Why do show horse people think they know what's best for race horses?

Question

I love some of the comments I hear on this site and also at the farm I send my babies to get started at, which also has some show horses boarded there. If these people knew the first thing about the industry maybe I'd care what they say. I don't tell them how to jump a horse, don't tell me how to win a race and how horses should be managed. But I think it's funny, so lets hear some good ones.

Answer 1

Good for you, you have a point. But they are just trying to help. Go easy on em. lol

Answer 2

I don't like to generalize, and I don't think all show horse people are critical of the racing industry.  I showed in hunter shows for a while, but racing is and always has been my passion.

If there is one generalization that I think is valid, it is that people who truly love horses and who think of each horse as a precious individual with a personality are distressed when they encounter attitudes that put horses at the level of commodities.  The truth is that there are people who show horses who put horses at this level, as well as people in racing who do.

In the hunter show world, I encountered people who would pawn off navicular horses that had been nerved on ignorant novices, people who brokered horses for a living and only cared about making a commission or a profit, people who perceived horses as toys or status symbols to be taken up or put down as their interest waxed or waned, and people who saw horses as tools.  I saw abuses that were deliberate, abuses that were from ignorance, abuses that were negligent.  And I saw the hunter show "insiders" and officials who were pretty much indifferent to anything but the most egregious kinds of abuse.  

I've also observed some of the same sorts of things in the Arab show industry.  I have to say this-- some of the people who have capitalized on the mania for Arabian horses in the 70's and 80's would give some of the worst crooks on Wall Street a run for their money.  These are people who saw a way to get rich by exploiting other people and had no qualms in doing so.  These are also people who had no qualms about doing things with show horses that were outright abusive-- some of the uses of whips and ginger and other means to obtain the "animated" look that was the craze in Arabs, even cosmetic surgery on ears and eyelids and so forth.  People who bred horses with wonderful huge eyes and "most classic" heads and necks, and legs that were completely unsound and temperaments that verged on crazy.  Oh, yeah, and who wanted to hush up the issue of combined immunodeficiency disease in the breed-- people who would threaten lawsuits if anyone publicly said that their prized stallion was a carrier of this genetic lethal.

...Which is very similar to the way the Quarter Horse show industry tried to handle HYPP when it came out that the Quarter Horse sire Impressive, who was like the Northern Dancer of the halter show horse branch of the Quarter Horse breed, was the carrier of this genetic dominant metabolic disease.  Hush it up, sweep it under the rug, don't talk about it, because trying to do something about it would harm people's finances.  Horse after horse born with a metabolic malfunction that affected their usefulness and value.

And let's not even get started on the subject of Tennessee Walkers and soring, which is STILL a problem almost 20 years after USDA regulation was implemented to stop it!

The truth is that every branch of the horse industry has its exploiters, crooks and abusers, and people who are indifferent to anything but the financial bottom line of the business.  The truth is also that each one of us who is involved in any way with horses is responsible for our own ethics and dealings.  

I love racing with a passion, and I think that the Thoroughbred racehorse is the finest expression of athleticism in the equine world.  But I'm also savvy to the fact that raising and racing Thoroughbreds is a business where there is no such thing as a free lunch for anyone-- including the horses that have no choice in their participation in racing.  

I'd like to see some things cleaned up about racing:  a ban on use of steroids (America is the only major racing venue in the world where use of steroids on racehorses isn't banned).  A ban on a lot of the medications that are legal for racing now.  Polytrack installed at every racetrack in America to help reduce the number of catastrophic breakdowns on the track.  The number of racing days reduced to allow horses to get a break.  And part of the money racing gets from wagering to be set aside to be used to fund programs that keep retired or unsuccessful racehorses or culled breeding stock out of the kill pens.

I think all parts of the horse industry could do a better job with horses and everyone should work on "cleaning their own house."

Answer 3

it`s human nature, people alwazs think they have something to offer.  I for instance am a western horse rider who uses horses and mules to access spectacular views in the backcountry and wilderness and think jumping and showing is a waste of time.

Answer 4

You used the word "industry".  When you pair the words "horse" and "industry" the first word associations I come up with are "slaughter" and "racing".

Show people have opinions. Considering that they often salvage the "chaff" that falls from this industry, not to mention the slaughter industry, I think they have a right to their 2 cents worth.

And you have the right to be thick, if you want to.

