Do Horses "love" to race?

Question

Any majestic four legged beasts that we could ask and see if they like to race?

Answer 1

while we cannot ask horses if they love to race there is one reason that i believe that they do.  i have ridden an shown horses for several years, and why that is not as strenous as racing it taught me that the horse will always win.  horses weigh around 1000 lbs, much bigger than the 100lbs jockyes that ride them, if they did not want to run they would not.  any horse i rode did what i asked of him because we were a team and if for some reason he did not want to then he would not do it. if any race horse did not want to run they would not, they are just like any human runner they do what they do because they want to

Answer 2

A New York bred in the late 1990s named Gander bobbled at the start of the race and threw his jockey.  He ran the race himself.  He was behind horses at the first turn because he got a slow start since he bobbled at the break.  He made the lead on the backstretch.  He opened up his lead in the stretch and finished first by about two lengths.  He then galloped out another eighth of a mile before turning himself in to the outrider and trying to go to the winners circle.  Does that sound like a horse who doesn't love to race?

Cigar and Da Hoss are stalled right next to each other at the Kentucky horse park.  Their paddocks are separated only by a fence.  They routinely get into racing matches... one starts running and the other goes tearing after him and they storm back and forth side by side at the fence rail.

Some horses don't love to run... and they won't.  There's thousands of thoroughbreds who are born each year who never win a race because they're just not interested in racing.  Those horses will be sold to ordinary horse owners like me... we teach them to walk trot and canter under saddle and jump or trail ride or whatever... we use them for show horses and they're perfectly happy.  We use them as lesson horses to teach kids to ride.  Racing is not the only thing that a horse can do.  The ones who are stakes caliber horses wouldn't be there if they didn't love to run.

Ya know, I just glanced at the Peta sheet and (1) what's so bad about shipping your horses to different tracks?  No track is open all year long so you'll have to ship somewhere at some point.  I ship my horse to horse shows... am I a bad horse owner?  (2) The list of drugs... they use the long names for the drugs for a reason... to make them sound worse.  It's because if they called the drug by its common name ("bute") and told you what it is in human terms ("aspirin"), you wouldn't be nearly as upset about it.  Do you take an aspirin once in a while?  Are you cruel to yourself in doing so?

It's remarkable how many people are coming here crying out for Peta's help.  Would you same people agree with throwing red paint on ladies' fur coats?  Would you agree with campaigning to stop people from eating meat and from wearing leather and from drinking milk?  I'm a vegetarian and I'm pretty liberal in the area, but Peta are extremists.  If you studied up on them, I don't think you'd be so quick to cite their sources.

Answer 3

Ask the Derby winner Big Brown, or the Horse of the Year Curlin. Both look pretty perky and happy after every win (Curlin had some fun on the red carpet today as well).

Also, that PETA site looks very biased and very dubiously cited. Most of the works seem inherently biased and a good half of them are not going to be found. PETA always seems to have an inherent bias in order to promote their part of the story (yes, they are a special interest group of sorts, and yes, a lot of them are wacky, crazy people, though they have some good intentions).

Basketball: I could cite lunatics all I want and they'd be correct citations. Whether or not they're accurate is debatable. They look very dubious in this circumstance.

Answer 4

Ya know, for your information, many horses DO love to race.

So stop dissing horse racing! It's a great part of Americana and we will never stop the sport.

Answer 5

I believe that horses love to race as long as they are give proper care and are not pushed to death. I know I know some of you are saying duh that’s what we said but think this. how many of you watch horse races other than the Kentucky derby or the big publicized races. you watch the small races the horses are not pushed as hard. you say they are forced to do this, well its for the huge prize and if they knew what they (the horses) knew what they were gunning for they would probable be doing the same thing as they are know. running hard. i have seen people run them selves to sever injury and collapse just to win. people i know have done it. watch the Olympics this summer and focus on the long distance runners and tell me if they look like they are going to collapse. i have also seen people get muscle injuries from running.

Answer 6

Stop with your propaganda.

It started with the Arabian.  It is in their heart and soul.  If they did not run, it would be suffering for them, they need it like they need water.

Go visit Kentucky horse country, I dare you.  Spend time there and then say they don't love to run or that they are not most beloved by the people that own and work with them.

Speak not what you do not know.

Answer 7

Have you ever seen wild horses race? I have watched a bit of video of wild horses and I have seen them play, fight, and run around, but never once saw them race.

Answer 8

I've heard they love running.  I'm sure they don't like to be bred for speed, instead of durability.  I'm sure they don't like to be pumped full of hormones so they go faster.  I'm sure that if they knew they were too young to race because their bones haven't become fully developed, they'd call shenanigans!

Answer 9

Horses love to run.

They do not love to be whipped and forced to race each other around a man-made track.

Answer 10

My grandmother owned a Morgan mare that didn't like to be passed, and often found herself street racing whether she wanted to or not.