If you follow horse racing then you're familiar with the tragedies at Santa Anita Race Course in California these past few months. 22 horses have broken down on the training track including Battle of Midway, a G1 Stakes winner. Many have said it was due to the incessant rain seen this year in California. Others argue that this is nothing new. There is an interesting article in today's
NY Times. You can read it
here.
But I don't see this as strictly a race horse issue. I see similar behaviour in the horse show world, but not to the extreme that the horses are dying. Like everything else in America these days
it's all about the money. Do whatever you can to win. Wring as much money as you can out of these animals whether it's racing them when they are not sound, or showing them on drugs like Bute illegally hoping you won't get caught. I know of people who show their horses so much they have to get a new one every year - honestly. It's so sad.
I see this behaviour in the ponies with the kids but in a different kind of way. My pony breeder friends say you cannot sell a green (young) pony for any kind of money because the parents want their kids to win now and not wait 3-4 years for the pony to start winning. It's just so sad to me what America has become - how this mindset
hurts our animals. Why can't you enjoy it? Why is it about only winning? Why do we abuse our four-legged friends for tri-colors and silver trophies and photos for the tack room? We have created a sick world here in America. Very sick.
We don't seem to value the journey, the learning any more.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredibly sad.
I love horses and my favorite thing is learning, the training process. The lightbulb moments.
Very well said. Yes, it should be about the journey but it's not.
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ReplyDeleteI have followed racing for most of my life, and I have been a rider, horse owner and occasional competitor. I won't disagree with what you have said, but, to be fair, it's the competition - whether in racing or showing - that is at the heart of the issue here. I believe there are many more compassionate horse people than there are self-serving ones, but the ones who treat their horses as disposable commodities are the ones that we need to find a way to discourage in competitive arenas. Easier said than done, but just as racing in the US is now being forced to come to terms with its shortcomings - particularly in horsemanship and responsibility for the horse throughout its life, not just on the track - so should horse showing disciplines be even more discerning in what practices and behaviors it allows on its grounds. Stronger rules, strictly enforced, are what is needed now more than ever, to ensure that good sportsmanship and practices that ensure protection of the horse are what rules the day -- every day.
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