. People suck. Everyone at those stupid races suck.
Tab explained to me a lot about how horses that don't break their legs suffer in many other ways as results of racing, weather it be an injury; muscular, straining or a broken leg, or even just mentally drained, regardless this is NOT good enough. And i really wish more people would realize this.
I have never been to the horse racing before, i don't take bets on horses, for all these reasons, and after actually witnessing it with my own eyes, i hate it even more, i cant stand the sight of that stupid track anymore.

 

[Betrisher]

Yep! Couldn't agree with you more, Brodie! Did Tab also explain to you that these horses start training while they're still effectively toddlers and the reason they often suffer broken bones and other irreparable damage is that they're putting all that strain (ie. half a tonne landing on four tiny hooves at each step) on immature skeletons. It's a hateful, hateful thing and, in my eyes, no better than bull-fighting. But it brings in lots of revenue, so you can bet it won't be stopped any time soon.

I remember the Melbourne Cup of 1993 where Three Crowns ran the last furlong on both broken forefeet. The jockey kept whipping and whipping and so the horse kept running despite the pain. All for filthy money.

 

[Brodie]

Yeah she did explain it, she also told me about a video, how they cut open a dead racing horse, touched its bone softly and it literally shattered because of the tiny amount of pressure, it was strained so much, Its terrible, makes me so sad and sick to the stomach.

 

[Jewelz]

The treatment of horses in sports is not great....look at the Calgary Stampede...even though many will believe equestrian Olympic level jumping & dressage horses are treated better in may ways they are not.... I used to love riding but I will not watch competitive equestrian events......

 

[Rizosmom]

That's just horrible ...I don't know a lot about horses but can't they fix a broken leg did they really have to kill it?

 

[Brodie]

Horses always stand, its impossible to fix a horses broken leg. no casts no nothing, it actually dose have to be put down. its really sad, but it is better for the horse, its just the fact that if i wasnt for the racing this wouldnt have had to happen in the first place.

 

[Thatdude596]

I edited my post. Please do yourself a favor and educate yourself on horses. Thanks

 

[Betrisher]

I do beg your pardon, as I don't want to be argumentative, but we're talking about a 'sport' that has percentage rates of death and mutilation as a direct result of its existence.

Horses are not finished growing until they are four or five years old. Their skeletons are at direct risk from impact injuries. Their hearts are at direct risk of enlargement in the short term because of the huge amount of blood required to fuel those massive bum muscles. Their hooves split and splay as a direct result of running on hard ground and they suffer untold hard and soft tissue injuries as a direct result of being required to race before their bodies are strong enough to do it. I have this information from a number of equine vets, all of whom dislike the practices of flat and jump racing for the above reasons.

Yes, every horse relishes running! Of course they do! They especially relish it when they're stabled 24/7 and so bored they develop vices like windsucking, weaving and cribbing. In fact, you could say the Thoroughbred horse is very like a large cockatoo: highly intelligent and subject to neurotic behaviour in the face of poor quality of life. Just because a human perceives that racehorses live a 'life of luxury' doesn't necessarily mean it's the best possible life for the horse. It just means the humans are spending many $$$ to maximise the horse's potential to earn many more $$$. I'd like you to show me the 'life of luxury' the failed or broken-down horses live. I've purchased a few of those in my life and know exactly how valued they were.

I could write an additional essay about horses being used in rodeos (disgusting), but I won't. The whole point is that animals ought not to endure pain so that we can profit from them. I believe a happy medium could be achieved, but the racing industry would collapse if strict animal welfare controls were policed. And we couldn't have that! We'd lose those precious $$$!

 

[tab_xo]

Oh gosh, i had this huge discussion last night on Brodies facebook status hahaha


60-70% of race horses have injuries after racing... Then only 5-10% are sound enough to be ridden by an average rider, or dont have major problems like windsucking, crib biting, weaving...


Like Trish said, horses are not finished growing until 4-5... And your heavy horses such as shires and clydesdale can continue growing until they are 8 years old!!!!


Race horses are racing at 2 years old, and have shoes on their hooves BEFORE then, which means their hooves are no where near developed, their frogs have grown no protection, which is one of the major problems..


No horse would enjoy being a racehorse... Yes horses like to run, but not being whipped and put all that strain on their poor bodies..

Like Brodie said, there is a documentary where they put the dead racehorses leg at the pressure it would when it was racing, and they barely touched it, and the bone just exploded... Which is why when a horse is racing, if their back hoof hits the back of their front leg... Bam... Major injuries..


I have an ex race horse.. WHO ONLY DID 8 RACES!!!!!!!!

Only 8... and his bones were actually eaten away on the inside from the infections in his hooves, because the racing industry just chucked shoes on him and made him race..

Now he is basically learning to walk and get circulation back into his hooves so they can grow...


Racing is disgusting, but it will never end because of all the money it makes..

No one cares about the horses.. The owners just buy them, breed them, and pay people to do all the work for them..




Horses DO like to be ridden, if you have a bond with your horse, and you make it fun and something they can enjoy...
My ex-race horse would run his heart out just to please me, but all those race horses aren't trying to please their owners.. Because they dont have a bond with them, and they are not enjoying it...

Read the body language of racehorses, they are not happy... They usually are always prancing, rearing, kicking out, ears back.... Mostly because of the insane amounts of high energy food they are fed, so they are just sooo hyped up


I have a clydesdale cross, and he is rising 3 years old, and i wont be jumping him until he is about 5-6..
You can actually get xrays on their legs to see if the bones have fused together yet, so you can see if they are ready for work!




