Why horse racing needs to change policy especially after the Filly Eight Belles death?

Question

"The horse racing industry causes thousands of horses to be born only to be slaughtered or abandoned to an existence of neglect, starvation, and suffering. There are three reasons for

this:

1. Very large numbers must be produced annually to generate a few fast ones to be selected to compete. Of the many thousands bred to race, very few make the grade. The rest must be disposed of.

2. During training or racing, injuries are common. Injured horses are also euthanized or sold from one owner to another into increasingly worse conditions.

3. When race horses have finished their career - usually at a very early age, before they are fully mature - they, too, must be disposed of. Their numbers exceed by far the number of humane retirement facilities."

Ok now I am a hunter and a fair pledged anti PETA person. I have never seen eye to eye with them and think their tactics are dirty. However, I also own a horse of my own and think horse racing is a joke. We get all those old white rich folk who parade around feeling high and mighty when they win something. Half the people do not even understand the beauty of these creatures and only care about their precious gambling money. I understand that thoroughbreds love to run and all that argument but I also know that these horse riders, owners and breeders run the horses at too early of an age. Most of these younger horses are not fully developed and often injure themselves from lack of bone definition and in-experiance. All this for the enjoyment of people who don't understand that these horses are not capable of this type of strain at this early age. I also understand that very few do perish on the actual track like Eight Belles but cmon does it really matter. Off the track they are killing them all the time if they aren't worth anything to the owners and in other countries they even go as far as to eat the meat of the worthless horses. Most race horses who are either too old or not good enough very rarely stay around. Run the horses when they are able to and stop betting on them for our enjoyment. Stop mass breeding them in hopes for the next triple crown winner. I also don’t care about the argument of other sports. i.e." People die in Nascar but they don't ban it" That’s an ignorrant comparison. One main reason is the fact that Nascar now takes almost every precaution to prevent death- Hans device, better designed cars, etc. With horse racing the owners are bent on running them harder faster and at a younger age. In most cases they are running them at 2 years old! That’s like putting a 10year old go cart children's champion in a Nascar race- ridiculous. Now banning horse racing will probably never happen but the d**n well need to put a minimum age restriction on when these horses should be running and it sure as heck shouldn't be 2 &3 years old. They also should monitor how they are running them. God created vast fields for horses to run in not some track filled with greedy betters and old white grandmas who have nothing better to do with their time.Regardless if you’re a fan or not it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that changes are needed and should be considered.

Source(s):

http://www.chai-online.org/racing.htm

http://www.todayshorse.com/Articles/TooH...

Answer 1

I agree that the horses are ran way too young, their  bodies and their bones are just not ready for the type of competition that horse racing requires.

Answer 2

i was a jockey and also worked the grand prix show circuit and eventing,ive seen more tb's put down from injuries jumping then racing and as for peta they have a kill policy for animals they cant find homes for

Answer 3

There are aspects of racing that need to change, and that is why the tracks are changing to synthetics and such.

I have mixed feelings about the age horses are run at- I used to think it was far too young and then I did some research and studies have found that the training a young horse is put through on the track actually molds their bones to be able to take the pressure of running. So- it actually helps prevent injuries if they are trained and run younger, because it deforms their bones in a way that they will be able to hold up to the pressure. It was compared to gymnasts- you can't be over the age of like 16 and say you want to start gymnastics and think you're going to be good- young gymnasts do better because they are conforming their bodies while they are still growing to be able to take the pressure needed to do gymnastics.

Now, take this or leave it, as I said I have mixed feelings, but this is what I've researched.

to the person who said that the track lights are left on 24/7 I dont know what track you've worked at but I've worked at Saratoga, Fair Hill, and Suffolk and I can tell you that those lights are not left on 24/7. Granted- the lights over the actual track and grandstand might be lit but the barn lights are NOT. I was also at Palm Meadows in FL but I was never there early enough to know about their lights.

