A beautiful thing... (Chattanooga, Henry: home, movies, live)

[Grizzlybear34]

I am not a horse owner, and am a little leary about horse riding. I can appreciate their beauty and the strength and grace of these marvelous athletes - better from a distance though!

Scoping through the papers on line this morning, I came across this article. In light of the recent tragedy at the Kentucky Derby, this is a great way for people with a passion for horses to preserve these wonderful creatures. I had never thought about where the horses that don't win go, I just assumed they would live their lives on farms, happily ever after.

Well, here's the article and would like to hear anyone's story on horse adoption. I am sure there are a few on here that have done it, or know of others who have done it.

Chattanooga Times Free Press | Chattanooga: Former racehorses get a second chance

[goodbyehollywood]

I would love to own horses, but I don't have the land. I will never have the land for them, because I'm a city person. But adopting racehorses is a wonderful opportunity for those who have acreage.

I have a friend whose family has a farm in Maryland. Her parents let it be known that anybody who couldn't feed or care for their horses could bring them to their barn and they would be taken in. They were astonished at how many animals were left at the farm, because their owners didn't have the time and money to care for them. They would care for the horses and either rehome them or keep them. The kids always had plenty of horses to ride growing up!

It's a wonderful service these people in the article are providing. Thanks for posting.

[gemkeeper]

That story, Grizzly, is one of the saddest situations concerning animals that I have read in a long time.

Who would ever imagine that an "child" of a horse at 4 yrs. old could be sold as feed. That is a real commentary of life anymore, isn't it?

The horse is treated like royalty with the best of everything until there is no monetary gain any longer and then they are worth pet food to some owners.

I applaud anyone who adopts any abandoned or institutionalized pet, but particularly those who take on the responsibility and love involved with rescuing these retired race horses.

I don't think I will ever again be thrilled with the Derby or any other race knowing what the real stakes are.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I wonder how many others, like me, thought that these animals went on to Happy Farm for breeding and pampering the rest of their lives.

[pineywoods]

Horses are a time consuming, long-term commitment, and often an expensive one. People who "want a cute pony to ride" without doing their homework on how to care for such a large animal or what to do when Flossy's manners aren't too nice after all do themselves and the horse a disservice...there are way too many horses starving in inadequate facilities in America.

We have three pastures, and last year all three dried up in the drought. We limped three horses along through October and began feeding hay we brought in from Ohio. We heard of horses starving in Virginia and North Carolina, and saw an ad on Craigslist from one woman in the Tri Cities who was begging for free hay (I wonder what happened to her horse, because not too many people had hay to give away last year.)

Once we're a bit more established I want to contact the Washington and Sullivan Counties animal authorities and be put on the list as a foster home for abused horses until they can be rehomed. It's not just race horses, lame or old animals or bad mannered horses that go to the meat markets in Canada or molder away to bones in a crappy yard. It could be a sweet family pet, or a wonderful show horse that performed its heart out for its owner only to be sold to someone who wasted its life out of ignorance, cruelty of inadequate finances. Because they are so big and require a lot of care, they suffer more than any other domestic pet I can think of.

If you see a malnourished horse in a pasture...do it a favor...call the animal protection league in your area and ask them to check it out. These lovable big lugs need our help!

[Robbied]

Originally Posted by Grizzlybear34

I am not a horse owner, and am a little leary about horse riding. I can appreciate their beauty and the strength and grace of these marvelous athletes - better from a distance though!

Scoping through the papers on line this morning, I came across this article. In light of the recent tragedy at the Kentucky Derby, this is a great way for people with a passion for horses to preserve these wonderful creatures. I had never thought about where the horses that don't win go, I just assumed they would live their lives on farms, happily ever after.

Well, here's the article and would like to hear anyone's story on horse adoption. I am sure there are a few on here that have done it, or know of others who have done it.

Chattanooga Times Free Press | Chattanooga: Former racehorses get a second chance

Thank you for posting this. It opened my eyes to things I never really thought of. Is it humane to run them like that ? Barbaro , now Eight Belles this year.

To think that they make them into "food". What type of food are horses made into. I am ignorant in this area, I will admit it.

How beautiful to adopt one of these horses. We personally had adopted a greyhound that was a former race dog but it did not work out and we had to give him back to the "adoption agency" and I know Henry must have found a good home after us, at least I hope so.

[pineywoods]

Originally Posted by Robbied

To think that they make them into "food". What type of food are horses made into. I am ignorant in this area, I will admit it.

Horse meat is popular in France and Canada, as well as other European countries. Some parts of the horse are used in dog food I believe.

[goodbyehollywood]

Yes, horses are used in dog food. That's one of those things that nobody likes to think about-- like what really goes in hot dogs or how chickens are treated before ultimately going to KFC. I eat very little meat, and whenever I'm reminded of these sorts of things, I swear off of it completely for a while.

I agree with you, gem, about the Kentucky Derby. I've loved it since I was a child, but I feel differently about it now. Sometime, when none of us were looking, sportsmanship gave way to greed. Or maybe we were looking, but not seeing. I'll never, ever forget that haunting picture of Eight Belles lying on the track, struggling valiantly to get up, while her jockey stalked away without helping. I'd like to think it will be a wake-up call, a turning point or an epiphany for racing, but more than likely, it'll be a blip in the consciousness of a few, before returning to business as usual. It probably wouldn't even be that, if she weren't a filly who placed second.

[Bear Creek]

A friend of ours went to a livestock show, on the plateau or nearby, and said he saw lots of horses who's owners were trying to give them away. He said they had signs on them "take me home, I'm free." These were good horses. It's just the drought and the way the economy is, it's really hurting.

[2mares]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I wonder how many others, like me, thought that these animals went on to Happy Farm for breeding and pampering the rest of their lives.

Dont forget the Nurse mare foals, PMU foals and mustangs. You can do a search for the particulars. It is really sad what is done to these animals for the almighty dollar.

I was involved with a group and organization out of KY that rescued and re homed the NMFs. I never adopted one, but I did adopt a mustang.

[Rocket Dog]

Bear Creek,

Thank you so much for your post. I have loved the Derby and all the Triple Crown races since I was a child, for over 60 years. Watching Barbaro continuing to try to run on three legs in the Preakness in '06 was horrible. What happened this year to Eight Belles broke my heart.

This week's TIME magazine has an article about Eight Belles, and about thoroughbred breeding and racing in general. That article, along with more research I've done has, as someone earlier stated, ruined my love for thoroughbred racing.

Last week I heard this on NPR: What most people don't know about horseracing is that every day of the year, at some racetrack in the country, a horse is seriously injured and euthanized. We don't hear about them because they are not the highly publicized races, such as the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont, et al.

So sad that it takes something as extreme as Eight Belles' demise to open our eyes to what these horses go through. Yes, they LOVE to race. They were bred to race, and it is true that it is what they want to do. But the bottom line is, the entire sport is about greed--the breeders, the owners, the trainers. We see romanticized movies about well-known racehorses, but we never see the truth; that is, that the overbreeding of these horses is as inhumane as it can get. RIP Eight Belles.