With so much talk of the dangers of thoroughbred racing and eventing and the cruel training practices littered across all equestrian disciplines, it’s easy to lose sight of how many people go above and beyond to take care of their horses.
We see the tragedy of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby and want to blame people for racing horses too young, breeding unsound horses, forcing them to run, whipping too much, or being too greedy to care about the horses.
We see all of these recent eventing accidents where horses and people are seriously injured and even killed, and blame it on their inexperience or the course difficulty or a million other factors.
Hindsight is 20/20. Eight Belles owners and the various event riders and trainers can look back and find a million things they could have done differently. Tragic accidents don’t mean people love horses less. They happen. Sometimes people are at fault and should be held accountable, and sometimes they are not.
But for every negative practice or avoidable accident we hear about, there are just as many if not more people taking exceptional care of their horses. Most people who are truly passionate about their equine friends go above and beyond to ensure that they are healthy, happy, and well-cared for.
In general, horses in our country are not being abused. While the negative incidents and issues do need to be addressed, non-horse people need to realize that horses in American still have it pretty darn good. For every farm that is raided and makes the national news for abuse, there are probably 10 more in the area that are properly caring for their charges. For every horse that breaks down on the track, there are hundreds that make out just fine.
And there are people who continue to care for horses they can no longer ride through no fault of their own. Some are rescues, some are unavoidable injuries that happened out in the pasture, some are retired racers; these horses are getting care because they are loved, not because of what they can do.
We need to keep it all in perspective and remember that the negative always gets more attention while the positive flies under the radar. We have better veterinary care than ever before, we have more knowledge (literally) at our fingertips than ever before, we have more animal rescues looking out for the abused, cruel training practices continue to be outlawed one by one, US slaughterhouses are closed. We do have a lot of progress to be thankful for.
Don’t get me wrong. One life lost is too many. We should be outraged by cruel treatment of horses and methods that don’t have the horse’s best interests at heart. We should cry out and try to make a difference. At the same time, we need to be thankful that so many horses do have good homes, proper care, and owners who truly love them.
I love your blog award I was honored with an “I Love Your Blog” award from On The Bit. Thanks a bunch! I love reading your blog too, and am grateful to be a part of such a great community of horse bloggers. I decided to pass it on to some other bloggers who take exceptional care of their horses despite great adversity. Some have horses with injuries or confirmation problems or abusive backgrounds and cannot be ridden or used for much. But these women love them and give them the utmost care anyway. If you aren’t reading them already, you should! You will be touched by their stories, their strength, and their love for their horses.
Guns and White Roses - It was Amy’s dream to have a white Quarter Horse to train for reining. After eons of searching, she finally found her from a reputable breeder. Because the filly was on the other side of the country, Amy trusted the reputation of the breeder and the pictures she had seen. When Rose stepped off the trailer, Amy was shocked to see that the yearling was swaybacked, a fact that was hidden, and would likely never be ridden. Despite this major setback, Amy loves Rose and treats her just like any other horse.
Saving Argus - Argus is a 16-year-old gray thoroughbred who was rescued last year from abusive conditions. He spent his entire life in a small pen with no turnout and bread and rotting lettuce for food. He has had much to overcome, and is learning to be a horse while Kate rehabilitates him. Kate’s writing is beautiful, as is Argus’s story.
Woodend Farms - Woodend Farms is dear to my heart because they take in and retrain retired thoroughbred racehorses and then find them good homes. This blog shares the stories of a handful of these special horses as well as the going-ons of the farm. Lots of pictures and good writing.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Blogosphere, meet Poke. Poke is a 10-year-old, 14.3 hand (ish) quarter horse. He’s hamming it up for the camera with his mom, Lea.
Lea is somewhat new to horses, and Poke is her first equine baby. He was bought for her by a former trainer, and she hasn’t done a whole lot with him yet. I don’t know a whole lot about his history, other than that he hasn’t done much lately, used to belong to an Amish man who did some driving with him, and has decent basic training. He’s very sweet, very willing, laid-back, and pretty easy to handle. All-in-all, he’s a great first horse for Lea.
About a month ago, Lea brought Poke to live at my friends Dave and Tracie’s, the friends who own the horses I’ve been riding and for whom I pet-sit. She does a lot of groundwork with him, and has been doing a little riding.
Last night was a barn night for Dave, Tracie, Lea and another friend, and since it was a beautiful evening in here in Northeast Ohio, I had to get involved. Dave has ridden Poke to test him out, but they wanted me to hop on and see how he goes too.
Let me just say, Poke is going to be a lot of fun.
