I live on a horse stud, and we breed thoroughbreds, but I still don't see how it is cruel? We have our horses with us untill they are old enough to race, but we never get rid of them when they can't race anymore we keep them for their whole life and they are looked after so well, and we always know what is happening with them, and they live very happy lives.
What are all your thoughts on horse racing?
Hi Lillian,
It's great that you are asking these questions and wanting to know more, so good on you for that.
It's interesting that the horses stay with you for life. I'm wondering approximately how many you breed each year, as I imagine you would accumulate rather a lot of them over time.
Are you owner/breeders and do you "break in" and train the horses yourselves?
And at what age are they considered old enough to race.
Disregarding for the moment, the time that they are with you before they commence training/racing and after their retirement from racing, the period of their lives when they are training/racing, unfortunately involves various cruelties.
The whip, for instance, causes immense pain, and they run from it out of fear.
90% of racehorses develop stomach ulcers due to the unnatural diet they are fed and inability to graze constantly, as their bodies are designed to do.
Racehorses "in work" are stabled for the majority of their days, which is again, a very unnatural environment for them and does not allow them to behave naturally. The anxiety and boredom that comes about from being stabled can cause such psychological damage that manifests in crib biting and weaving, habits which are hard to break once the horse retires, IF it gets the opportunity at a new life.
Horses pushed to the physical limits that racing demands frequently suffer from bleeding of the lungs as a result of the over exertion.
I know many horse people debate the "kindness" of the bit, but I will say that in racing in particular, I sure see a lot of nasty looking bit contraptions, jockeys sawing and pulling on their mouths and horses doing their darndest to fight and evade the bit.
The bottom line is that racing, just like all industries, runs on supply and demand. As Jack said, thousands of horses are run through the racing "mill." Only a small proportion actually make it to the track, and an even smaller proportion are successful enough to ensure themselves a "worthy" retirement. So, what happens to the majority? There are simply not enough homes to take in the volume of ex-racehorses that the industry churns out each year, so they are literally discarded as waste products, the majority ending up at the knackery. Sure, a small number are retrained and move onto new "careers," but as you would know, there is a growing popularity of the Warmblood breeds for equestrian sports, which means the opportunities for ex-racehorses are further diminishing. I haven't even mentioned the trots, but you would also be aware of the stigma attached to the Standardbred breed for not being able to do anything but trot or pace, so literally only a handful of those ever have a chance after their careers are over.
These are the sad realities. I know people who love their horses and also say they love racing, but unfortunately, I just don't believe it's possible to love both. It's simply a contradiction.