You could enlighten us on your methods, if you like - but then you might have to endure public scrutiny and judgment regarding your methods.

Another word association?

"Racetrack", and "Rescue".

Answer 5

Okay, this isn't really a question but they are just trying to help. I'm only 13 and have had horse half of my life and am a very big race horse girl that loves horses and is big in the Triple Crown races. I don't know A LOT in horse racing and I try my best to answer questions on here. So it's not that people are acting like they know everything, they're just giving all that they know to help what you don't know.

--melissa--

Answer 6

i dont know but maybe you can tell me why it is you thought anyone would be interested in this bullsh*t

Answer 7

To Lkffayh: I couldn't agree more !!! I am a horse owner myself, and have been for over 20 years- and I also spent 20+ years working in the showing/performance horse field. We ARE entitled to our 2 cents worth- and I think we are entitled to a lot more than that. I also follow racing- in fact, I love it- but that doesn't mean that I am blind to or unaware of its dark, cruel side. To the asker of this question- you are the same one who accused me of being STUPID when I defended steeplechasing in response to one of your questions a while back. Steeplechases are great sporting events- and there are plenty of people who make a great living that way. Some of the horses who run in such races are still racing in their teens, which is quite a contrast from the flat racing industry, where the great majority of horses break down or retire before they are even 4 years old and fully grown. Like many people, I am appalled by the waste of lives and potential that this sad fact represents. I am also sick to death of seeing horses who should have years of a good life ahead of them break down and die because they are being asked to do work that their young, GROWING bodies and bones just can't handle. The average age for starting a young horse in the show industry is 3, and they rarely jump before they are 5. Have you ever noticed how the horses that compete in shows often live into their twenties and thirties, and how many of them don't retire until they are at least in their 20's? The same cannot be said of most racehorses. Racing RUINS many horses, even if they DON'T break down and die. How would YOU like to spend 23 out of every 24 hours every day standing in a 10 foot wide box, and when you finally ARE let out, you are made to think that there is only one speed in the world to be at, and it is a dead run? How would YOU like to run a mile or more in hot weather, carrying a hundred or more pounds on your back, under extreme stress, and have someone hit you on the back or sides (or even your head!) when you were already giving everything you had and doing your very best? That's what the average race horse faces, not just here in the US, but worldwide. The great showjumper, Gem Twist ( who incidentally was a thoroughbred) was euthanised  last November at the age of 27- and he had his final year of competition in 2004 and 5. He was physically sound when he retired, which is incredible when one realizes that he spent something like 15 years on the Grand Prix circuit and went to the Olympics and World Championships at least twice. Gem was started as a 4 year old, and because he'd had the time to grow up and become strong, he stayed sound his entire life, and was still winning big purses into his teens and early 20's. His story is a big contrast to that of the Barbaros, Ruffians, and Pine Islands of the world, most of whom don't even live to see their 4th birthday. I think that as much as you people who run the racing business hate show people telling you what to do, you need us to keep an eye on you and stop things from getting totally out of hand, which they would if we were not around. We are ALL horsepeople- NOT just racing or show people. These sports we participate in treat men and women equally- but that doesn't seem to stop people like you from insulting people like me, who have owned and worked with horses virtually my entire life. I will always love horse sports, and I will do all  that I can to make the sports safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

Answer 8

First of all I'll agree with the 2nd answer...  people always like to have an opinion about everything so they'll give adivce for anything, regardless of whether they actually know anything about the subject.  

And I think that show people kinda think a horse is a horse regardless of its discipline...  I'm a show person, but I'll answer questions here because I know a bit about horses and I'm a racing fan and know a little bit about spotting a winner...  but I don't think I've ever said anything about how a horse should be trained or anything like that...  I'll comment on if I think a horse on track or needs a bit more training judging from the races that I watch...  after the Fountain of Youth I said Nobiz needed to work out his immaturity, but didn't say anything about how it would be done.  And about Stormello, after the FoY I said he needed to work on the distance because he'd fade in the homestretch and apparently I was right because that's exactly what he did in the Florida Derby.  So I'll comment on what I think the horse needs to work on, but I'd certainly never presume to know anything about actually training the horse or anything like that.  

But when it comes to feed and the horses demeanor and stuff, I do think that show people think that they know horses, so they think that they can give advice about that sort of thing and it would apply to race horses too...

I really do think it's just kind of a natural human thing...  people like to think that they're helping, so they tend to offer advice at all times