race horse euthanized

[mike c]

ok, i will accept that:

-it WAS necessary to euthanize this horse.
-tomorrow has a point on other pets ... (though my dogs run free in my garden and my kois have 24/7 filter and waterfalls ) ... and yes i like beef ... im no animal lover in that sense

but i will further:

-avaserfi's gf's point ... this could have been avoided in whatever way.
-while the riders and people who take care of the horses genuinely love them, do the real owners feel the same?

 

[HiDefGuru]

I'm probably going to hell for this, but the second I read the title of this thread I thought of This little gem and started laughing my @$$ off

 

[jonnythan]

but i will further:

-avaserfi's gf's point ... this could have been avoided in whatever way.

What way, exactly?

 

[mike c]

What way, exactly?

IMO, by not racing.

IMO, loving to run is not the same as flat out racing.

 

[jonnythan]

IMO, by not racing.

IMO, loving to run is not the same as flat out racing.

So horse racing should be completely eliminated from the nation?

Maybe, but that's not remotely feasible.

 

[mazersteven]

You guys know who gets the worst? Greyhounds. It's too gory to post how they're treated after they're no longer "useful" even without injuries. Luckily a few years back some folks have been "rescuing" greyhounds from tracks.

I 1000% agree with this post.

 

[mike c]

So horse racing should be completely eliminated from the nation?

Maybe, but that's not remotely feasible.

i don't know.

i'm just ranting here.

 

[Tomorrow]

This is Andrew's horse-person girlfriend. Just wanted to add my 2 cents on this one. As previous posters mentioned- this horse had no chance. There was no way to fix her up and put her out to pasture, or give her any other sort of happy life. It was a tragedy, and the saddest part is that it is largely preventable. The horses running in this race were all 3 year olds, and most have been running for nearly 1 year already. Despite assertions from the racing industry that Thoroughbreds 'mature early', the joints and bones on these horses simply haven't fused together- these horses are immature, and that is why these horrible injuries happen.

So no, this horse couldn't have been saved- they would have spent hundreds of thousands, only to have her put down after additional months of suffering. However, if the horse racing industry was more realistic and intelligent in their treatment of their animals, and allowed animals to mature before running them, this would have been prevented.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm not certain what you mean by "joints and bones...haven't fused together". Joints, by their nature don't "fuse" to anything.

But there is an argument that can be made for your overriding issue of racing these horses before they fully mature their skeletal and muscular structures. The argument against your POV is that they won't do anything they wouldn't do anyway in some pasture (that may also be filled with thousands of mole holes and other nasty hoof traps). Also, since the dawn of man's relationship with and domestication of the horse, equine geneaology has driven the breeding of horses. For example, Sheiks have been attempting to breed more endurance into Arabian horses since well before the time of Christ. Careful records and charts were kept and the breeding goals were definitive. By the way, this breeding of the Arabian horses was tested in endurance races thousands of years ago. Today the Thoroughbred industry is attempting to do a similar thing with Thoroughbred horses...with goals of brilliance (speed), strength (stamina/endurance), and precociousness (early maturation!). One means of testing the results, and improving the breed, is through racing. As I mentioned, successful horses are the ones that get to reproduce. Precocious sires are very desirable. (So horses are maturing at earlier and earlier ages.)

We impose our human will upon all other species of animals, now and for all of history. But one can also make an argument for your POV ... that still we are pushing the bounds of good reason by racing the younger horses (at the age of 2) when they are most vulnerable to injury. I tend to agree with you on this point, in spite of my being an avid horse player. It's just that I try to be consistent with my logic and rationale for issues such as this one...the ethical treatment of animals. I love horses, so I may allow myself and my rationality to be swayed by my emotions. It's as I said to Mike, what we do for one species, we should do for all. Either we should involve ourselves with the protection of all species or none. So, while I would never eat a horse, I wouldn't be so protective of a pig or cow. I believe we really shouldn't just pick and choose which animals we'll use for our human pleasures and which we will protect from those pleasures.

 

[mike c]

It's as I said to Mike, what we do for one species, we should do for all. Either we should involve ourselves with the protection of all species or none. So, while I would never eat a horse, I wouldn't be so protective of a pig or cow. I believe we really shouldn't just pick and choose which animals we'll use for our human pleasures and which we will protect from those pleasures.

and on that note ... grill anyone? (beef of course)

 

[mazersteven]

A bit off topic, but I was wondering something.

What's the significance of the fact that Eight Belles is a filly? They made a big deal of it. Are most race horses male, or older, or something?

Just 38 filies have started in the Kentucky Derby and only three have won: Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988).

