RSSRacing Stripes
I spent much of my childhood admiring and riding horses. I loved everything about them and learned all I could - I read avidly, asked a lot of questions, and became a big fan of Thoroughbred racing. I have always watched the Triple Crown races (The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes - the three biggest races in the world) religiously and I spend the weeks leading up to the Derby in a state of high excitement. I’ve researched the industry, and spent a lot of time on horseback, so I’ve gotten to know a lot about horses and how they are raced.
With my rosy view of horse racing, it surprised me last week to read an article on mentalfloss.com about The Kentucky Derby that got a nasty reader comment about the cruelty of racing. The commenter said that riding horses alone is exploitative, and that whipping them during races is unforgivable, and forcing them to run at top speed for extended distances is cruel. I was stunned, since my experience has taught me that the relationship between horse and rider is a mutually beneficial one, where neither party is trying to hurt the other. Yes, the horse has the disadvantage carrying a person on its back, but horses have been bred for thousands of years for this purpose. They are very large animals that often weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds; they can carry around 20% of their body weight with no problem, so particularly in racing, where the accepted weight for a jockey is around 120 pounds, supporting a rider is not much to ask. As far as the cruelty of whipping the animals - from personal experience I know that using whips, along with kicks, rein manipulation, and other physical cues, are just ways for the rider to communicate with the horse. Although hand-held whips deliver a small dose of pain to the horse, they are used to hurt the animal but as a way to say “Hey, speed up!” Racehorses are trained with whips so they know how to respond to them, so when a jockey uses one the horse knows what to do. Also, Thoroughbreds love to run, are born and bred to run, and are trained to run. Keeping them in stables with no room to stretch their legs would be much worse for their well-being than racing them. I know all this, but apparently many people do not; I did some research and found out that PETA has been working on getting whips banned from racing, and hopes to eventually shut down racing entirely!
I was prepared to write about how wrong PETA is about horse racing, but then the Kentucky Derby was run this past Saturday. Big Brown, the favorite, won decisively, and a female named Eight Belles came in second. When she crossed the finish line, however, Eight Belles collapsed. Sometime during the race, it seems, she had broken both of her front ankles, but had kept running (which shows how much these horses love to run!), only to collapse in pain after the race was over. Shortly afterward, track veterinarians euthanized her right there on the track where she had fallen. This, only two years after Barbaro, the 2006 Derby winner, was put down after complications following a broken leg in the Preakness! With two of America’s best racehorses being publicly euthanized in the past two years, I started to understand how people could see racing as a cruel and inhumane sport.
I’m not sure what I think anymore. I know enough about horses to know that if one breaks its leg, its chances of recovering are small because horses simply cannot survive long without using their legs. A horse with two broken legs cannot be expected to survive - it can’t even be gotten off the racetrack. People may see euthanasia as acruel alternative, but believe me when I tell you that American racehorses of this caliber are treated better than most humans I know. If there are other choices available, they will be taken. I also know that horses, particularly Thoroughbreds, have fragile legs. They are bred to be tall, for longer strides, and lightweight, so they can move forward faster with less effort, making it easy for bones to snap if they land their strides wrong. Many people don’t know about these issues, but I do, and I am still not sure what to think. I cannot make my heart calm down at the idea of those two amazing horses, at the very top of their game, being killed.
This is an issue that isn’t that much publicized; there is a lot of money in horse racing, and those in charge don’t want bad publicity, but how much worse can it get than actually publicly killing the industry’s biggest stars? I’ve read that only about 2 deaths occur per 1,000 horses raced, but is that still too many? My poor, horse-loving heart is having a tough time with this one.
13 Comments, Comment or Ping
*SB*
You know ive never been to a horse track but Ive always wanted to watch a race…
As someone that loves animals…that was apart of my hesitation about attending…I didnt want to support something that exploited animals…damn it when I go to the carnival or flea market- I never rode the pony ride!!
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TROUBLMan
I love animals, but I never understood what compels a person to fight for animals right. I know someone has to do it, but what makes a person say I’m going to fight for animal rights. Personally, I feel some of these people need to start fighting for human rights.
Maybe it’s just me, but what’s more humane, protecting humans or animals?
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*SB* reply on May 9, 2008 9:19 am:
I understand your point and although I try to do my little bit for the environment and animals…if I really had to choose I would protect a human over both…
Some people are compelled to protect animals because unlike humans…they cannot speak-up/ defend themselves therefore someone must keep their interest and safety in mind…
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TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 9:58 am:
I understand that logic but how humane is it to pity animals. Animals can’t talk and maybe they can’t defend themselves but they were doing just fine until we started making them pets.
