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This has been in the news a lot in the last several months and something I had never heard before. First it was believed due to conditions of the track for the unusual heavy rains this winter and now there is talk about the drug Lasix which is given to horses in the U.S. and Canada the day of the races.
I used to be a big Thoroughbred racing fan until about ten years ago but just couldn't anymore because the trend in breeding seemed to be leading to fast horses with legs so fragile they's snap if you looked at them funny and I just didn't have the heart to watch the big races any more because there seemed to be an ever increasing number of fatal breakdowns.
I used to be a big Thoroughbred racing fan until about ten years ago but just couldn't anymore because the trend in breeding seemed to be leading to fast horses with legs so fragile they's snap if you looked at them funny and I just didn't have the heart to watch the big races any more because there seemed to be an ever increasing number of fatal breakdowns.
Interesting on the breeding trends for fast horses. I'm not a fan but have gone to the track a couple times in my life. Money money money...that's always the big bottom line.
Interesting on the breeding trends for fast horses. I'm not a fan but have gone to the track a couple times in my life. Money money money...that's always the big bottom line.
Of course it is. Horse racing, dog racing, rodeos, circuses, etc., are all for profit businesses. They exploit the animals for public entertainment, often times at the animal's expenses, all the while claiming to care about & love the animals. The truth is they care about them as far as a monetary investment is concerned, but not necessarily about their quality of life. But it takes two parties to make a business, so these enterprises will continue as long as the public patronizes them.
We lived in Saratoga Springs NY for a few years and track season was great fun. You could pay $3 for the cheap seats, bring your own cooler full of food & beer, and have lots of fun in the grandstands. You could place $1 bets and have a full day of entertainment for maybe $20 per person.
The horses were great fun and if they were 10% slower but had 50% stronger legs the sport would be all the better for it. We saw maybe 1-2 horses euthanized due to major injuries for all the time we attended.
We lived in Saratoga Springs NY for a few years and track season was great fun. You could pay $3 for the cheap seats, bring your own cooler full of food & beer, and have lots of fun in the grandstands. You could place $1 bets and have a full day of entertainment for maybe $20 per person.
The horses were great fun and if they were 10% slower but had 50% stronger legs the sport would be all the better for it. We saw maybe 1-2 horses euthanized due to major injuries for all the time we attended.
They don't tell you about all the "euthanized" (slaughtered) foals that are waste products of the racing industry. When they (not all but it was common practice) breed a race horse brood mare they want her right back in the business so other mares are bred (nurse mares) for the purpose of nursing these thoroughbred foals. The practice has been to get rid of the foal from the nurse mare to from one day old to a few weeks. These foals were often sold for like $10 and taken to slaughter houses. Rescue groups popped up to try to find homes for these foals but it was very hush hush because the industry didn't want people to know what was going on.
I was a follower of one of these rescues in KY years ago and almost adopted one of the foals.
They don't tell you about all the "euthanized" (slaughtered) foals that are waste products of the racing industry. When they (not all but it was common practice) breed a race horse brood mare they want her right back in the business so other mares are bred (nurse mares) for the purpose of nursing these thoroughbred foals. The practice has been to get rid of the foal from the nurse mare to from one day old to a few weeks. These foals were often sold for like $10 and taken to slaughter houses. Rescue groups popped up to try to find homes for these foals but it was very hush hush because the industry didn't want people to know what was going on.
I was a follower of one of these rescues in KY years ago and almost adopted one of the foals.
What people don't know about the torture of all these animals for the pleasure of man.
Then there is the meat industry, a totally other story about man and the love of meats. I like my meats and not giving them ALL, eat less and less.
What people don't know about the torture of all these animals for the pleasure of man.
I don't know? I dont know what general torture of animals has to do with what I posted but many people didn't know about the nurse mare foals and ties to the horse racing industry.
This treatment is terrible. Horses have always suffered at the whims of man.
There is still a show circuit for "gaited horses" that involve breaking the tail and artificially propping it up and elongating the hooves which have heavy weights on them so the show horse will pick up its feet unnaturally high. The neck is held at ridiculously high incline.
Guess who's in this egregious sport? William Shatner.
Surprised he can heft his bulk onto the poor show horse.
I don't know? I dont know what general torture of animals has to do with what I posted but many people didn't know about the nurse mare foals and ties to the horse racing industry.
A promising solution could be if the Kentucky nurse mare industry adopted the practices of JNP Horses, a nurse farm in Hugo, Oklahoma. Their band of 90 nurse mares is comprised mostly of registered Quarter Horses. Rather than relying on customers to breed them back, JNP manages the breeding with one of its two registered Quarter Horse stallions, Snow Jack Pococito and Mister King Bar.
“If the foals are registered, people will take the extra time, effort and expense of going ahead and raising those ‘bucket babies’ and doing something with them,” says Nancy Pearson, owner of JNP.
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