There have not been any fillies in the Derby since 1999, when Excellent Meeting finished 5th and Three Ring finished last. Sweet Catomine was being pointed to the 2005 Kentucky Derby but was injured and retired before the race. The last female Derby winner was Winning Colors in 1988, with Genuine Risk in 1980 and Regret in 1915 the only others. Lady Navarre was second in 1906 and five others finished third, giving us a total of just nine in-the-money finishers out of 38 starters.


Year Name Odds Finish Position

1999 Excellent Meeting 4.80" 5th
1999 Three Ring 25.60 19th
1995 Serena's Song 3.40* 16th
1988 Winning Colors 3.40 1st
1984 Life's Magic 2.80* 8th
1984 Althea 2.80* 19th
1982 Cupecoy's Joy 8.90 10th
1980 Genuine Risk 13.30 1st
1959 Silver Spoon 10.80 5th
1945 Misweet 6.80 12th
1936 Gold Seeker 43.40 9th
1935 Nellie Flag 3.80* 4th
1934 Mata Hari 6.30 4th
1934 Bazaar 5.10 9th
1932 Oscillation 6.68 13th
1930 Alcibiades 18.12 10th
1929 Ben Machree 8.44 18th
1922 Startle 3.90 8th
1921 Prudery 1.10* 3rd
1921 Careful 3.60 5th
1920 Cleopatra 35.20 15th
1919 Regalo 6.05 9th
1918 Viva America 29.00 3rd
1915 Regret 2.65* 1st
1914 Bronzewing 13.50 3rd
1914 Watermelon 15.00 7th
1913 Gowell 87.00 3rd
1912 Flamma 17.00 3rd
1911 Round the World 6.50 6th
1906 Lady Navarre 1.80 2nd
1883 Pike's Pride - 6th
1879 Ada Glenn - 7th
1879 Wissahickon - 9th
1877 Early Light - 8th
1876 Lizzie Stone - 6th
1876 Marie Michon - 7th
1875 Ascension - 10th
1875 Gold Mine - 15th



http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2008/contenders/eight-belles

 

[Tomorrow]

and on that note ... grill anyone? (beef of course)

Mais oui!

Unfortunately, I get bean and rice burritos tonight. Not bad...but...

Guess I'm doing something kind for all of animaldome today, yes?! I hope rice plants don't have feelings.

 

[mike c]

Mais oui!

Unfortunately, I get bean and rice burritos tonight. Not bad...but...

Guess I'm doing something kind for all of animaldome today, yes?! I hope rice plants don't have feelings.

just don't fart in the direction of any mammal, and you'll be fine

 

[jonnythan]

Just 38 filies have started in the Kentucky Derby and only three have won: Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988).

There have not been any fillies in the Derby since 1999, when Excellent Meeting finished 5th and Three Ring finished last. Sweet Catomine was being pointed to the 2005 Kentucky Derby but was injured and retired before the race. The last female Derby winner was Winning Colors in 1988, with Genuine Risk in 1980 and Regret in 1915 the only others. Lady Navarre was second in 1906 and five others finished third, giving us a total of just nine in-the-money finishers out of 38 starters.

So what are all the others? Colts?

 

[Tomorrow]

just don't fart in the direction of any mammal, and you'll be fine

LOL. That's why God invented Beano.

 

[Tomorrow]

So what are all the others? Colts?

Yes...colts, or geldings (colts with the family jewels removed), or ridgelings (colts with 1/2 of the family jewels removed).

 

[mazersteven]

So what are all the others? Colts?

Yes

A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. An older male horse is called either a "stallion", if left fertile, or a "gelding", if neutered. A young male horse is considered a colt even if he is gelded. The verb 'to geld' refers to the process of neutering a stallion.

A young female horse is called a filly until age four, and a mare thereafter. As late as the 1930s, "colt" meant "a horse under the age of four," and so could also be used to refer to a filly.

A group of colts is called a "rag".

In the wild, colts are kicked out of their herds when they become stallions by the stallion of the herd. When they are kicked out, they usually will be able to find a herd made of other young stallions or yearlings. They stay with this band until they are mature enough to form their own herd of mares and take care of them, however some stay in their "bachelor" herd and try to steal from other stallions.

 

[Alex2507]

LOL. That's why God invented Beano.

Because with Bean-O there will Be-No gas.

 

[jonnythan]

Are colts just in general stronger or faster than fillies, or is there some reason most competitive racehorses are colts?

 

[mazersteven]

Are colts just in general stronger or faster than fillies,

I would expect that to be true just like humans.

 

[Tomorrow]

This is a little away from the thread topic....but I don't think Mike will mind.

I just finished writing a small book on Thoroughbred Race Handicapping. As soon as I complete the (seemingly never-ending delaying) process of publishing the thing, I would be willing to send one (free) to any interested AH member. PM me if you want one. I'll see what I can do.