The person who was talking about the polo horses- all the polo horses I rode were off the track too- OTTBs are everywhere! I dont think anyone can deny that horses go to slaughter although it is usually not our Thoroughbreds- due to the rescue groups set up and the fact that majority of other countries wouldn't eat TB meet because of the drugs in the horses systems. Sad, but true. your much more likely to find QHs in the slaughter houses.

Ferdinand, sad as his story is, isn't the rule. He's the exception to the rule.

Majority (not saying all, but majority) of OTTBs go on to find new homes. I have currently have two who do a whole lot of nothing, LOL.

Also as far as injuries are concerned- I've seen more polo horses break down during a polo season (and we're talking about 300 total horses) than I saw break down at Saratoga during their racing season (probably about 3,000 horses). Injuries happen at every level in every horse sport, and in backyard horses. Its not limited to racing, it only gets publicized in racing b/c its in the publics eye much more than other sports.

Answer 4

Your opinions will not change a thing in the horse racing industry.

Most retired or failed thoroughbreds do not go to slaughter, there is a HUGE market for OTTB's for hunters/jumpers, dressage,and combined training.

I myself have owned 4 OTTB's, not one of them had any leg problems from being run at too young of an age.

Horses of all breeds and ages go to slaughter, unfortunately if it weren't for slaughter the horse population would be overwhelming due to poor backyard breeding, at least the thoroughbred breeding population is extremely regulated.

Answer 5

Calvin- Eight Belles was a filly... your "his" should be HER, and keep your rude snide comments to yourself... no one really wants to hear it.

Answer 6

This does not seem to be a question.  I am not sure what you hope to accomplish here.

After reading all the posts about killing perfectly good horses I had to add to my answer. I was a polo groom for 13 and worked for clubs and indivdual players. I have trained polo ponies and hunters. Almost every horse I have ever worked with has been a track horse. Yes, there are some horses that don't find new homes but most OTTB find new jobs as polo horses, hunter/jumpers, eventers, and pleaseure horses.

Answer 7

Thank you for your post, Josh. As a former thoroughbred racehorse owner, I agree what you said. I'm sorry, Sarah Beth, but they are NOT retired. Some go to a stud farm, some become broodmares. A fortuante few are put out to pasture. Most are thanked for earning their purses by being killed. The cost of maintaining a horse is high and not many owners pay it, once the horse is no longer racing. There are some humanitarian farms that take as many as they can, but they're swamped and constantly pleading for funding. All this is done in the name of placing a bet and money.

Edit: Cindy, you may be right about polo horses, but this is about thoroughbreds. I am a former thoroughbred racehorse owner.

I'm linking an article in Bloodhorse, which is one of the premier publications for racehorse owners. The article describes how even Ferdinand, winner of the 1986 Derby, probably died in a slaughterhouse. This end for racehorses is not a secret in the industry.

Answer 8

This isn't really a question, so much as you projecting your opinion, is it?  Why are you posting on here if you already have your answers?

But your research and answers have some very bad discrepancies.  Let me clear them up.

1.  Yes, very few horses actually make it to high grade stakes races.  But there are lower stakes races as well, and then there are horses that simply don't make good racers.  But they are not killed, or "disposed of" as you like to say.  They are either retired to a stud or broodmare, meaning that they will be used for breeding, and ridden as pleasure horses for exercise, they can be used for eventing, or they are sold to people that would like a pleasure horse.  They are NOT killed, simply because they don't make good racehorses.

2.  Injuries are common in horses that AREN'T being trained.  Horses run around in the paddock, and bruising a hoof, twisting a leg, etc are all risks from a horse running around, EVER.   When a horse is injured, it is NOT immediately euthanized, unless the injury is one that is guaranteed to kill the horse in the future (such as in the case of Eight Belles).  Any owner and trainer will give the horse sufficient rest for the injury to heal, or will pay whatever vet/surgery fees to make sure that the horse will get better.  A horse is MUCH more valuable alive than dead, whether it can race or not, because once again, sires and broodmares make more money than racehorses.  Not to mention that the vast majority of owners race and raise horses because they LOVE horses, and they don't want to see their animals die, just like other people don't want to see their pets die.

