Does PETA protest horse races? Is it considered cruel to breed the horses for this purpose?

Question

With what occurred with Eight Belles, Barbaro, and others, is it correct to assume that the horses would not have been fatally injured if they were not race horses? I have heard of protest of bull fighting but have not heard of it for horse racing.

Answer 1

I'm not quite sure how to understand your question.  "is it correct to assume that the horses would not have been fatally injured if they were not race horses?"  ...  Yes, if we didn't breed racehorses, then we wouldn't have racehorses and there wouldn't be a Barbaro or Eight Belles so they wouldn't have been injured.

Lets get one thing out of the way since I can answer it quickly... PETA did protest horse racing today... at Kentucky Horse Park.  You'd think they'd be smart enough to protest at a racetrack... there is no horse racing going on at Kentucky Horse Park... I really don't understand what they were thinking, but I've never found PETA to be very rational people.

Anyway... about the breeding...

All horses get hurt.  It's not just thoroughbreds.  And thoroughbreds aren't the only type of horses that race.  Quarter horses and arabians race and I'm sure they break down in races too.  All types of horses are used in horse shows for things like barrel racing and show jumping and horses get hurt pretty often doing those activities.  More horses were seriously injured at Rolex (a horse show at Kentucky Horse park) this year than at Churchill Downs on Derby weekend.  It's entirely possible that had Eight Belles and Barbaro been show horses, they could have been injured in a show jumping competition just as easily as they were injured on the racetrack.

Most thoroughbreds are bred just fine and are healthy throughout their careers.  However, I do think we're breeding incorrectly these days.  The Kentucky Derby used to be run in about 2:07 and now it's commonly run in 2:00... and the racing surface hasn't changed.  It's just that we're making our horses faster.  I think in doing so, we are making our horses weaker.  I seriously think that we need a massive overhaul of our breeding system... I think we ought to have requirements about which horses are allowed to breed... I think they shouldn't be allowed to breed if they suffer more than one serious injuries... I think that if a horse produces a certain percent of progeny that go on to have serious injuries, that horse shouldn't be allowed to breed anymore.  

The industry is taking a good hard look at ourselves at the moment.  The chairman guy of the national thoroughbred racing association (NTRA) asked for suggestions on what we need to do to make our horses safer... since asking for suggestions 2 days ago, almost 300 people have already responded with their concerns... some of them have really good ideas.

We don't want the horses to get hurt.  We aren't trying to be cruel.  We are trying to make the sport safer for everyone involved.

Answer 2

Those horses would not have EXISTED if they were not racehorses. Just like any specialized product, they only do one thing well, and that is run. To find what real horses are for, check out quarter horses or Arabs. Clydesdales are real horses too, and they don't break so easily.

Answer 3

"PETA protest: LEXINGTON, Ky. -- About 20 animal-rights protesters waved signs outside the offices of the state's horse racing regulators Tuesday in response to the death of filly Eight Belles after the Kentucky Derby."

--Associated Press,  posted on ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/t...

So, Yes, PETA protests horse racing.   As to whether it is considered cruel to breed them for this purpose, you can only get people's opinions.  Just note that the horse owners go to extreme lengths to protect those horses and care for them, especially because they are a big investment that they want to protect. They definitely do NOT want them injured or hurt in any way.

Answer 4

I bet they were protesting at the Kentucky Horse Park because the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event was held there recently.  Apparently dressage, cross country jumping, and show jumping are abusive towards horses.

Any horse can be fatally injured.  My sister's mare had to be euthanized after getting kicked in the shoulder by another horse.  A fatal injury to a horse that was never a racehorse.

Years ago, my mom sold a two year old filly, and the new owners had just gotten her home and were unloading her from the trailer when she reared and broke her leg on the trailer partition.  A fatal injury to a horse that was not a racehorse.

So no, it's not correct to assume that a horse won't get fatally injured if it never becomes a racehorse.  Of all the races at Churchill Downs last Saturday, Eight Belles was the only horse to suffer a fatal injury.  What happened to her is a risk every owner and trainer takes when they enter their horses in races.

PETA just wants attention.  Don't give it to them.

