Article on the Kentucky Derby

[Swifthoof]

Found this article on the Kentucky Derby and want to know your opinions

On Saturday 157,770 people attended a so called "sporting event" Many of those paid good money to buy a ticket that permitted them to watch an event that takes just a little more than two minutes.....2:1:08 to be exact
The event was televised as well so actual numbers of people watching was probably comparable to a Sunday afternoon NFL Football game.
Some watched to see the beauty that is present in these huge animals, some watched for competitive purposes, some because they think of it as a sport, no different than a baseball or football game. They think of these horses as terrific athletes.
In reality horse racing is no longer about athletic ability, or the sport it was when the Romans and Greeks competed, or even when a couple of bored cowboys sought to prove who's little mare was the faster. In reality it is an event used for the pursuit of money.
I am referring to THE KENTUCKY DERBY.
Horse racing as we know it, is a multi-billion dollar business created out of greed......the pursuit of money! It is not a sport!
Before you turn a deaf ear, or in this case blind eye, and decide to jump from this blog consider some facts:

Around the turn of the 17th century three men brought three stallions from the Mediterranean middle east to England. These horses were about 800 lbs and 14 hands high. The average thoroughbred at that time was about 13.4 hands high, so these were TALL horses! They were thinly built and known for speed but not so much for the ability to carry weight, including their own.
They were hot blooded horses, high strung, Arabians. Beautiful , tall, sleek, smaller bodies on those thin legs.
They were bred with native horses, shorter, thicker legged, stockier body, much more suited to carrying the human body. Racing was becoming popular and the idea here was specifically to create a faster horse......which they did.
BUT....selective breeding for more than 250 years sought to continue to improve this.....Why? they had good quality, fast horses.
To win on the track (and in the betting pools) you have to have a fast horse. So they wanted to make them even faster!
Someone along the way called selective breeding. Not so bad if you are improving the breed and the quality of the life of the breed. That is what selective breeding was supposed to do....and this dates back to Darwin and his idea that the species improved over time.
This is not what was happening....they were taking ONLY the faster horses, breeding them, despite some of these horses being within the same line (INBREEDING) until now you have a 1000 lb, 17 hands high horse, with a large rear end to drive that body faster.....all atop four really thin, very long, supple legs. So now run this horse at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Wow....can it go fast!
The thing is, the body is distorted, those long legs, those thin bones, they aren't really designed to carry all that weight. Technically speaking there is a far too small hoof to body mass ration. Designed and built for speed, but seriously flawed.
This was quite evident in the Kentucky Derby when just moments after crossing the finish line, Eight Belles, fell, the result of breaking both of her forelegs (in horse circles they call it suffering a "breakdown" as if calling it something other than specifically what it is makes in any less horrific) This was an injury caused by force.....the force generated when a fast moving, 1000 lb body pounds down on thin, undeveloped, leg bones, driving them into the hard surface of the ground.
Statistically speaking, Eight Belles was one of 1.5 career ending breakdowns per 1000 starts. Career ending almost always equals fatal!
The type of injury she suffered would be comparable to the human suffering a complete fracture of both the tibia and fibula of both legs...weight bearing bones of the lower legs. Not only is this horrifically painful, it is a fatal injury in horses! Eight Belles had to be put down as there was absolutely NO CHANCE that this injury could heal!
This happened because like almost all thoroughbreds, Eight Belles was not a mature, developed horse. They run these horses while they are at their fastest which is when they are still actually growing. Their bones are not solid, their muscle mass not evenly distributed. They run before they are physically capable of doing so. Scientifically speaking they are genetic mutations.

Facts:

++Horses have been domesticated from the once wild and independent creatures they were, and therefore become dependent upon humans for their care.

++Horses are herd animals and their well being is dependent upon living within a herd. Separating them results in physical illness that manifests itself as a result of a type of depression.

++Studies show that horses are companion animals and bond with their human companions, forming attachments and shared communication.

++Horses must evenly bear their weight on all four legs to allow for circulation, so an injury to one leg is debilitating in that the horse can no longer stand. Circulation is disrupted which results in lameness, and a host of other infections, many fatal.

++Horses cannot lay down and rest to repair their injuries like humans or many other animals because their bodies are not designed to do so and lying down results in sores, lung congestion and internal damage, fatal results.

++Thoroughbreds have an abnormally high infertility rate, along with abnormally small hearts. Though not absolutely proven, the thought is that this is due to the imbreeding and/or improper design created through selective breeding.

++Horse racing attendance in the US is second only to Baseball.

++Thoroughbreds are so inbred that the pedigree of every single one can be traced back, father to father, to one of three original Arabian sires!

++When the racing life is over for a thoroughbred most are slaughtered. An easy out for the owner who often does not want to make the effort to place the horse. In 2006 over 100,000 horses were slaughter, 92.3% of those were judged to be in good condition. These horses could have been retired and found homes, slaughter was easier!

++A horse traveling to slaughter is often abused, starved, forced to live in crowded, unsanitary conditions days before it is inhumanely struck in the head by a forceful blow that does not always render it fully unconscious before it has it's throat slit. yes, this is graphic but true!

++Horse racing has the highest fatality rate of any other legal sport, human or animal.

++There are numerous horse rescue agencies and organizations working to help place unwanted or neglected horses, including ex-race horses.

++35 million dollars was spent last year to enforce and uphold the no drug use for race horses.

Horse racing is a very profitable industry for the government. It supplies income to the states of New York and Illinois in terms of millions of dollars each year. It has become a necessary evil.
Those who oppose racing are not going to see it eliminated, (that isn't even my desire).
What is needed are improvements in the regulations of overseeing the industry itself. Laws that ensure that the life of these horses after their racing careers are over are compassionate or that they are compassionately euthanized.. Educating the general public as to what goes on with these animals that they watch for sport so that they can advocate for the humane treatment of the animal.

So when you visit the track, or turn on ESPN to watch one leg of the triple crown, know what it is that is involved in creating those few minutes of entertainment.

Comments, opinions?

[[esperanza]]

This is depressing. *Tear*

*Feels stupid for not being able to say anything else*