E-Vet Clinic - Horse Health Care

With the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby following on the heels of Barbaros death last year and here locally about the deaths happening at Arlington Park two years ago, horse racing is in the media spotlight and not in a favorable light. Three years of bad publicity may just force some changes in the industry.

There are many reasons for horses not to be racing at 2 years of age. The main one is that the skeletal structure of the horse is still growing and is incapable, in the majority of cases, to handle the stresses that racing places on the it. As for why horses race at 2 years of age, I have yet to hear a good reason that they have to race at that age. Obviously the industry has big money and investments are made. Having a horse wait another year or two before it possibly starts making a return increases the risk of the investment and slows the business of racing dramatically. Also traditionally horses have been raced at this age for many many years. So are these good enough reasons to continue racing at 2 years of age? Personally I do not think so.

As for is horse racing inhumane? I do not believe so and heres my reason..horse love to run, it comes naturally to them. If you have ever ridden a horse, especially one such as a thouroughbred, they love to go and they love to go fast. Interestingly, many of them actually love to race, they are not forced into it, they really want to do it. Ask any jockey or horseman that has been around the racing industry for even a short amount of time, they know when a horse just is not into it. They know if the horse really does not like it, that horse is not going to win and will be removed from racing very quickly. Now this does not mean that all of racing is humane. I believe some things need to be changed such as the age at which they are allowed to race needs to be raised. More turnout should be allowed, more rest and recovery needs to occur, and less pharmaceutical enhancements.

What do you think? Leave a comment let us know your opinion.

Heres a couple of other opinions from the web…

Talk Back: Racing Breakdown - The death of Eight Belles at last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby has spurred a national debate over horse racing and the safety and welfare of the animals (NPR’s Tom Ashbrook led a discussion of the contrasting perspectives on Wednesday’s …

The dark side of horse racing, redux - In yet another puff piece over the weekend celebrating Presque Isle Downs racetrack -a salutary run-down on the abbreviated 25-day first season of horse-racing - the Erie Times-News trumpeted the track’s financial and related successes …

Here is a story about a 30 year old blind and deaf horse! He was rescued three months ago and the rescuers are giving details on how the cost of hay is high due to the drought.

Cost Of Hay Soars; Animals Starving 

Interesting to see even these old timers having a good home and life till the end.

Tennessee Walking Horse Shows last year had an increase in USDA inspections. In fact the inspections were so diligent and strict that there was no World Grand Champion from the 2006 National Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration - the reason? Only 3 horses passed inspection, so they cancelled the class!

Mary Reeves from the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, TN did a story about this - Walking horse controversy makes this year’s show better

OK previously I have talked about some of the problems in the showing world and especially the racing world. Problems meaning the things we do to horses, which do not improve horse health, that either border on or actually are abuse in order to try to improve “performance” in the horse for their specific event. In Tennesse Walkers (TWH), the USDA inspectors are focusing on “soring”. Soring is a general term used to describe a wide variety of techniques used to make a TWH’s feet sore so that they pick them up higher and quicker, which exaggerates their normal gaits, thus improving their chances of being noticed by the judge. One of the most common techniques is to use shoes that put pressure on the sole of the horse, causing bruising. Imagine, you having to compete in running shoes that are crushing your little toe! Other things such as screws and needle or pin sticks are used as well, not exactly the best things for the horses health.

Well the inspections have done both good and bad for the TWH industry. For the bad? Some people are not attending the shows. Also it has been discovered that there are inconsistencies in the inspections from show to show. The good news? The horses that are at the shows are the ones that are not being sored - imagine that?? Also steps are being taken to make the inspections more uniform and consistent, and lastly, the horse shows and the industry itself is taking greater measures to be even more strict than the USDA and are trying to police themselves. This will be improve the quality of life for a show horse as well as improving their disposition and health.

In my opinion this is a good start to improving not just the TWH breed but all of horse showing. Other breeds and horse organizations are going to notice what has happened in the TWH world and improve themselves. The racing industry will be the most difficult to change as it involves the most money, but I believe it also can be improved.