And Jewelz, that is correct, and incorrect at the same time hahah There are alot of high performance horses who are very very well loved, and their owners are their riders, and they are a great team..

But then you see some OLYMPIC!!!!! riders, who treat their horses terribly... It is cruel to see how some people train their horses to carry their head..

I actually saw a news piece today on a german olympic dressage rider, who is banned for 6 months, i cant remember why, i think it was because she was riding her horse when he had some sickness in his belly, or injury...

 

[tab_xo]

and also, we KNOW that horses get injured racing... They die, they get injured..

So out of the 130 horses that raced yesterday, 1 died, and another one has came up lame...

Thats 2 out of 130.....

If you put that about humans, every one would think it was absolutely terrible...


I dont care about the jockeys who ride and get injured, it is their choice, they are the ones who are encouraging it, but the poor horses have absolutely no choice, they are basically being forced to die..



Think of the thousands of race horses... Who only run a few races.... Then they are sent to the meat works because they didnt run fast enough...

Is it 40 000 race horses are sent to the doggers each year?

Some are only 2 years old... Tell me how that is a fair life for the poor things.. Just because humans are greedy...

 

[Jewelz]

I worked for a member of the Canadian Olympic Equestrian team one summer and lets just say I don`t involve myself in the sport any more....Grandprix & up caliber horses tend to (not saying all) be nothing but a means to earn a paycheque...it if the horse is sore & therefore can not compete many are doctored up to look sound so the pay cheque can come in... it`s a complicated industry & you have to have been in to to understand it

 

[tab_xo]

That is not the cases for all olympic riders though..

I know an olympic 3 day eventer, and he is incredible, and truly loves his horses, which is why he is so great, because he works with his horses and has a connection with them, and he cares for them..

Maybe Australia isnt as bad as other places when it comes to high level competing, most of the cruel riders are in germany and europe..


I read alot and alot, and there are alot of high level riders that care more about their horses than a pay cheque



But still, the point is that yes high performance horses may still not be treated that great some times, but they arent being forced to do something that can kill them...

and when a horse isn't that high a level anymore, it is still sold for alot of money to be a normal riding horse..

Where as race horses are sold for 200 dollars, or sent to the meat works..

You dont see dressage horses being sent to the meat works haha

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Personally I think many horses DO enjoy racing, but is it good for them? NO!

This is a awesome documentary called "Inside Nature's Giants", in one part they explain how certain horses have been breed for only one trait. Because of that they are more likely to become injured.

[ame="http://youtu.be/QsvS6gEBJuE"]Inside Nature´s Giants -- Racehorse. - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Betrisher]

I agree with Jewelz, sadly. As soon as you get into top echelon eventing/dressage, the ante is upped considerably as the decimal point moves sharply to the right in terms of winnings and cost of mounts. Even grooms are trained to administer bute (phenylbutazone) for bone-sore and muscle-sore ailments that *ought* to see horses vetted out of competition. Have you read Jilly Cooper's 'Riders'? That gives a pretty inside account of how things go on. (NB. I believe that book is the outstanding piece of English literature to have been printed in the 20th Century. So there.)

Of course, Australian eventing is nowhere near the big business it has become in Europe and the US, but we're on our way. Back in 1960 when Bill Roycroft and Neale Lavis won team gold they were riding their own horses. Matt Ryan rode someone else's horse (Kibah Tic Toc) to win gold in Barcelona 1992. My point is, just because *we* love and care for our horses, doesn't mean everyone observes the same ethics when $$$ are at stake.

In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching a horse to do dressage and to jump effectively. All of those movements can be seen in nature and anyone who's ever seen yearling colts playing and boxing in the paddock will have seen them perform levade, croupade and even cabriole at some point. ROTFL! And anyone who's ever owned a difficult-to-catch horse will know well what passage looks like as they trot disdainfully away with tail in the air! LOLOLOL! What *is* wrong, though, is pushing a horse past its limits, competing at too frenetic a schedule and overfacing a horse that's not ready. As with flat racing, trained dressage horses love doing it - but not when they're in pain from a strained back or pinched sciatic nerve.

I suppose, in the end, it's up to us humans to make sure cruelty is never part of what we call 'sport'.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I edited my post. Please do yourself a favor and educate yourself on horses. Thanks

Perhaps it's a good thing I didn't see what you wrote initially, but what exactly is THAT supposed to mean?

It's pretty much a no brainer that WAY too many horses are lost (die) due to racing accidents or severe injuries.

 

[Jewelz]

Well said Betrisher..... Honestly I think a great example of what you are talking about is what happened to Hickstead in Italy.....what a shame.....

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here is a fantastic link about my all time favorite dressage horse, Totilas.

Totilas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ever since he was sold to Paul Schockemoehle, Totilas has gone downhill.

He was phenomenal under Edward Gal, his former Dutch rider.

There is a LOT of controversy among folks whether this horse was abused under the new German rider. Feel free to google him under his new ownership, and pay close attention to his tongue AND the angulation of the double bit.

Here is a video of him under Edward Gal:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTjVepyNLuM"]Totilas & Edward Gal WEG Grand Prix Freestyle - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Abigal7]

I have to agree with everyone about how horse racing is cruel. The horse running itself is not what is cruel. It is pushing them till they are hurt and injured. I doubt a horse would like to run etc when they are in pain. A horse is a herd animal that is use to big open space. It is not surprising that these stalled horses take up the destructive behaviors mentioned. I think grey hounds like to run more then horses (because to them it is the thrill of chasing prey). I know some people adopt greyhounds but it would be interesting to debate which industry is more cruel.