Do you know the horror behind the glamour?

Question

The horror behind the glamour
They race around the track, kicking dust clouds in the air. They run neck to neck, each one trying to overtake the other. The crowd goes wild. But suddenly, just as they reach the finish line, one stumbles and falls. A hush falls over the crowd. The race is now finished, along with the fallen horses life. This happens to be a daily battle.
Many people believe that the owners of racehorses treat their horses like ‘gold’ and never abuse them, and the reason why horses race are because they ‘are born to run’. I can tell you that those three statements are false, in almost all the cases, especially the later one. Racehorses are not born to run, they are born for money. Racehorses are not treated like gold and ARE abused. Their owners work them more then twice as hard as your everyday horse. Racehorses are abused with crops to force them to run faster. Researches have found, that At LEAST one horse from each race suffers physically. In almost all the cases that the horse suffers in, whereas the horse cannot be raced anymore, the good racehorses are sold for stud, but the others are euthanized.
Many have heard of the ‘all famous’ racehorse Sea biscuit. But one less known fact about him, is that he was raced 89 times, and only lived to be 15. Most horses can live to be 25.
Barbero’s last race ended with a broken leg. Commando, 1990 & 1991 horse of the year, died at age 8. Ruffin was raced after she broke and fractured her leg, broke her leg again in another race, and was euthanized at 3 years old. Black Gold, raced 35 times in 7 years. He suffered a quarter crack in his hoof as a four year old, but was still raced. He finished his last race on three legs, and then was put down at age seven. April 28, 2006. Miss Pretty Promise’s collapsed near the finish line and struggled to rise on her shattered forelegs. Dr. Stewart Marsh had taken one look at the grotesquely twisted legs and saw there was no hope of recovery. "Both front legs were broken," Marsh said minutes later, shaking his head as he walked off the track.
These are not the only ones.

Answer 1

I think everyone is aware of the issues surrounding racehorses. Unfortunately it makes too much money for everyone to shut it down.

There is hope though- There are many organisations out there nowadays that offer racehorses a second chance by retraining them and selling them to families so they can live a long and happy life.

I myself have an ex-racehorse and she is fantastic. She has alot of exposure to different surroundings and is very easy to handle. She has the tendancy to get a bit fzzy at times, but that's ok, I quite like being kept on my toes.

Yes, a majority of racehorses end up as dog meat, but some owners do try to find homes for them first, and for that I am very grateful.

Answer 2

While I do agree with you, race horses are abused... what is your question???

I dont mean that in a rude way either... I have 4 horses of my own, and I dont like the way they treat race horses... But at the same time, it happens in all areas of equine competition. We show western pleasure, and barrel race... I have seen it even at the smaller venues as well...

Unfortunately its sad, but it happens!!!

Answer 3

It doesn't matter if these horses are race horses or not. Humans abuse horses, dogs, cats, mice, rats, and each other. If you are really concerned, do your best to put your energy into changing conditions in your local area. Organize investigations, spot checks, patrols.. whatever it takes.

Answer 4

It's so horrible and to break a leg my mom told us one of her horse's broke it's leg in a polo game and they to shot it,she felt her stop beating.I can't stand it when people abuse animals how will they feel if we do that to them.

Answer 5

what at=re you chatting s h i t aboy=ut i had a horse and i treated it very good. it was fed groomed and its stable was mucked out every single day so stop putting horse owners down because everyone is different

Answer 6

I look at it as exercise,if they are not Doped up.It happens to people in any sport,also.The Dog fighting is not Humane and bird fighting.Yahoo erased the word,I wanted to use,with the word (bird) fighting

Answer 7

An even worse horse tragedy: horses in the Premarin system. see this for more info: http://www.premarin.org/

Answer 8

sorry, sad story

Answer 9

good point