Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have to jump in with a couple of comments.

I used to follow TB racing religiously and memorized lists of pedigrees just 
for fun. Found it fascinating - and the sight of those horses streaming down 
the backstretch never failed to bring tears to my eyes. I kept track of 
breedings and foal crops, and started to wonder where some of the foals 
ended up - those that had stellar breedings and *should* have been 
successful racers. Did a little poking around - and discovered the dirt 
hidden beneath the fabulous barns and expensive silks. The number of horses 
that break down on the way to the track is disgusting. Someone made a 
comment that they were surprised by the number that survive sound to race - 
it isn't that great of a number, IMHO. What happened to Barbaro was *not* an 
exceptional case - except for the fact that it happened on network TV during 
a highly touted race. At Arlington track just a couple of weeks ago, 16 
horses broke down on the track in one week. 12 were euthanized. The track 
surface was examined and found to be fine.

I don't have the money to be involved in the TB industry so I can't speak 
about their training or conditioning practices. But I have done enough 
research to know that whatever they are doing is not good for the horses. 
And I think the commonly accepted practice of retiring studs from the track 
as 3 or 4 year olds and then breeding them for the next 20 years is a 
mistake. It is too easy to breed for traits like early muscle development, 
speed, and competitve aggression without taking care to breed for important 
characteristics like good feet, strong bones, and a sturdy body.

I cried when I saw Barbaro that day - I've always disagreed in principle 
with racing horses as 2 and 3 year olds, but I still wanted to see a Triple 
Crown winner. The Triple Crown is not worth losing so many horses. I will 
never watch another 3 year old race as long as I live. I'll wait for those 
few that are still racing as 6 year olds... and pray they stay sound. To 
relate this to endurance - that's what I like about endurance the most - the 
focus on building *long* partnerships and keeping horses sound and healthy 
for *miles and miles and miles*.

Just my 2 cents - thanks for letting me vent!

Jen

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