3.  When horses have finished their racing career, they are RETIRED, not disposed of or euthanized.  Horses are a very hot commodity, and if they have decent bloodlines, they will make a lot of money as broodmares or sires.  They also will not be "forced" to run anymore, so they will live the lives of ordinary, non-racing horses.  

The arguments about horses being underage when they are racing is valid, and so are the ones about the track materials.  Horse racing does need changes.  But a lot of the claims in your post are ridiculously biased and unresearched.  Where the heck did you get the idea that horse owners are monsters that would kill their horses the second they aren't useful?

Answer 9

First, I'm not a greedy bettor or old white grandma who has nothing better to do with my time.  But I'm a fan of horse racing as you can probably tell from my moniker.

I don't overlook that changes need to be made in the industry.    And as sickening as it might sound, high profile deaths like Barbaro and Eight Belles were needed to force some changes.      

Six months before Barbaro died, I helped my son research a term paper about the breeding industry.  Among the things we learned is that certain popular sire lines are producing more catastrophic injuries than others.  We interviewed a vet in the industry who said he's been "begging" breeder's to outcross the Native Dancer line because of it.  So it really made me sick to find out that George Washington, Eight Belles and Pine Island were all inbred to him (for instance he appears three times in George Washington's pedigree).  

We also learned that not so many years ago it was considered unethical to linebreed earlier than 4X4.  I've been seeing more and more horses lately with 3X3 and 3X4 linebreeding.

I think you'll see some changes in breeding practices because of the high profile deaths, especially because the breeding angle has been getting a lot of attention.  But like most other industries, the changes will probably be slow.

Answer 10

I agree, but what's the question?

Answer 11

So your question is why do we ignore the fact that the sport needs to change?  The answer is that we don't.  When Barbaro broke down there was a big push for synthetic tracks and now 9 tracks across the country have switched to synthetic.  I know that's not a solution, but it's a great first step.

With Eight Belles's injury, we have again paused to look at what changes we need to make.

You make it sound like we produce thousands of horses each year and kill half of them when they turn 3 years old.  That's not true.  Most thoroughbreds are sold to horse owners who use the horses for horse shows or just pleasure riding.  Most of them, even the ones that aren't good racers, end up being a pet in a wonderful home.

I would agree with making an age requirement for racing.  I think our biggest problem in racing today is how we are breeeding... I think we should make requirements on which horses are allowed to breed... they shouldn't be allowed to keep breeding if they're producing horses who are going to suffer serious injuries.

To say that we're ignoring the weaknesses of our sport is just inaccurate and untrue.  The President/CEO of the NTRA is addressing the problems and he has asked for suggestions and since he first requested our suggestions 2 days ago, almost 500 people have responded with their concerns.  We recognize that we need to make changes.  Here is the link to the Pres/CEO's blog and you can make your suggestions there if you'd like to help the industry make important changes.  http://www.ntra.com/blog.aspx?blogid=15

It's just ignorant and untrue both to say that things won't change and to say that the majority of horses are not retired.  Clearly you haven't been to local horse shows both in hunter jumper and in eventing... the vast majority of show horses are thoroughbreds who retired from the racetrack.  And do you know how many horses go to those shows and how many of those shows there are across the country every year?  If all the racehorses were murdered, there wouldn't be that many show horses.  

I can't change what's going on in other countries... but I can make the sport here be a little bit safer.  To say that nothing will change is to ignore the fact that 9 tracks across the US have put in synthetic tracks since Barbaro's death.  The horse racing industry has made major changes over the years.  It was a horrible situation for the horses in the early 20th century and we have worked hard to make it safer since then.  We have requirements preventing cruelty... we have requirements about drugs and we enforce them and suspend trainers for breaking them.  Saying that we aren't trying to change is just turning away from the facts.

By the way, your sources don't list their sources and the statistics.  Remember that everything you read is written by someone with an agenda... reading one source won't give you a fair story of the industry.  Do you happen to have any info about the statistics of horses sent to slaughter in the US?  I happen to know that Humane Societies will prosecute people who slaughter horses.

