Keywords: breakdowns, cruelty, Eight Belles, horse racing, horses, Thoroughbreds
Does Horse Racing Warrant Congressional action?
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January 24, 2009
Jan Hoadley
Does Horse Racing Warrant Congressional action?
The horse racing industry needs change. Congressional time? No. We have escalating costs in the economy and jobs going out of the country. There are so many things elected officials need to be doing and targeting racing isn't one of them. Drugs are used in the show horse world also. Unethical people will exist no matter what Congress does or doesn't do and until OWNERS stand up and stop financing it then it won't change. Horses in some circles are mistreated and it's not the ones making the news publicly. There are horses in many areas mistreated by being allowed to be too fat, which shortens their health. There are those allowed to starve. There are those mistreated by "trainers" who don't have the sense to know what they're doing. One swat with a whip if properly timed is not cruelty horses make physical contact with each other as a means of communication. Beating a horse until he's not thinking about anything but escape is another thing entirely! The first swat is discipline, the second revenge. Discipline is needed for a well mannered horse and *most* horses once they realize you will are smart enough that all you need do is threaten and they settle down. I've seen quarter horses kept for halter mistreated; Arabian show horses mistreated by "training" that eventually meant one broke his neck; I've seen handlers create ill mannered horses by mishandling. I've seen a bag full of large syringes come off a van from a show with traces of blood in them and people commenting on the one stallion being so quiet which he was NOT at home. None of these things are addressed nor would anyone believe it. When a beautiful big filly breaks down on the track there's uproar. Do people truly think there aren't breakdowns in other ventures? Accidents happen. One of the most horrific injuries I've seen involved an accident in a field that resulted in a three year old Thoroughbred, off the track for some rest and relaxing, kicked between the eyes by another horse when one group of horses turned out collided with others in the field. These were not racing on a track and not regulated, but it's a loss every bit as much as if he'd broken down on the track. Unfortunately horses of all breeds and all disciplines get hurt and die be it in a field, on the racetrack, in a show ring, on a cross country course or on trail rides. The government does not need to regulate every piece of everyone's life. There are far bigger issues that need dealt with and the issues involving horses would cease on their own if owners were smarter about whom they trusted with their horses, but even with that injuries will occur. How many mustangs break legs or are fatally injured? Does it not exist simply because we don't see it happen? Does that horse suffer less waiting for infection and death or a predator who sees a meal and what of the panic of the horse wanting to run and unable to do so? The racing industry needs to do right by the horses, but so does the show and other industries including up to the Olympic level where drugs were found also.
Posted by Jan Hoadley
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