A request from an Equine Veterinarian - Eight Belles

The Derby and Triple crown should be for 4 year olds. She said the stress of those races are too much for 3 year olds. She also mentioned breeding has played a part, but didn't go into detail.

She requested everyone concerned should spread the word.

She works at one of the most prestigious Equine hospitals in the US and is heavily involved in the racing scene.

it is no different than that of a puppymill dog IMO. A horse that stands 17 hands (which is indeed HUGE) was not meant to be running like a fiend on those thin little ankles that are bred into them.

It is sickening.

I will remember Eight Belles as being another Prisoner of Greed. :mad:

:dem:

done to dogs--we've bred them specifically for OUR purposes, and now so many breeds have health problems and strange or dysfunctional anatomy (like my beloved wienerdog!), it's like Darwin in reverse. Our dogs today would never have survived in nature.

I had one too a few years ago. It was a congenital nightmare carrying all sorts of inbred genes. The poor dog! It was so damn sad that I have never gotten another one because I believe that ALL dogs that are purebreds have been contaminated in the gene department.

Thoroughbred horses have become no different sadly.

I find this so sickening I cannot find the words for my disgust!

Shame on these greedy breeders!

Soon we will have NO MORE fine animals left. When will these greedy a-wholes wake up and realize this?

Is it too late? I think it is too late as the damage done is extensive and oh how these "breeders" lie like all hell! :mad:

As for Eight Belles, she may be in a better place.

She gave her life needlessly.

The whole purpose of their breed was for racing.

But I think they need to regulate the number of races the 2 year olds do and do a better vet check on the legs. The horse that won the Kentucky Derby had known foot problems and was only raced 3 times as a 2 year old.

my aunt raised show ponies and trotters and I used to live at the track in New Orleans. I love horses and hate to see them put down

showing the instances of breaks per age.

I heard that all thorobreds running now are descendants of Native Dancer. That really sounds dangerous...besides the fact she was too young.

the standard, and the current line in the US came from him. It soon became apparent there was a defect in the hind legs. I don't know if they have dealt with that, but I do know they are very careful with his lineage.

The US has been breeding thoroughbreds since the late 1700's.

Diomed sired Sir Archy, a horse that had great impact on thoroughbred breeding.

and many German Shepherds have this problem. The surgery to correct it costs thousands of dollars. We won't bother to mention what the poor dog has to go through.

As for Rin Tin Tin, his hip problem has not gone away. It lives on and on in the cages of the puppy mill criminals. THEY KNOW.

for Eight Belles (may you rest in peace and know that you have not died in vain for you Eight Belles are waking people up to this very sad reality).

:kick: :dem:

One horse dies each race day in the US. We can do better.

The police have changed mostly to Belgian Malinois, and I've seen a few Bouviers in the back of police cars. It's mostly Malinois, though.

today they are racing the thoroughbreds in too many races when they are 2 year olds. There's more money for 2 year old races than when she worked on the track back in the early 1960's. Horse's bones don't stop growing until they are 6 or 7. Northern Dancer only had 2 or 3 races under his belt before the 1964 Kentucky Derby.

She also said that they were breeding the horse out of the thoroughbred. A few years ago the thoroughbreds looked like they were walking on toothpicks, not legs.

They were specifically bred for horse racing. That's why they are "crazy". The sires of the breed were 3 Arabian stallions. Not sure who the original Dams were.

Thoroughbreds are also used to create warm blooded sport horses, like those used in Grand Priz horse jumping, eventing, and dressage. Thoroughbreds are naturally athletic and when bred with drafts or partial draft horses they produce a good warm blooded sport horse.

Drafts are considered cold blooded horses. Arabians and Thoroughbreds are considered hot bloods and all the rest are warm bloods, whether they have thoroughbred in them or not.

The Thoroughbred as it is known today was first developed during the 17th and 18th centuries in England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Arabian stallions. All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported to England in the 1600s and 1700s, and to 74 foundation mares of English and Oriental (Arabian or Barb) blood. "Barb" refers to the Barbary Coast, i.e., Turkey. During the 1700s and 1800s, the Thoroughbred breed spread throughout the world; they were imported into North America starting in 1730 and into Australia, Europe, Japan and South America during the 1800s. Millions of Thoroughbreds exist worldwide today, with almost 1.3 million in the United States alone and over 118,000 foals registered each year worldwide.


An equestrienne friend of mine, in commenting on Eight Bells, said that Eight Bells, as well as 4 other starters in the Derby were California horses who had never raced on hard dirt tracks prior to the Kentucky Derby. California racetracks, as well as some other tracks, use artificial turf, which causes much less damage to these horses' delicate ankles. These tracks made the change because of the increasing number of thoroghbreds which have had to be destroyed because of injuries while racing. The increased injuries and fragility of the breed can be linked to the inbreeding. Evidently owners do not want to shell out the huge amounts necessary to buy a race horse unless that horse's blood lines can be traced to one of a very few top racing stallions.

There are stabled at the Kentucky Horse Park

Magnificant animals.

Democratic picnic. David Sirotta spoke that day.

worked too hard, too young, too long

Racing that early is going to cripple these colts. I hated to go to the 2 year old baby races, because I knew these fragile animals were too damned young to be competing at those speeds.

Greed and short-sighted breeding measures will cause more eight belles in the future. That's one bet I'd wager on.

...other contact info for her? I absolutely agree, they need to start the racers a little older, give them time to mature. I will most definitely spread the word. I'd like to see a list of what can be done to make the sport safer for the horses, from breeding to age-limits to track surfaces, and anything else that could be improved.

I don't want Eight Belles to have died in vain. I hope her tragedy can be a catalyst for change.

At least, that's how they used to do it. They maintained that we were ruining our horses in racing them younger. Looks like they were right.

...the resilience of youth against maturity. I'm not an expert on horses, but I wonder if a 4-year-old is more likely to recover from an injury than a 7-year-old, in much the same way as a broken bone on a kid heals much faster and cleaner than in an adult. Horses live up to 30 years, so we'd have to look at what ages are considered juvenile, young adult, middle aged, etc. I was surprised at my riding stable to hear that healthy mares are bred even up to age 20.

The bones aren't mature until six or seven. It makes sense to wait until then, I think.

I've nothing to contribute to this thread that's not already been said, but I've wanted to post these somewhere....

http://bp1.blogger.com/_yh71-U8uKkY/SAPZSUvnk-I/AAAAAAAAAp0/7WcW96tzry8/s400/hurry+upIMG_1156small.JPG


The very famous Biscuit.








If you've ever loved a horse of any kind, you'll understand why I collect horse pictures and photos. And I am ashamed to admit that almost nothing gets my ole heart pumping like watching these animals run.
But they must stop racing 3 yr olds and breeding those all-too-thin legs, I most certainly agree.