Attn Lorelei - and all other horse enthusiasts

[dragonfly411]

I agree again about young horses being pushed too hard. Unfortunately we are seeing it more and more in the horse world. I''m saddened to see the 2 yr old futurities for western pleasure for quarter horses these days, and they''re thinking of opening up the same for saddle and hunt for arabians. I just want to scream "THEY''RE BABIES". How do you feel about racing at the 2 year old level? And current bone structure in race horses?

I think too that it is not just age, but condition. I know a mare who was 10 years old, healthy, but hadn''t been ridden in a while. She was a trained reining horse, BEAUTIFUL. You would have thought she was half arabian, she was a red dun tovero with a double sided mane.... omg I''ll have to post pics sometime. Anyways, her owner was going to use her in a demonstration one day, pulled her out of pasture after not having been really ridden beyond trail rides for a few months. He worked her so hard she went lame... it destroyed her. And it destroyed her tolerance for people as well

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

You know, it really bothers me the way they define age for Thoroughbreds in racing? I mean, 3 is really young on its own, but when the horses are racing at that level and they''re not even 3 yet because they were born later in the year - I mean, it just really stinks. Esp. considering the high rate of injuries in racing to begin with.

 

[dragonfly411]

brown eyed - oh they have 2 yr old races as well!!!! But they start those later in the season. August forward, so many horses are started as yearlings....

 

[LaraOnline]

This is a really interesting thread - unfortunately, it is not really my field of expertise, although I am related to someone with an indepth opinion - so cannot I personally cannot answer really confidently.

However, I was interested in reading your comments.

The horse world might be very different in the US (I can hear my husband''s voice in my ear saying ''but I suspect that for the majority of owners...not"
so many horse enthusiasts strain their finances so completely by buying the horse that they spend the rest of the horse''s life trying to cut costs and buying in to all manner of witchquackery rather than really adhering to best practice as far as horse health goes.

''alternative therapies'' do an absolute roaring trade in australia, and ''alternative'' equine dentists, as an example, have been known to destroy horses with their outdated and anti-medical approaches. A major drawcard is their cheaper prices... (cheaper than legitimate best-practice veterinary care...)

anyway, my children are calling me, look forward to reading any other inputs...
L.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Ohhhhh, this is one of my pet peeves!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Thoroughbreds. I''ve been in love with the breed ever since I was just a kid. They are just so beautiful and athletic and graceful, and they have such wonderful personalities. It absolutely DISGUSTS me to no end that these gorgeous animals are forced to start very intense race training at such a young age! There are SO many Thoroughbreds floating around who are unrideable due to injuries sustained during their racing careers, and they are now trying to find homes as "companion" horses because they can no longer be ridden. In this economy, it''s hard enough to find a home for a horse who CAN be ridden, much less one who can''t! The sad thing is, many injuries sustained by racing Thoroughbreds could have been prevented if the trainer had only waited until the horse''s body was mature enough to handle the rigors of race training.

My horse, Red, was born and raised in Canada. He raced at Woodbine from July of 1993 (when he was two years old) to December of 1998. He then moved to Philly Park, where he raced from January through March of 1999. So, he raced for about six years total. That is an unusually long racing career. The vast majority of racehorses'' careers end much earlier due to injury. (Examples: Barbaro, Eight Belles . . . need I say more?) I am extremely lucky that Red did not sustain any serious injuries while he was racing, and that his legs are as clean as they are.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/12/2009 8:53:58 AM
Author: Irishgrrrl
Ohhhhh, this is one of my pet peeves!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Thoroughbreds. I''ve been in love with the breed ever since I was just a kid. They are just so beautiful and athletic and graceful, and they have such wonderful personalities. It absolutely DISGUSTS me to no end that these gorgeous animals are forced to start very intense race training at such a young age! There are SO many Thoroughbreds floating around who are unrideable due to injuries sustained during their racing careers, and they are now trying to find homes as ''companion'' horses because they can no longer be ridden. In this economy, it''s hard enough to find a home for a horse who CAN be ridden, much less one who can''t! The sad thing is, many injuries sustained by racing Thoroughbreds could have been prevented if the trainer had only waited until the horse''s body was mature enough to handle the rigors of race training.

My horse, Red, was born and raised in Canada. He raced at Woodbine from July of 1993 (when he was two years old) to December of 1998. He then moved to Philly Park, where he raced from January through March of 1999. So, he raced for about six years total. That is an unusually long racing career. The vast majority of racehorses'' careers end much earlier due to injury. (Examples: Barbaro, Eight Belles . . . need I say more?) I am extremely lucky that Red did not sustain any serious injuries while he was racing, and that his legs are as clean as they are.

Ditto every word. Makes me sick.

