Does anyone else cringe at the thought of the Kentucky Derby? I am a huge animal?

Question

lover and I have only been to one horse race but it seemed so much like the animals meant nothing to anyone-it was all about money. I know that most of the horses probably get treated good but sometimes I see horses that are so in shape it makes me wonder what all they go through while no one is watching. I also heard that after a race horse that is worth alot of money is no longer winning races he is sent to slaughter houses because he is considered no longer useful-this makes me so sad. I also noticed that at the horse races I went to-people seemed to be really rude and pushy and it just makes me wonder about the well being of these horses. anyone have the same opinion or a different opinion?

Answer 1

Like you, I am an animal lover.  As far as race horses are concerned, I can tell you this:  My grandfather owned a ranch in Ocala, FL and had a stable (12 stalls) which he leased to trainers.  These horses were catered to, the best of everything.  We would watch the trainers with the horses, all were very kind and caring toward the horses.  They were exercised regularly and were always given the time to rest and put to pasture when needed.  The stable and surrounding areas were pristeen, cleaned several times daily.  The horses received the absolute best of everything.  One of the stallions sustained a leg injury, they put him out to pasture and they bred him to several mares, in fact they let us breed him with our mare.  They never considered putting him down and he was treated like a king.  Guess a lot of it depends on the owner, but from my experience, they are pampered.  Thank goodness.

Answer 2

no, you're the only one...please don't ever vote.

Answer 3

You are fairly naive about how horse racing works.

You went to one race and have formed an opinion about the entire industry.  You found the people pushy and rude, but those are not people involved in day to day racing operations, those are gamblers and spectators.

About the horses.  I was around a small time track for years and I can tell you the trainers treated the horses better than the employees.  The horses don't perform well in less than top condition, so the trainers work to make sure the horses are well cared for.  

Of course the horses are in good shape!  Because people that have awesome bodies are in good shape do you think people are whipping them to get them to the gym?  Please....

Stallions that have completed their racing careers are typically used at stud if they were a success.  Mares are used as brood mares.  Geldings (altered male horses) are sold to other homes where they become jumpers, dressage horses or participate in a variety of other equine events.  

Before you form such a strong opinion, you need to have more exposure to the industry.

Answer 4

Your age old assessment gets constant attention, and is with merit.

On the one hand, very few people today view race horses as precious animals that would be similar to pets.  

A horse in competition is usually very fit, and if you compare it to people, well it goes without saying that those among us who are very fit get all the benefits going with that, while those among us who are not tend to be scorned.  

Same applies to thoroughbreds.

Nobody is too eager to keep a farmload of bad race horses (meaning those that refuse to be viable in competition, for many unknown reasons).

Nobody is eager to adopt old race horses, especially male horses that have been altered and have no value as a stallion.

The business of racing doesn't wish to talk much on what becomes of race horses, but the truth is (like you've mentioned), many get sold to slaughter houses to accomodate the demand (mostly in Europe) for horse meat.  

As a business, the animal is appraised for it's value in racing, and if that value drops, then the residual value is simply by the pound.  

A true horse lover would adopt a former racer and try to make it a pet.  However, not many make good pets since they have temperment problems.  

One thing needs to be mentioned here....

The breed of race horses is running out of good quality breeding stock, and not too many are the top performers of (say) thirty or forty years ago.  

There was a time when horses weren't as plentiful and those that competed also were good at learning to do tricks (remember the famous cowboy horses of vintage T.V.?).  The reason being, we are emerced in an assembly line world now, and nobody has the time to do anything like training a horse to do tricks (you'd be surprised how intelligent many of them are....John Henry (top grass race horse of thirty years ago was so smart that he only won by a nose and wouldn't exert himself in training...left it all for his races).

Good question, and one I love to delve in (as you can see).

Answer 5

Race Horses cost a lot of money. A good horse can make a lot of money. So it stands to reason to except the horses are treated very badly. We all know starving a horse is a good idea if you want a return on your investment. I don't know about horses sent slaughter houses. My dad was a race fan and were putting him in a old folks today. I'll ask him about slaughter houses.The people at the races are not rude and pushy. For the most part the fans are drunk. There is a big difference between rude and drunk. The next time you go to the races give me a call. I met you there, get you drunk and you'll have a great time.

Answer 6

Go cry in a bucket.  The horses like to run, and that's what they do. They are bred to run.   I don't think someone who spent tons of money of a horse would send it to a slaughterhouse when he quits winning.  After a horse retires, he is usually put out to stud, and people pay big bucks for his offspring.  You have to go to more than one race to get the full experience.  My dad and uncle used to be jockeys, and my uncle went on to be a trainer, so I've been around racing my whole life.  Drugs are now illegal, so the horses are just in really good shape.  Go to your PETA website and complain there.