Answer 5

PETA has been on horse racing for some time now- just check their website. They dont just want changes, they want it to end. Oh and they want you to not have companion animals either- not that they would take them in, considering they only adopt out about 3% of animals out of their shelter (and kill the rest- far higher percentage than the amt of horses killed in racing!) its one of the lowest adoption rates in the country! Most are well over 50%.

I think PETA protests everything now. They are just a bunch of uneducated people who think that they have the right to tell others what they can and cannot do with their animals.

and I didn't get protesting at the Kentucky Horse Park either... don't they know that thats not a racetrack??

Answer 6

Yes PETA thinks horse races are cruel because on an average, 2 horses break down per day. They consider it cruel because breeders are overbreeding so meticulously so that the final product will be a champion with very thin legs, a strong, tall body, and just the right attitude.

Chances are, the horse wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for the reason of being a future race horse.

Answer 7

PETA considering you having a pet cruel...they are scum.

Answer 8

Oh trust me take it from someone from KY and involved with horsed PETA has been all over the horse races here! I remember a protest, small one, not to long ago and even just the day before yesterday i believe. I don't understand it though. I work on a horse farm and these animals are not treated badly or abused! We treat them like royalty pretty much and we love them. Horse racing is our culture here in KY. Yes there are going to be injury's or even death in racing but that's the same for human sports like football, baseball etc.

Answer 9

Sad that the horses had to die, and Yes racing is an inhumane sport for profit.

Animals are not put on earth for us to abuse and make their lives miserable. Animals are here to enjoy.

Answer 10

now they do!!!

Answer 11

PETA protests everything.

Answer 12

What happened to Eight Belles was truly a freak thing; horses do sometimes get injured pulling up from a race, and certainly horses are injured during races, but to be injured that catastrophically after a race is over is very unusual.  

Yes, racehorses get injured.  So do human athletes.  The difference is that people with leg problems can survive and use a wheelchair, horses can't.  If one injured leg cannot be healed in a relatively short time, the other three will start to develop problems due to the unnatural stress on them.  You can't really keep a horse in a sling 24/7, they have to put some weight on their legs from time to time or they develop problems with other body systems.  

Two legs badly injured simultaneously is almost always fatal.

No, they were not doomed to injury due to racing. I know of horses who have broken their legs playing in a pasture, accidentally stepping in a small hole or just landing a foot on a rock at a bad angle.  I know of horses who have broken their legs kicking at the wall of their stall.  If there is one protruding nail in a stall or paddock the horse is sure to find it, usually with a sensitive part of their body and at the worst possible time!  Horses have an uncanny ability to hurt themselves.  

Yes, the PETA types do protest.  Some groups go so far as to oppose all forms of domestication of all animals.

Answer 13

PeTA protests where they can get coverage from the media. That's it. MANY more horses die in pastures and stalls than racing but no one's saying "gosh let's ban turning horses out in the field!"

They say they want mandated polytracks - well guess what. There are STILL breakdowns that happen on polytracks. I guess they missed that news flash...there wasn't a word one said about that breakdown or about Chelokee. But there were two breakdowns at Keeneland last summer, both televised. One horse lived after surgery - the other had catastrophic injury and had to be put down.

One of the worst wrecks I've seen happened in a pasture. Two horses injured, another put down, one mentally messed up. I've heard of accidents where a loose horse runs into a wire stabalizing a utility pole...being impaled on fence posts trying to jump out of a pen....breaking legs in the field. Those aren't seen so therefore don't happen.

For those saying TBs only race - not true. There's far more being used as polo ponies, hunters, jumpers, lesson horses etc etc etc than racing. There's many used to produce those quarter horses and paints so those holding those breeds up higher - reality check they get injured and die too. There's far more unregistered quarter horses formerly found in the killer pens than TBs. No papers, no training (or bad training). I've seen far more unruly, nasty quarter horses than any other breed. ALL breeds have good and bad.

Answer 14

Of course they do. They are too careless to bother to do research.

Here are a few things you didn't know;

Referring to two year olds, recent studies found that properly conditioning them makes stronger horses in the long run. But if you start hard work at three then you miss the bus and it becomes bad for the horse.

"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."

Peta wants a "softer" turf? Are you kidding me? Have you tried to run in deep sand? Anything with less give? A horses hooves, bones, cartlidges, ligaments rely on solid structure beneath it. Softer turf will be a disaster.

