And Ode to Derby Day
There's a misconception that racehorses are treated like royalty. Sure, when they're in their prime, have won their owners a small fortune, and have earned notoriety for their ability to run fast, they're cherished and well taken care of. They retire to breed descendants that carry the lofty aspirations of wannabe successful racehorse owners. But how many of those descendants succeed in accomplishing those dreams? You tell me. In all my 31 years of being a crazy horse girl, I've never been an avid follower of horse racing, so only a few names stand out for me. California Chrome, American Pharoh, Secretariat, Seabiscuit, Seattle Slew.... and more? Because honestly without looking up famous racehorses on google I can't think of any more. But an excess of 100,000 racehorses are bred every year. Every. Single. Year. What happens to these horses after their racing career? Not what you would think. Let's start off with the ones that never make it to the starting line. Those that are born with defects (#sahrVivaldi), dummy foal syndrome, cast off foals that are taken from a non-racing mother so a Thoroughbred foal can nurse. Meanwhile the Thoroughbred mother is bred back (bred for the second time that year) and the cast off foal's fate is left to chance. This is just the beginning to the casualties of the horse racing industry. What about those horses that are qualified to be trained? They're started young (as young as 2 years old) and often develop knee problems due to excessive work. A horse's bones are not fully developed until they're 3-4 years old. This early training, while intending to create faster horses, often results in injuries that end their racing career (#sahrSelection, #sahrMoose, #sahrLogan). Once these horses make it to the starting line, their fate still hangs in the balance. An average of 800 horses die every year for our entertainment while racing. They break legs, their hearts burst, they're overdosed on drugs. They're raced to death. The fates of those who grow out of their prime racing days (on average they peak at 4.5 years), aren't much more promising. Any horse can be sold. Perhaps the well intending owner wants to place the horse in a non racing home (best case scenario). Perhaps someone thinks the horse needs a better trainer, so they purchase the horse so he'll race some more. Perhaps the horse is purchased for illegal match racing where the horse can be pumped with drugs and raced until it's literally run into the ground. But for most, the fate of a slow racehorse is on the auction block where bidders include backyard breeders, well-intentioned amateur horse enthusiasts, and infamous kill buyers (#hicaliberRomance, #hicaliberKiley, #hicaliberEngineer, #hicaliberGambler, #hicaliberStrategist, #hicaliberSeattleProud, #hicaliberJaden, #hicaliberBev, #hicaliberFinn, just to name a few). When purchased for slaughter, these once-spoiled and loved equines suddenly find themselves crammed in a trailer headed to the nearest border, without food or water until they reach their final destination. Horses in Canada are packed alive in shipping crates and shipped by airplane to Japan for a special kind of sashimi. It is considered within humane standards for livestock to be without food and water for 3 days. Horses bound for Mexico are sealed in a trailer with strict orders to not open the truck until they reach the slaughter house. If a horse collapses during transport, it will not receive any veterinary care due to this regulation. There are responsible Thoroughbred breeders that care about the horses they produce. These owners care about the homes they end up in once their racing career is over. They make the effort to place the horses in homes that will retrain them for future careers in hunting, jumping, and endurance sports. They budget to treat injuries, they have contingency plans for horses produced with birth defects, and they donate to horse rescues to combat their "carbon hoofprint". These are not the people that have ruined the horse racing industry. The people that have ruined the racing industry are the ones that put money above all else. That look at these animals like tools for their own notoriety and financial gain. They're selfishly taking advantage of the nature of the industry, these horses, and intentionally or unintentionally inflicting harm for their own entertainment. These are the people that have caused the problems and left the rest of us to come up with a solution. Solving the problem of the racing industry isn't the responsibility of one facet, it's the responsibility of everyone. It's the responsibility of the breeders to be more conservative with their breeding practices. It's the responsibility of the owners and jockeys to put the welfare of the horse before a paycheck. It's the responsibility of the racetrack to not just profit from the dedication of these animals, but to invest into what happens to them after the racetrack. Finally, it's the responsibility of the spectators. Those horse racing enthusiasts that tune into the Kentucky Derby every year, bet on the favorite, root for the Triple Crown contender, and bask in the celebration of hoofbeats, hats, and mint juleps. Every dollar you spend at the racetrack supports a shadow of dishonor that hovers over the entire sport. It is your responsibility to educate yourself. It is your responsibility to know what racing means to these horses and their future. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. If you don't support a solution, you are part of the problem. If you want to be part of the solution, support horse rescues that clean up the racetrack leftovers. Some of the ones I support are: HiCaliber Horse Rescue, Valley Center, CA - Rescues horses from livestock auction and more. Serenity Acres Horse Rescue, Ramona, CA - Specializes in racehorse rehabilitation and aftercare, making sure the horses have a future beyond the racetrack. Unbridled Spirits Thoroughbred Retirement Ranch, Lisbon, IA - Provides a retirement home for former racehorses so they can live out their days playing in rolling green pastures.