He wasn’t quite sure of me when I first swung into the saddle. He tried to walk off as I was half-way mounted. I asked him to stop and stand, and he quickly realized he needed to wait for me and stood there patiently. Once we did head out to the rail, he wanted to live up to his name and amble around as slowly as I would let him. With a little urging, he picked it up and stepped out in a more forward walk.
Even though I had been warned that he has a springy trot, I wasn’t ready for it to be so forward after his pokey (pun intended!) walk. But it was forward, springy, and completely wonderful. Poke’s trot is very similar to Penny’s, and even though it really makes you work physically, it’s a whole lot of fun. It wasn’t teeth-rattling, bone-jarring bouncy, just very lively yet smoothly springy.
His canter was more reminiscent of his walk in that it was a bit short strided.
Oh, and let me just say, Poke has the best brake of any horse I’ve ever ridden. You sit up and squeeze you rear end and boom! he’s instantly walking. It’s pretty amazing. His up transitions are pretty good too; he went into a canter with fewer than three trot strides from the trot and walk.
Much like when I started with Marahute four years ago, Poke just hasn’t gotten a lot of ring work. His basics are solid, and he just needs to learn to balance, collect, carry himself, bend, and regulate speed. He gets heavy on the forehand and is uncomfortable in the turns. But he’s fine as long as you give him lots of support. He’s smart and willing, so I’m sure it won’t take long for him to learn to carry himself.
So, Poke has officially moved higher than Marahute and Classic in the priority list. They just need exercise, but we want Poke as ready for Lea as he can be. Lea is very much into horses and wants to soak up every bit of information she possibly can about everything involved. She’s a little wary to make sure everything is correct, but does seem to have a natural knack for it. If only all new horse people were like her! Poke is a great first horse for Lea, and will be even better once we polish him up a bit.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
This is Penny, aka Princess L’Heureux of A Thoroughbred Family Affair fame performing her special trick–bowing. She’s a diva. But she’s not a diva who is above begging.
A good 13 years ago, I taught Penny to bow. I took her favorite treat, a peppermint, and would place it between her front legs up by her elbow. I’d get her to follow it down with her nose, and then I’d tap her left front pastern with my foot until she placed it forward and tipped it. Hence, a leg up and a nose between her legs for the basic bow. Let me tell, you that mare is a quick learner. She picked it up in just a few tries and never forgot.
In the picture above, she’s bowing when asked. (That’s my mom performing the trick while I played photographer, by the way.) To ask, all you have to do is tap the inside of Penny’s upper leg, and bam! Her head is down and leg out and tipped up so delicately.
In this picture, however, Penny is begging. She hasn’t been asked to perform her trick. But she knows that if she bows anyway, she’s asking for a treat and is likely to get it.
For years after I taught her to bow, she’d do it every time I walked into her stall without being asked. Pavlov’s horse anyone?
I even did an eighth grade science experiment on teaching horses to bow. It wasn’t very good as I didn’t have an actual thesis (I’ve always been the more creative, writing oriented child; science was my worst subject). But I taught eight other horses at Little Neshannock Stables Penny’s bowing trick. She remained the queen bee though; none of them learned as fast or as well as she did. Most of them just looked at me quizzically as if stay “Just give me that carrot already, wouldya?”
This is Penny saying “Just give me that grain already, wouldya?” (she was getting a little tired of holding her bowing pose for pictures). “I did it, I did it, now let me have it!”
And this is Penny getting something she likes even better than peppermints — if that’s equinely possible — a good scratch. If she’s especially itchy, and you get just the right spot, she’ll about fall over she enjoys it so much (really she will. I’m not exaggerating. The wall has come in handy on more than one occasion).
Penny isn’t a particularly vocal horse, but this last weekend while I was at home visiting, she was happy to see me. I was making my way down the barn aisle and stopped to talk to the horse in the stall next to Penny’s. When she heard me, she started nickering and didn’t stop. I went into her stall. She looked me over once, swung her side over to me, and stood there nickering. So I started scratching.
She has me so well trained, doesn’t she?
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Recently I’ve seen conversations cropping up more and more often about the benefits of barefoot trimming versus traditional shoeing. The natural hoof movement seems to be gaining ground slowly and surely, advocating the shock absorption and other benefits of an unshod hoof. Many horses with severe hoof issues have recovered and are now completely sound from receiving this special barefoot trim.
The barefoot trim isn’t just pulling shoes and keeping a horse’s foot at an appropriate length and angle … it’s an art. It’s a very specific method of trimming hooves. Equisearch.com has a very well-researched, convincing article called “Is Barefoot Better?” that covers the hoof anatomy and function, barefoot trimming basics, barefoot trimming benefits, and case studies. I would highly recommend reading this article to get up to speed on this movement and why it might be right for your horse.