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Lag reply on May 9, 2008 10:17 am:
But, now that we have made them pets, isn’t it our responsibility to do our best by them? When we assume responsibility for an animals, as we have for horses (wild horses have pretty much died out - there are only very small populations of wild horses left in the world), don’t you think we have to take their health and safety into consideration? Just like if we adopt a child.
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*SB* reply on May 9, 2008 10:23 am:
Lag-
i agree we have created a problem when it concerns animals by domesticating them and reducing their habitat…now we must mindful of them in our decisons…
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TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 12:50 pm:
To me, we’re already past cruel. The fact that we’ve bred animals to be dependent on us is cruelty at the extreme. I’m conflicted with people having pets. I look at people dragging their dog with a leash and I see cruelty in that. It’s a crazy reality when a so-called intelligent species has made another species its slave for the sake of comfort. But I guess at that level all we can do is take good care of them.
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RBT reply on May 10, 2008 8:19 pm:
I don’t know about that. Its cool to have pets they serve as companions for people where there’s a mutual comfort. As well they can teach responsibility to children and adults and like Lag said a lot of pets are treated better than some people.
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"A Mom" reply on May 24, 2008 1:46 pm:
Animals are human. They have rights too, but when that put more into animals and forget our children then I have a problem.
I see on TV the new coverage when a pet it stolen of hurt, but when a child is not given the same as an animal. I love animals but I have a problem with the difference.
[Reply]
troublsome
What if someone was to view human as animals, and started treating us like it? Think about it we value of being humane, because we are humans… But what If animals communicate in a sense where we don’t understand?
I was thinking about this yesterday as I was watching television. There was a fly that kept buzzing around the TV and really began to irritate me. Looking around anxiously for something to swat his ass with, he began to irritate me more, and I grew more eager to kill em’. So finally “Wack” I killed his punk ass… then got a piece of tissue and disposed of it… Then I asked myself “why is that I killed something that has a functioning, conscious operating system and don’t feel shit about it. But the outcome would be different if I popped a brotha on the street corner, for looking at me wrong. I would lose sleep at night, and be concerned about the consequences and repercussions for my actions. The only reason we don’t feel anything for animals is because we feel superior to them.
Then I started to think about the D.C Snipers, The Columbine Kats, and the Virginia Tech Killers. What if they felt superior to humans, and viewed us as parasites or animals and didn’t feel a thing about swatting and killing all over their victims. It’s evident that they felt the same exact way we do when we kill a fly for buzzing in front of the television, or how we slaughter a pig just to cook breakfast in the morning.
Now don’t get me wrong. I will kick the shit out of an annoying barking ass Chihuahua and I’m not to any measure close to becoming a vegetarian. I definitely aint going to stand outside of Michael Vick’s courtroom to protest against his actions. Last night just made me think if, Humans started feeling as if they were superior to other’s they wouldn’t value their lives or well beings… I know it’s going a little off the deep end, and a bit analytical “But It was just a thought I had”
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*SB* reply on May 9, 2008 10:42 am:
LMAO @ your conquest in killing the annoying fly…but I feel you…I felt bad about killing a spider the other day…I was like, “i should have just tossed it out the window so it would have a chance to survive” ….as humans, we do feel superior to other animals because we have a mind and the ability of projectivity…
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Connor Pitetti reply on May 21, 2008 1:30 pm:
What you are failing to take into consideration is that the animals feel the exact same way about you. You think that a fly gives a damn about your life? If it was capable of killing you, and killing you would benefit it in some way, it wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.
This doesn’t mean that I think we should be completely selfish and kill everything just because we can. But before you demonize something for putting its own interests above the interests of others, remember that that is what the whole system of evolution is based on. Selfishness is the driving force behind life; thats what Nietzsche is talking about when he says ‘will to power.’
[Reply]
alwayswrite
They’re horses, bred for running as you mentioned. It’s definitely a tragedy that as a part of their occupation, they find themselves near death. But, humans find themselves in harms way and near death throughout their occupations too. It’s just that in the case of humans, we haven’t been bred for it. Our breeding usually begins somewhere around late high school, maybe early college. I’m not sure the horses know what they’re getting themselves into, but it appears to me that racing for thoroughbreds is in such an alignment with their natural dispotion that anything else short of racing would be detrimental–as Lag points out.
And as an aside, PETA, is a group that few understand outside the group. I realize their care but it’s taken to fanaticism at times. I mean, thoroughbreds are bred for racing, let them race. Plus, “2 deaths per 1,000 horses,” is a damn good ratio. Again, they aren’t humans, even if they were, some human endeavors have a risk factor, hence, insurance.
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