Eight Belles CROSSED the finish line before she was injured, the jockey did nothing wrong. They must use whips because they're stirrups are hiked up, the whips are fat and cover more surface area-used on the horses thicker hides they don't hurt. A longer thinner dressage whip is used in a "tickling" motion to cue a horse to move over or go forward when your riding.

As for showjumping horses, there are far more rider injuries than horses due to the removeable poles on the  fences. Great concern is taken about the horse's long term health, I spend a small fortune on joint and tendon supplements for preventative measures-as do most.

I could also say the majority of thoroughbreds I know are teaching people how to jump and  are now 15-29 years old now and living the high life.

BTW all, I thought I'd tell you, colic is still the number one killer of horses, this is followed by founder. No. Those do not involve a horse being run to death, although I'm pretty sure a horse slipping and falling in the pasture or getting kicked by another horse is pretty high up there.

Answer 15

PETA is only protesting this because it's the story of the moment and they want donation money from people upset about what happened to Eight Belles. If this had not happened, PETA wouldn't care.

I don't personally think it's cruel, what they do. Of course, I'm not saying there are people who AREN'T cruel to their horses - but the big name stables usually treat their horses like royalty. Specialized breeding isn't the problem in my opinion. However, if they focused a little more on the soundness of their horses, rather than just racing records, I think many things would improve.

Answer 16

No, these Horses well, breed for these and well taken care of! I had a Quarter Horse  that friend of had bucked down a ditch, and broke both front knee cabs, I had to but  her  down right, then  to hear a big aniaml   like a horse in pain, belive me its  something dont ever what  to  here!   What did for Belle was right , this filly  was hurting!

Answer 17

I don't think it's correct to assume that, no. These horses are held in very high regard. From birth until death in most cases, the conditions they are raised far exceed most human athletes. In fact, their stalls are often double the size of a nice studio apartment. ;)

To get specific and use the Derby as an example, in 134 years there have been relatively little accidents. For the sake of argument, compare it to greyhound racing. Those dogs are bred by the dozens, live in deplorable conditions, and if they don't perform well or race past their prime, many are either shot, abused, or tossed to the local humane society. I live close to a greyhound racing track and the local human societies are FILLED with these dogs. Horse racing is not nearly the same.

Answer 18

I'm pretty sure peta protests EVERYTHING now.

I'm waiting for them to realize that the farms their vegetables are grown on disrupted some animal in some way, and possibly killed it. That should throw them into some sort of logic tail spin.

They wouldn't have been born if horse racing didn't exist. Thoroughbreds have been bred for horse racing for hundreds of years now, and the problem is that not enough attention is being put towards breeding a stronger, more durable breed. The horses do race young, but you look back at horses in the 20's and 30's. They raced just as young, raced more frequently, and lasted longer. I do believe the breed is getting more fragile.

Of course, the necropsy isn't back yet on Eight Belles, but it could have been some sort of freak physical defect unrelated to the breeding practices.

Breakdowns occur, more frequently than is on the news. Everyone has an uproar when it happens at a major race, but no one pays attention when someones little claimer snaps a leg at some dirt track. Go for wand was very public, as was Ruffian. Ask anyone who saw either of those occur, or even Barbaro's injury, and Eight Belles, and even Charismatic's breakdown if they can name one that wasn't on TV and they most likely can't. Black Gold broke down. Most people haven't even heard of him.

Peta seems to throw more of a fit when it can benefit them. Why throw a fit about some no-name colt on a dirt track and keep the fight up all year round, when they can just wait until another big name breaks down. Hippy versions of ambulance chasers is all they are.

EDIT: BLW. Horses do have that amazing ability to injure themselves. My mare broke into the tack room, completely ransacked the place and then, from what we can assume, somehow grew hands and tied her chain lead around her hind leg.  I heard her making the 'I'm so pathetic' nicker from inside the house, went out and found her with the chain part of the lead TIED around her hind leg, and the other part of it tangled in the BRANCHES of a small pine tree. When she saw me walking over she just put her head down with that 'Yeah, I'm a moron' look. She also tripped over things to the point we had her shod with plantation shoes on her hind end, because she drug them and tripped, constantly.

Amazing animals really, but sometimes they're just not bright, at all.

Answer 19

I know that PETA is calling for changes to be made in horse racing.