In doing some additional reading, I came across an interesting article advocating the idea that a natural hoof provides more shock absorption for racehorses (and of course, horses in general). I’d heard that one of the reasons Big Brown (the Kentucky Derby winner) ran so few races before the Derby was due to problems with cracks and hoof wall separation. So, his trainer removed his traditional metal shoes and fitted him with a plastic, flexible shoe that was glued instead of nailed on.
But he’s still wearing a shoe, even if it’s not the traditional metal one. What’s the difference?
A horse’s natural hoof is designed to flex and spread slightly on impact, which pumps blood through the hoof keeping it healthy and absorbing shock. The traditional metal shoe is restrictive and doesn’t allow that spreading/flexing to happen. On the other hand, the plastic shoe Big Brown sported did.
These slow motion videos of horse’s trotting are an interesting look at just how much shock a horse’s leg takes.
With metal shoe
Barefoot
It’s interesting to note that Big Brown, a horse with a history of lameness issues, galloped away healthy, strong, and draped in the Kentucky Derby red roses. Eight Belles, wearing metal shoe, came into the race sound, placed second, and minutes later was dead from a injuries to both front legs.
All kinds of theories have been presented to explain what happened to Eight Belles. This one may not get as much press, but it’s certainly worth considering. And it’s the kind of change that could make a difference for all horses. Be sure to read the articles linked above, they’re well-written and thought-provoking.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
The death of Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles is just the highest-profile accident in a rash of incidents all across the equestrian industry bringing the safety of horses (and riders) to the forefront. I’ve talked a lot recently about the dangers of eventing. That’s been big news between Darren Chiacchia’s accident and several equine deaths at the Rolex Three Day Event just a few weeks ago. Now, horse racing is hitting the mainstream spotlight too.
For the first time ever, I actually knew a bit about all of the horses going into the Kentucky Derby this year. I knew their names, their trainers, the races they had won, their strengths, their weaknesses. And I knew that there was a filly, Eight Belles, who wanted to give the boys a run for their money. I thought it would be cool if she did well, but I didn’t really have high hopes. And then I saw her in the Kentucky Derby post parade. At 17-hands tall and well-muscled she stood out from the crowd as an athletic animal who could easily contend with the colts. And she did. She came under the wire 4 3/4 lengths behind Big Brown, and several lengths ahead of the rest of the 18-horse field. She was galloping strong, her ears were up, and she didn’t show any signs of the break down that was to come.
And then she was down on the track. And the next thing we knew, she was gone.
It was heartbreaking for those of us at home watching; I can only imagine how bad it was for her owners, trainer, jockey, and groom. You don’t have a horse like Eight Belles in your barn without getting attached and caring about her well-being — and not just for the sake of your bank account.
Over the past week, fingers have been pointed and various reasons have been offered for why Eight Belles broke both of her front legs as she galloped out after the race. Popular reasons in the media have included:
Churchhill Downs was at fault: they still use a natural dirt track instead of a synthetic footing, and synthetic footing provides more cushion.
The trainer was at fault: he allegedly gave Eight Belles steroids.
The jockey was at fault: he pushed her too hard in the homestretch.
Unfortunately, these explanations are getting all of the press and have not much validity. Synthetic footing is relatively new, and while it does provide more cushioning than dirt, it’s not significant enough to have made a difference in Eight Belles case. The doctor who examined her on the track said he didn’t think the track footing was to blame. And I agree.
The trainer vehemently denies giving Eight Belles steroids, which would improve her muscle and decrease her bone density. He’s even ordered drug tests to be performed to prove that she wasn’t under the influence of debilitating steroids. Only time will tell on this one. I don’t think it sounds all that likely. For one, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt (innocent until proven guilty is supposed to be the rule). Secondly, I don’t think he’d order the drug test if he had given her steroids; he’d be digging his own grave.
As for the jockey, he said himself that he puts his life at stake every time he gets up on a racehorse, and pushing her if he knew something was wrong is just asking for it. These jockeys care about the horses and they care about themselves. They are great horseman, and if something was wrong he would have known from her stride and pulled her up - for both their sakes.
