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sunhawk wrote:
I don’t want to offend anyone who is a fan of these races but I have a problem with the idea of racing horses before they have matured enough for their bodies to really hold up to the sort of stress and punishment a high-stakes race (let alone three) would have. Not to mention that breeding horses purely for their placement in such early races makes it a little unsurprising that so many breeding lines end up with repetitive defective traits, such as the tendency to break ankles. I really do wish they would give these horses the chance to grow up before they start training them so seriously and pushing them so hard. Even a year or two would make a world of difference, but it’s up to the horse owners and active enthusiasts to make change.
I always wondered about that. I remember Mom telling me a long time ago when I was still really small that you couldn’t really ride a horse until he was three years old. And then I found out about these races and it didn’t make sense. Poor horses. 🙁
I also feel bad for those poor horses.
You can tell that they want to win, but they are just pushed too hard. Their legs can’t withstand that kind of pressure and strain at those early ages.It’s all over the news here…I agree, I’d heard about not riding a horse til it was 3 as well..then wondered later if I’d heard wrong when I realized the ages of the racing horses. I think there was another filly…Ruffian, who had a similar story. 🙁 🙁 I’d have to look it up though.
Regarding Eight Belles’ legs: genetics may have been involved. Apparently a lot of racing Thoroughbred lines, including hers, can be traced back to a racehorse named Native Dancer. He was an excellent racer, but his legs were not very good. But because he was such a fine racer, he was in high demand as a breeding stud. I guess they figured that the leg problem would be diluted out by crossing him with other mares. The problem is, he was bred to mares of many racing lines. Everyone wanted a foal with Native Dancer’s talent for racing. Now descendants of those offspring are so widespread that they are ending up coming together in crosses. So we are seeing many young horses with a higher risk factor for having bad legs. 🙁 The question is, which ones?
I really hope that they can identify a genetic marker for the condition, like they did for HYPP in the Quarter Horse field. It’s just that unless there’s a discrete, isolated genetic marker, it’s going to be really hard to predict which racehorses are at risk for breakdowns like poor Eight Belles’. It’s really sad.
purplecat wrote:It’s all over the news here…I agree, I’d heard about not riding a horse til it was 3 as well..then wondered later if I’d heard wrong when I realized the ages of the racing horses. I think there was another filly…Ruffian, who had a similar story. 🙁 🙁 I’d have to look it up though.
Check my earlier post. I give details on Ruffian. She was a bit worse, but yes, similar.
Barrdwing wrote:Regarding Eight Belles’ legs: genetics may have been involved. Apparently a lot of racing Thoroughbred lines, including hers, can be traced back to a racehorse named Native Dancer. He was an excellent racer, but his legs were not very good. But because he was such a fine racer, he was in high demand as a breeding stud. I guess they figured that the leg problem would be diluted out by crossing him with other mares. The problem is, he was bred to mares of many racing lines. Everyone wanted a foal with Native Dancer’s talent for racing. Now descendants of those offspring are so widespread that they are ending up coming together in crosses. So we are seeing many young horses with a higher risk factor for having bad legs. 🙁 The question is, which ones?
Oh wow. 😯 I didn’t realize that Eight Belles was related to Native Dancer! So was Ruffian. So is Big Brown (who won the Derby). I know they are supposedly looking at the hypothetical ‘X’ factor for heart size (ie. a larger heart). They think it passes down the female’s side if it does indeed exist. Hopefully they can find a marker for the weak leg trait at well.
Btw, it has just been reported that NBC chose not to show Eight Belles down. She was writhing and they didn’t want to show her suffering so much, since it’s hard to watch something like that. The cameras weren’t focused on her when she went down either, so the camera shots of her going down weren’t there.
Yeah…I have the breyer release of ruffian, it’s a really nice piece. 🙂 that’s why I remembered her, a little card came with her, along with a bit of her story.
Unfortunately, the racing industry doesn’t care if a winning line is prone to breakdowns. They care that certain lines win.
I don’t have a problem with starting horses at 2. I have a problem with starting them at 1 which is what they have to do to get them ready for 2 year old racing.But racing is not the only ones that train babies. Look at Tennesee Walkers and even Quarter Horses for reining. Big money for winning babies.
QH breeders also knowingly breed HYPP positive animals because the disease also tends to make the horses more muscular. Nevermind that the horse may go into seizures and suffocate. As long as it wins…
I forgot to watch the Kentucky Derby but read about Eight-Belles and what happened to her in the paper this morning and it almost made me cry. I hate to see something like that happen to any animal
The question is, why do horse related sports, like racing, trotting, reining Quarter Horses, etc. have to start them so young? It’s always been that way in our life times. Knowing that horses don’t mature until they’re 4ish, I wonder how this whole thing got started. Does anyone know? 😕
It’s probably related to the cost of feeding and caring for a racehorse or showhorse…competing younger means a quicker payoff… 🙄 So I’m thinking it’s greed related. 🙄
I remember when Barbaro got injured at Pimlico. I watched on tv as the news helicopters followed the horse ambulance as it passed by my house. I knew deep down they would not be able to save him but I held out hope especially when he made it past a few months. I was heartbroken when they had to put him down but I guess in the end it was for the best. What kind of quality of life can a race horse expect after suffering such an injury. My grandfather used to have race horses (standardbred). I used to help him race and train them and never thought twice about it. I guess I never really gave much thought to what damage could be done to a horse that is pushed so hard at such a young age. I never did like the pacers though, I always thought that looked unnatural.
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