Why do race horses break bones so frequently?

Question

I've read and understand why it's considered more humane to euthanize seriously injured race horses, but I have a different question after hearing of Kentucky Derby's Eight Belles very tragic two broken ankles and her subsequently being put down....

WHY do race horses GET broken bones so frequently in the first place? Is it because they're started so young on the track and worked so hard? Are they raced even when they have injuries, medicated to get them through high-stakes races, pushed too hard, and then break their bones as a result? In other words, are they used for monetary gain even when the owners/handlers/trainers know the horse is too injured to run?

For example, Eight Belles is the second 3-year-old in three years to be euthanized after injuries in a Triple Crown Race. Barbaro, the 2006 Derby winner, suffered a shattered left front leg in the Preakness Stakes two weeks after winning here.

Please help me to understand why these injuries are so common to begin with.

Answer 1

They race/train them when their skeletal system is still growing, and cant handle the high intensity and speed at which they have to run.

Its also hard to spot injuries such as a hairline fracture, so yes they are often raced while they are injured. And sometimes even when the trainers are aware of an injury they still have to run...eg. War emblem ran the american triple crown while having an injury even tho the trainer was advised he needed surgery to repair him.

Yeah the reason they race/train them so soon, is to make money. The main reason for horse racing is money, not the animals welfare. Its a multi - million pound industry.

Answer 2

There are many reasons why racehorse bones are so susceptible to breaks:

*When running 40+ miles per hour, there will logically be much more force to cause damage if a horse is to misstep or twist its leg.

*The actual body structure of a horse is quite unique, and unfortunately delicate.  Their legs are so thin in comparison to the bulk of their body, that if a horse stumbles, the force of their weight on a body part that normally shouldn't have so much weight on it can cause a break or some other injury.

*Improper breeding/inbreeding can be a problem.  Native Dancer was a very successful sire in the racing world, and many of today's horses have their breeding traced back to him.  Unfortunately, with so many horses being related, even distantly, there is still a good probability of them passing on recessive genes that cause defects.  The more you breed horses with the same recessive genes, the higher the probability is that they will eventually start breeding horses with defects, most notably leg defects, or legs that are prone to injury (weakened bones).  Eight Bells' breeding traces back to both Native Dancer and Unbridled's Song.  Unbridled's Song ran with bar shoes in the 1996 Kentucky Derby due to foot issues, meaning that he probably passed on a foot/leg defect to Eight Bells, causing her legs to break quite easily.

*Horses start training after they are a year old, and start racing as early as two.  A horse does not reach full maturity until at least 4, probably 5 years old.  Racing over a mile puts a lot of strain on a horse's legs when it is still growing and developing into adulthood, and a horse whose bones are not fully developed or strengthened will be susceptible to bone stress and damage much easier than a horse that has reached maturity.

I don't find horse racing to be a barbaric event.  It is nowhere near as atrocious as something such as bullfighting, where a bull is stabbed multiple times by a group of people, and dies for the entertainment of the crowd.  NOBODY wants to see a horse get hurt or die.  However, I think the racing industry really needs to rethink their standards of horse care, and rather than putting most of their focus on adolescent horses, they should really save racing for after a horse reaches maturity.  Unfortunately, I doubt this will ever change, as it has been the "tradition" for 134 years.

Answer 3

bcuz they r constantly applying pressure to their legs, especially wen running with a small man on their backs, and never get to rest them

Answer 4

i was wondering the exact same thing, i think its because they are so young and their bones have not fully developed and are not as strong as they could be, combined with the soft dirt track and being pushed to the extreme. horse racing is a completely barbaric event, what are we living in rome?

Answer 5

Correct me, if I'm wrong, but these horses start carrying weight as long yearlings.  Racing a thoroughbred (or any horse) at 2 years old is too young.  Their legs (knees) are not fully closed, they are not mature.......  Racing is strenuous on their young legs.  I've always been a proponent of waiting until they are a good 3 years old before running them at all; however, in our "Sport of Kings" my personal opinion is that there is more concern about the $$$ than the over-all welfare of the breed.

Answer 6

because they are not natural....they have only been bred to run fast and not last.....if they dont win races they go to france for food!!

Answer 7

They are tested very hard in these races and as they say "a million dollar horse with 10 cent legs" The ankles are not all that strong in race horses. If you look at other breads of horses you will see they have thicker lower legs, Thoroughbreds don't have very much with regards to lower legs. They are pushed, like a person who runs in races they train they get the best medical care that can be given. The horses are tested for drugs like steroids and so on and if they have them in their system they are taken out of the race or are disqualified. I have seen how these horses live and many of them live better and even have better lives than many people do. What happened today that made this so different than many others is that it happened during the race, the horse won second place, it was a female which is rare in the Derby. Also she broke both her front ankles, that is like never heard of it is such a remote possibility. She gave her best I feel for her owners and trainer. They all lost a member of their family today.