So, while these reasonings are at the core of media discussions, I think the root of the problem is deeper, hairier, and less likely to change. There has been a lot talk of these problems:
people are breeding thoroughbreds for speed at the expense of soundness
at 3-years of age, these racehorses aren’t close to being fully developed
I think these are the two major contributors to Eight Belles death as well as many other racetrack injuries and unsoundness problems in today’s thoroughbreds. In years past, thoroughbreds were heavier-boned and lasted a whole lot longer. They would race for years and years, maybe to be retired at 6 or 7. Today, the successful racehorses are often retired after their 3-year-old season. They aren’t as sturdy and their careers don’t have the same longevity. They are bred with lighter bones to facilitate greater speed, but which also makes them much more fragile. So at the root, we have a breeding problem.
In reading different articles and their comments related to Eight Belles, people have many misconceptions about thoroughbreds. One is that they are fully mature when they run in the Kentucky Derby. This is simply not true. No horse reaches full maturity at the tender age of three. Some breeds develop faster and some develop slower, but most thoroughbreds don’t reach full maturity until they are 5 or 6 years old. At only 3 years old running in the biggest race of their lives, these horses still have young bones that haven’t fully developed. It only makes sense that this makes them more susceptible to injury and chronic unsoundness.
I’ve seen other conversations where people who don’t know horses claim that Eight Belles was pushed to death and that racing is all about the money. These people have never ridden a thoroughbred. I’ve been on the backs of thoroughbreds who love to run and who love to jump. They live for the times they get to do this. And they make it obvious that they don’t want to stop. A horse will always tell you if he’s uncomfortable or unhappy. And a horse who doesn’t like to run will never do it successfully, no matter how hard you push her. Running, jumping, and competition is hard wired into thoroughbreds. They live for it and thrive on it. While I’m sure too many people are focused solely on the money, many others are in racing because they love the sport and love the horses.
At the same time, I don’t believe we should race them at 3-years-old simply because we can. If we really cared, we’d give them longer to develop and breed them for soundness as well as speed. Just because a thoroughbred can run well or jump high doesn’t mean it should … yet. We need to take their well-being into mind.
With breeding and age the true roots of the problems with breakdowns at the track, I don’t think we’ll see any significant changes in the racing industry any time soon. After the current public outcry, more tracks may switch to synthetic footing and be more stringent about how much a jockey can whip a horse. I think the racetracks and race people will put a band-aid over the wound long before addressing the root of the problem.
A few weeks ago, I chaperoned a high school trip to New York City where I actually got to see some mounted police at work in Times Square.
Mounted police horses have always intrigued me because they are so completely bomb proof and have a very different job compared to other horses. And I always wondered what exactly they did, since I’d only really ever seen them just standing there on the side of the road.
On our first night in NYC, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and then walked five blocks to the theater where we saw Hairspray. During that walk, I saw the three horses pictured above. At first they were just standing there all relaxed. Cabs, bikes, and people where whizzing by, lights were flashing all around, horns were honking, people were yelling, and the horses were half asleep. (If my horse got dropped in the middle of Times Square, she’d go into shock from sensory overload and probably drop dead of a heart attack. But these three didn’t pay the least bit of attention.)
As I was craning my neck to stare at the horses, wondering what on earth they did besides stand there, I got to see them in action. In the distance, the whine of an ambulance sounded and a blur of flashing lights came into view. And the three police casually walked into the middle of the road, fanning across and blocking traffic. They left one lane open for the moving traffic, and effectively cleared the center lane for the oncoming ambulance. As the ambulance approached, they separated and let it pass, and then merged again to keep traffic at an ample distance from the emergency vehicle.
They walked calmly to the next intersection where they congregated on the corner. And one of the horses started blowing and spooking at a generator running nearby. He went sideways and popped up a little in his front end, catching his rider with too long reins and relaxing in the saddle. She caught them up and got him under control, but I kinda thought it served her right for assuming that her horse was half asleep in the middle of Times Square. I was glad to see the mounted police horses were still horses … paying attention to their surroundings and aware of things that would scare any other normal horse.
Then, after all the excitement of walking one block down the road in the middle of Broadway Avenue, the three horses went back to sleep in their new curb-side location.
I saw this group of mounted police the next day outside an upscale hotel … taking a mid-afternoon nap while his rider talked on her cell phone. It sure is a rough life, standing around all day.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
May 15, 2008 
I was honored with an “I Love Your Blog” award from On The Bit. Thanks a bunch! I love reading your blog too, and am grateful to be a part of such a great community of horse bloggers. I decided to pass it on to some other bloggers who take exceptional care of their horses despite great adversity. Some have horses with injuries or confirmation problems or abusive backgrounds and cannot be ridden or used for much. But these women love them and give them the utmost care anyway. If you aren’t reading them already, you should! You will be touched by their stories, their strength, and their love for their horses.
Posted in Horse Care, Horse News, Jackie's Thoughts 
1 Comment »
content rss