If you don't like racing and you don't support that, it's fine... I don't care.  But I love horses and I love racing and I think it's a really ignorant thing for you to say that we're ignoring the dangers of the sport and we're all out there to kill the horses.

Injuries shouldn't happen... I'd prefer they didn't.  I think the sport is trying to find ways to stop injuries from happen.  There will always be accidents.  Horses have accidents running in the field by themselves.  Horses have accidents in the show ring.  Certainly racing could do a better job of making the horses safer... but there's only 1.5 serious injuries for every 1000 races... I got that statistic from ESPN... and I believe it's true because I watch racing almost every day on TVG or on live video on the computer and aside from Eight Belles and Chelokee at Churchill this weekend, I don't remember seeing any horses break down for at least the last 3 months.  I'd love if that number was 0 injuries, but even if we start breeding properly and we take every precaution available, there will still be accidents.  I don't see that the sport is doing anything worse than what people are doing to their horses all across the country.  I've seen more abuse at lesson barns and show barns than I have in racing.  I recognize that the sport has some problems, but I think there's too much good in it to do away with it altogether.

The problem that I have with your sources is that it's not about what's happening in the US.  I don't support racing in Israel and I really don't know anything going on in the UK.  The NTRA only has control over the US racing so that's the only place we can make changes.  I know other countries slaughter horses for meat... we lost Ferdinand to the morons in Japan who decided that they'd rather have him for dinner instead of as a stud.  Since then we made the Ferdinand fee to ensure that our horses have a way to come home if they're mistreated in other countries.  In the US, I don't see that the majority of horses are sent to slaughter.  You're looking at racing across the world and I'm looking at racing here in the US.  Don't accuse me of supporting what's going on in other countries.  Of course I don't support that.

I just can't agree with anyone who says that the trainers don't care about their horses.  Some trainers at some tracks will mistreat their horses, but the big trainers really care about their horses.  You can't tell me that Larry Jones didn't care about Eight Belles.  I'm certain that if he had the option to give back every dollar he ever earned in exchange for having Eight Belles back, he'd do it in a second.  For the most part, trainers are very careful with their horses... they check them over many times during the day.  They get their temperatures taken about twice a day.  If they have any heat in their legs, if they have a fever of even 1 degree, or if they show any signs of discomfort, they don't go out to work... and depending on how bad it is, they get vet treatment immediately.  These horses get more care than a lot of people get.  And you can't tell me that Barbaro was about money... the Jacksons tried to save the horse because they loved the horse and appreciated everything that he gave them... and they ended up spending millions of dollars in vet fees before he finally had to be put down.

I'm certainly able to see the bad side of the sport.  I know that horses get hurt sometimes and I said before that we need to take a serious look at our breeding practices.  But I see too much good in the sport to shut it down completely.  And I just don't understand how you can say that we refuse to make changes in our sport.  That's why I'm defending myself so vehemently... I find it to be just unfair for you to say that I support racing so I must be ignoring everything that's bad and I'm just one of those people who allows the horses to go out and die.

Answer 12

I like horse racing but I disagree with the way its run.

1. TB's are inbred like you wouldn't believe want. People want the next winner who cares about genetics.

With Eight Belles basically a good example is take two huge text books and put them on four toothpicks. Thats what the modern TB looks like

2. The stuff that TB's go through a lot of c**p.Like you know at the track the lights are kept on 24/7.

3. I'm glad they decided to euthnize Eight Belle, unlike Barbaro there was no way he would have been the same after that injury.

4. Theres nothing wrong with horse racing. You know that there are many breed races. Its amazing to watch AQH's race, The Shetland ponies when they race its so cute. Paints race but all the color gives me a headache. There are many forms of races like barrel racing, well contesting in general is a race.

5. Injuries are common for ANY horse in TRAINING, your working a horse everyday they're bound to get hurt. Same with humans if you worked out for about 2 miles you'll have sore knees, ankles, you may sprain something.

6. True a lot of people don't know what goes behind the scenes of any equine event or anything. So its not they're fault, its a way of making money the "american way"

7. a lot of ex race horses make the best jumpers, contesters