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 Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:29 am
If you've seen me posting things around the guild, you probably have realized that I love horses. I've been around them for years. I don't really hold much against horse competitions, provided the horse is treated well and doesn't hate what it's doing. However, I am adamantly against horse racing. The horse's owners often have little contact with the animal. The caretakers and jockeys who actually are around them have no say in important issues like selling it, since they don't own it. Many horses are pretty traumatized by the experience, expecting to be frantically run in circles every time someone gets on their back. Injuries from racing are common. In fact, looking at the statistics of the notorious steeplechase race The Grand National is disgusting. It features a 90-degree turn, grueling jumps and stretches of straight track, and horses killed from tripping over the deadly jumps are merely covered with a tarp so the others won't spook when they pass by again. There's even a medication that about half of racehorses are kept on to prevent blood from pooling in their lungs, a side effect of the strenuous running they endure. One in nine racehorses in the United States is sent to slaughter each year, many times only months after their last win (not that I think losing races is a reason to toss them aside). The horses sent to slaughter are not seriously ill and dying. In fact, slaughterhouses charge the horse's owner to kill such animals. Just because a living thing doesn't have a useful purpose to a human doesn't mean it should be given away. Buying or breeding an animal is taking in a new family member, in my opinion. You don't get rid of family members because they're a little inconvenient.
Why am I so opinionated? Personal experience.
His name's Copper Fox, my mother and my horse whom we love very, very dearly (ignore the copyright thing: I'm using the site on Neopets as well, and I don't want it stolen). He is an ex-racehorse/eventer. He also has lesions, small nitches, in the bone of one of his front legs. These are rubbed every time his fetlock moves, causing irritation and eventually arthritis. He should never have been raced or seriously competed with this condition, but he was. Most likely, he will die because that leg will eventually be too bad to stand on, and he will have to be put down. In fact, that's probably why the racers sold him, considering his paperwork was redone after his racing career (injury cover-up?). Racing left permanent mental and physical scars on him. His lower hind legs are covered in crescent-shaped scars as long as my hand. The veterinarian inspecting him before we bought him said the only thing he could think of that would cause that is tripping and being cut up by the metal starting gate. When horses panic in a starting gate, people standing over them often grab their ears to force them to calm down. Now, Foxy hates his ears being touched. Occasionally, he has "Flashback days," where he mentally seems to think that he's back at the races. He's nervous, jumpy and spooky, and riding causes him to go into a frenzied gallop until he simply can't run anymore. I'm not the only one this has happened to, either. Several years ago, an article by Horse Illustrated's editor told about the same experience with her then nine-year-old ex-racer. Foxy's terrified of being ridden outside fencing, as no one had given him experience in it earlier in life (except perhaps more frenzied running). In fact, he became so irritated by his leg and unhappy being ridden that we retired him. He has now been saddle-free for years. We don't even know how many racing owners he had before he was six, because they had the papers renewed. This probably means he either had too many owners to fit, or they were keeping something secret from future owners.
Generally, that sums up a good part of my opinion on the matter. The thought of racing isn't entirely a bad idea. Many horses, ours probably included, love the idea of racing others of their species. They're just competitive. However, horse racing has far too much wrong with it for me to support it, and it's too based on big money and business. Not all Thoroughbreds are born to be Cigars or Secretariats. I'd like to see other people's comments and reasoning behind it. Do not be afraid of me. biggrin
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:05 pm
I like the idea of racing itself, but you're right. The way things are going is cruel and unusual.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 3:58 pm
i like horse racing.....and im pretty sure that horses are taken good care of, especially if they are racing. Unfortunetly there are those few who are dumbass, but then again some horses are treated cruel regardless if they race or not. and i loosing my thought here....the slaughter is a new thing to me....i shall do some searching....and i gtg soo i shall continue this later
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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:33 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:37 pm
I like horseracing and I'm not that against it. But people are retards and they abuse the poor animal. Won't people ever learn??
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Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 9:29 pm
I love horses. I work with Lipizzans outside of Salem Oregon and a lot of my freinds have them. Unfortunately I don't have a horse yet but I am trying to earn one right now. After Highschool I actually plan to breed and train horses. I hate the conditions I often see some horses in. It's horrible. And this is one of the reasons I agree with you and horse racing.
If horses weren't treated so badly during (and after) their racing career then things would be better. Unfortunately many ownders don't care much about their horse as long as it can race and it wins. This is their problem. What many realize is that the risking their horses now ends their racing career even sooner.
I'm not sure if I'm making much sense here but I to sum it up I completely agree with you.
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:07 am
There was a horse race where this a** hole racer was pushing his horse way too hard! He ran it so hard, that it's leg broke. While it was still running the other leg broke. When the horse hit the ground it took down like 4 other horses with it. It was one of the most cruel things I have ever seen! It sucks becasue horses are born into it. They have no say in the matter. So I don't think it's fare that they are put into racing. But It also keeps them in shape. It's very unfortunate what happend to your horse im sorry.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:19 pm
As long as the animals are treated well and cared for properly, I see no problem with racing.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:07 am
its not fair if the horses are goign on a race if there not getting treat and taking care very well but if the horse is gettting treat and taking care very well its ok for a hrorse to race but the bad thing is f the horse got injured some racers doesn't care they'll just put a bandaged on the horses leg and thats all
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:42 pm
The problem I have with it is that, even if the horse outwardly looks healthy, that doens't say anyhting for teh mental issues or underlying physical ones.
Another example - I was informed recently by another horseperson of a painkilling method in horse racing. If a horse has a leg problem that is causing them pain, it is not an uncommon practice in racing to put carefully placed pins in the legs, killing some of the nerves to get rid of the pain. THen the horse can be raced again, until the problem repeats itself once more.
Like she said, "Pain is a sign that something's WRONG." Solve the problem instead of masking it or temporarily warding it off.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:43 pm
its botha cceptable and cruel the horses always get good excercise and are well taken care of. but they get whipped to go faster and are pushed to the limit. but they seem to get the very best care after all nobody wants a sick racing horse.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 4:31 pm
They technically get good care as far as good medicine, but they're usually put down or gotten rid of if a serious injury occurs. Barbaro was an exception - he was so in the limelight already that his owners tried to help him. I don't know what they would have done if he wasn't so famous at the time. Most racers who break a leg are put down immediately, without attempting to help them.
Racing also ravages the horses' bodies and brains, particularly their legs, something I see more and more as I meet other thoroughbreds that have been raced.
Addition - now that several new laws against horse slaughter have been passed, people with lots of horses, especially in racing horse-heavy states like Kentucky, are finding "alternate" ways to deal with the extra horses they can't auction off to slaughter now. The amounts of horses being let loose or litereally starved to death are increasing, as owners don't want to pay the $150 to put the animal down.
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