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Safety Of Horses Getting National Attention
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.
And that’s sad, especially for the horses.
Read interview with Rick Porter, Eight Belles owner.
Nice post……….Many who have out cried have also stated the same of age and breeding.
great post! I think you hit the nail on the head with this one.
I watched the derby as Eight Belles thundered down the track trying to catch Big Brown and pulling away from the rest of the track. That was one of the most magnificent sights I’ve ever seen in racing and then she was gone. It broke my heart. I, too, can’t imagine what it must be like for the owner, trainers, handlers, grooms, the whole crew. But I do know what it’s like to lose a horse from a stress fracture. I lost a foal that way…….sometimes we just don’t have any answers.
I also know from experience that some horses just love to work. Whether their work is racing or showing or working cows, there are horses that are happy when they’re doing it. Those horses that don’t love it, don’t do it. They are sullen and uncoperative. You can’t force a horse to run like Eight Belles did.
I also agree with what you say about breeding for lighter bone and running them so young. Just because a horse is big doesn’t mean it’s ready to be working and carrying weight. It’s unfortunate that things won’t change. I think that’s where the issue of money really comes in. It’s expesive to house horses while you’re waiting for them to mature. Tacking a couple of years onto the starting age would account for huge bucks. That’s why it’s not going to change. A very sad situation for the horse.
Callie and Faith – thanks!
Rising Rainbow – I agree, many horses do love their job. And if they don’t, you can’t force them to do it. Well, you can often get them to do it, but they won’t do it very well. Part of raising horses, or buying your own, is finding out what they like and playing to it.
I hadn’t thought so much about the costs of waiting longer to start horses, but I bet you’re right that the expense of waiting is one reason racehorses start so young. I know these owners pour huge bucks into maintaining and training these horses. It’s not like they’re abused, they’re incredibly pampered and well cared for most of the time. And it’s not cheap! It’s just too bad they have to start earning their keep before they’re grown up.
I agree 100% with all of you. Thoroughbreds are athletes and most enjoy what they do. I happen to own and ride one myself. My son, when he was growing up, competed him in Show Jumping on the Circuit and US Pony Club Competitions. They did really well. Even made it to Pony Club Nationals 2 years in a row. Why? Because the horse loved what he did. All you have to do is point him toward a jump and he’s rearing to go. I just take a saddle out or pull up the horse trailer, and he’s ready to work.
Also, the horses body is still developing at the age of 3. This is why in many cases, training a young horse takes time. Overdoing it will put stress on the bones and the horse will break down. The race horses are pampered and they do love their jobs. If they don’t enjoy racing, it will show on the track. At that point they are sold and end up with another job, like maybe show jumping or eventing. It’s like humans, if you don’t like one thing, try another that you do like. Racing is not for all Thoroughbreds. I would like to see breeding of the TB done more for sturdiness than speed. It will help decrease the tragedies on the track.
This is SPORT?
Must be a strange kind of sport.
This accidents wouldn’t happen if horses are TRAINED for the distance and speed they face in competition.
Athlets in sports are trained to what they face in competition. And athlets are grown, no kids. 3 year old fillies or colts are just jungsters.
Obviously Eight Belles won 4 races this year against horses not of her class. The Derby was the first race where she run against equally strong competition (colts of her age), and, not trained enough, her muscles fatigued after finishing, sending too much stress to the bones, until her ancles collapsed.
The BIG difference between human and equine racers, one should know, is: equines have 5x the human weight (plus the weight of the jockey), running at double or triple the human speed – BUT, the size of ankle is just equal. And galloping, there is one phase in gait where just ONE leg is strained…
Even if horses love to run, even run to death, it is the HUMAN who need to know better, control it, and preserve life. That’s all about riding.
Frank,
Thanks for brining up a little bit of the basics of equine anatomy and the huge amount of pressure their legs receive. Most people don’t understand how much weight and pressure is on relatively small bones and joints in horse’s legs. I know a guy who just couldn’t understand why she had to be put down. There’s no way a horse can recover from that kind of injury.
At the same time, I don’t believe more training would have made a difference. These horses are in top condition, or they wouldn’t be competitive in the Derby, let alone come in second. While we’re comparing horses to humans, the most highly-trained and conditioned athlete can still sustain injuries. Solid training helps, but it doesn’t prevent accidents 100%. While what happened to Eight Belles was certainly tragic and I do believe their are reforms that can and should be made, I think we also need to keep it in perspective: accidents happen and injuries can happen to anyone (or any horse). It certainly wasn’t intentional or malicious.
Like you said, however, we are responsible for the well-being of our horses. Hopefully this incident will be a message to breeders and trainers to be more careful with these young, fragile creatures.
Great post! The issues you raise are absolutely what we should be talking about. Unfortunately horses of all sorts regardless of breed or discipline suffer needlessly at our hands. The western showing world faces many of the same issues. As long as there are 3 year old futurities with big purses and big followings there will be horses started to young and used up long before their time. What will it take to change the rules? What is the difference in waiting another year or two? It could give these horses who give so much to our sport of choice a chance to be sound beyond 7 years. Why is that too much to ask?
Kelly,
So true! There are a lot of issues across all equestrian disciplines that compromise horse and people safety. Racing is easy to pick on because it is so much more public. And eventing is big right now because the rash of injuries and deaths this year. But there are problems that need to be addressed everywhere. I’d love to see more and more people wait to start horses under saddle. I think they should be kept to ground work, tying, tacking, lungeing, and other training techniques sans rider until they are at least 3, and even then it should be light work. It may be expensive to feed and care for them until you can use them, but not as expensive as those vet bills when they get hurt.
Very amazing article!!!!!
I wish more people felt as strongly about this as you!!!
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