But I fought the urge, and it's a good thing too. The New York Times today published a long exposé on line called "Mangled Horses; Maimed Jockeys." It's a long article, whose central thesis is that "The new economics of horse racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so, as lax oversight puts animal and rider at risk."
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| A 2-year-old quarter horse named Teller All Gone broke a front leg in a race on Sept. 3 at Ruidoso Downs Race Track in New Mexico and was euthanized. His body was then dumped in a junkyard next to an old toilet at Ruidoso, a short walk from where he had been sold at auction the previous year. |
I have known, since the celebrated cases of Barbaro and another horse that broke down at the Kentucky Derby at about the same time, that accidents were much more common than most people supposed. But I still didn't have a sense of the magnitude. On average, 24 horses break down and die every week at race tracks in the US. What a self-vindicating euphemism, by the way. Machines break down; what can you do? But these horses are dropping because of abuse by humans. I don't think there is any other way to describe it. In fact, people wouldn't treat their cars the way they are treating these beautiful animals.
“It’s hard to justify how many horses we go through,” said Dr. Rick Arthur, the equine medical director for the California Racing Board. “In humans you never see someone snap their leg off running in the Olympics. But you see it in horse racing.”
“It’s hard to watch these poor animals running for their lives for people who could really care less if they live,” said Dr. Margaret Ohlinger, a track veterinarian at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack in upstate New York.Lest that last statement be taken as hyperbole, one of the problems is that it is now apparently a common practice for casinos to have horse racing tracks. One of the results is bigger purses and more pressure for owners and trainers to get their least valuable horses into as many races as possible. The purses for some of these races are frequently greater than the monetary value of any of the horses.
But this isn't just a problem at crappy little casino tracks. Belmont, Santa Anita and Saratoga Springs all had "incident" rates higher than the national average last year.
It is pretty well known that drugs, legal and illegal, are the principal culprits. Even if the horse racing industry were serious about policing itself, which it does not seem to be, there are performance-enhancing drugs being used that laboratories don't even know how to detect. And legal pain killers may be an even more serious problem because of the way in which they mask injuries.
In England, where horses are not allowed to race while taking any drug, the breakdown rate is half of what it is in the US. That still seems high to me, but perhaps enforcement is as lax there as it is here.
It is a long article about a shameful situation with two very disturbing and difficult-to-watch videos, but I recommend it (at least the article, if not the videos).
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-at-americas-racetracks.html?hp
4 comments:
Well, looks like the comment part of the blog is now working.
I cannot agree with you more on the barbaric treatment of horses in racing. Remember that I told you about struggling through Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (don't know how to italicize here)? I finally got through it and the last part is about bull fighting in Pamplona. It treats the ugly as just something to see, ho hum. Of course, this was written a long time ago when Hemingway was in his mid-20's.
Back to horses. You know that I grew up riding and working cattle with horses, and I hate to have anything to do with them, but they are beautiful and I love to see others ride in events like dressage. But I will add my two cents: not only drugs, but genetics. They are bred to run fast, those legs are weak from the genetics as well as drugs.
I haven't read the article yet, but did they mention "bute?" I think it stands for something like butazoladine??, and Dr. Kruse (remember him?) used to cuss about the use of it as it is a powerful pain killer from what I remember from 50 years ago.
Remember my telling you about how angry my dad got at a neighbor who abused horses? I feel the same about the trainers and players. It is sickening.
I thought that Spain had discontinued bull fighting? Is it still going on?
We kill animals every day, in great numbers, but as Temple Grandin points out, you don't need to treat their death in a disrespectful manner. As the native Americans and many other people do, they thank the "spirit" of the animal for supplying us what we need. But we don't "need" racing and bull fighting to carry on our activities as humans.
Thanks for finding that.
Thanks, Bob. Yeah, bute is mentioned along with another pain killer, Flunixin. "In one study, researchers at Oklahoma State University said they found bute in most of the horses that died racing or training at Oklahoma tracks in 2010. Six had both bute and Flunixin, a dangerous practice called 'stacking,' the report said."
Interestingly, this is not just a problem with thoroughbred race horses. In fact, there is a slightly higher incident rate per 1000 starts among quarter horses than for thoroughbreds.
You are right about the genetic contribution to the problem, but it is still an abuse problem to me. The horses are not breeding themselves so they can race for the enjoyment of humans. As you say, we don't need racing.
Bull fighting must still be legal in Spain, based on the recent story of the "heroic" matador coming back to the bull ring after a wicked goring.
When you say that Dr. Kruse was cussing the use of bute 50 years ago, do you mean in connection with horse racing?
Since it is unlikely that I will, at this age, remember what I had for breakfast, I wondered why I remembered a name like the long name for bute. Well, Doc Kruse may have talked about it because the drug was first licensed in 1948. The real name is phenylbutazone and it is primarily used on horses now.
I find the frequency of deaths just horrific. And I don't find it to be at all unusual for people like Norm Kruse or livestock men to be disgusted by this. The vet you quoted who said the people had no interest in the animals made the distinction between the people I knew and admired from the jerks.
Now, here is another question--I was informed a couple of years ago, and it may have been from my brother--that it was very difficult to get rid of a regular horse. To euthanize or to sell it for some sort of use as feed/food.
Are you familiar with the limits put on by the zealots who are "protecting" the wild horses?
Just curious.
Bob
I'm still curious why Dr. Kruse would have been using bute. Did farmers request pain killers for their livestock or for their horses?
If your brother knew anything about the process of getting rid of horses, he knew more than I do or ever did.
What's wrong with people trying to protect the wild horses? I recently rewatched the movie "The Misfits," and was struck by the amount of cruelty that went unquestioned back in the 1960s. Appalling really to think those characters were meant to seem semi-heroic back then; now I would avoid them like poison.
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