 

[dragonfly411]

I do agree with both of you 100% but I also think that it has become more of an issue in the last 40-50 years or less, because the breeders have been breeding lighter and lighter horses to make them faster and faster. Secretariat was as developed as most full grown horses as a 2 and 3 year old, because he was bred to have large dense bones, and a big body to handle it. Instead today, I see more spindly legs, less body weight, less muscle mass. To me, this seems to perpetuate the problem as well. Compare horses from the time of Man O war up to Secretariat and then compare horses from Silver Charm to now...

At the same time I fully agree that two is far too young to be riding any horse. But I''ve seen many new breeding practices in the last 30 years in all breeds that are a bit terrifying. Look at arabian halter horses, look at halter horses in quarter horses, and western pleasure horses, look at thoroughbreds, and saddlebreds (not sure how their backs hold up)... I could go on.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 3/12/2009 10:35:04 AM
Author: dragonfly411
I do agree with both of you 100% but I also think that it has become more of an issue in the last 40-50 years or less, because the breeders have been breeding lighter and lighter horses to make them faster and faster. Secretariat was as developed as most full grown horses as a 2 and 3 year old, because he was bred to have large dense bones, and a big body to handle it. Instead today, I see more spindly legs, less body weight, less muscle mass. To me, this seems to perpetuate the problem as well. Compare horses from the time of Man O war up to Secretariat and then compare horses from Silver Charm to now...

At the same time I fully agree that two is far too young to be riding any horse. But I''ve seen many new breeding practices in the last 30 years in all breeds that are a bit terrifying. Look at arabian halter horses, look at halter horses in quarter horses, and western pleasure horses, look at thoroughbreds, and saddlebreds (not sure how their backs hold up)... I could go on.

Very true, Dragonfly! The breeders have managed to do away with the Thoroughbred''s sturdiness by selectively breeding for lighter, faster horses. Of course, all of this was done in the name of building a more competitive horse who will be able to win more money . . . the same reason racehorses are hopped up on so many drugs, but that''s a different issue for a different thread.

 

[hoofbeats95]

I don''t like or support the racing industry. I don''t think it''s likely to change any time soon. IMO the racing industry is one of the reasons that we have so many unwanted horses. They are a key to why we were slaughtering so many horses every year (now transporting to Mexico and Canada in unsafe trailers!). They are breeding for the next triple crown winner and as a result there are a lot of horses that don''t make the cut. Their breeding efforts have also ruined the feet of many of these horses. TBs in general have weak and brittle feet. Often times they have tiny feet relative to their build. It''s all a result of breeding. I will say that my horse is an ex-racehorse. He has crappy feet and the shoeing bills cost me a fortune! At the lower end tracks I believe these horses are mistreated and abused. It took me quite some time to get my horse to let me touch his ears. Why? Well the first time I ever went to the local track I saw why. I saw trainers basically crank these horses around my their ears. I was floored. In front of the public. It''s horrible. I love my ex-racehorse, but I hate the industry.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 3/12/2009 12:28:52 PM
Author: hoofbeats95
I don''t like or support the racing industry. I don''t think it''s likely to change any time soon. IMO the racing industry is one of the reasons that we have so many unwanted horses. They are a key to why we were slaughtering so many horses every year (now transporting to Mexico and Canada in unsafe trailers!). They are breeding for the next triple crown winner and as a result there are a lot of horses that don''t make the cut. Their breeding efforts have also ruined the feet of many of these horses. TBs in general have weak and brittle feet. Often times they have tiny feet relative to their build. It''s all a result of breeding. I will say that my horse is an ex-racehorse. He has crappy feet and the shoeing bills cost me a fortune! At the lower end tracks I believe these horses are mistreated and abused. It took me quite some time to get my horse to let me touch his ears. Why? Well the first time I ever went to the local track I saw why. I saw trainers basically crank these horses around my their ears. I was floored. In front of the public. It''s horrible. I love my ex-racehorse, but I hate the industry.

Hoofbeats, I share the same view as you. I think the racing industry is far too focused on money. Horses are not an easy thing to make money off of and to do it, they need to cut a lot of corners in how they treat their animals. It''s so sad.

I also applaud the sport horse community for not starting horses earlier. Most of these horses don''t reach their peak until at least 8 years old and are able to continue on for many years. They have a realistic view of what they need to do to keep these horses mentally and physically sound so they can be athletes. I''m sure some absue of this goes on and I am not close enough to the industry to see it, but from my perspective it seems to be far more caring of the horses needs than racing. Plus, many of these horses are able to have valuable careers as school horses for beginning riders even if they are not sound enough to jump 6ft anymore. In the racing world, there is little use for lame horses unless they have spectacular bloodlines or have won many races.