Why are American racehorses dying?
I used to love to watch the races, ever since I was a little kid. I used to ride my pony and pretend I was a jockey.
But in 2008, I watched the Kentucky Derby, and watched in real time Eight Belles break down as her jockey was pulling her up after the race. She literally ran herself to death. She came in second in a field of colts, showing all the boys that girls can run too.
But as she was pulling up, she suffered compound fractures to both of her front ankles (fetlocks, though that isn’t the correct term, but it gives you an idea of where the fractures were). If you have ever broken a bone in your foot, you know how painful it is, imagine breaking both of them at the same time, and within a split second you cannot carry your own weight, and immediately fall to the ground.
This is what happened to Eight Belles.
They put up a curtain, and euthanized her right there on the track, in front of thousands of spectators.
But why? Why did this happen? There have long been rumors that trainers, owners, etc, start running their horses too early…if you know anything about horses, they aren’t even fully matured and grown until 5-7 years old. Their bones are still growing. Then to be asked to run on immature bones, along with whatever medication they have been administered (lasix for fluid reduction to make them “faster and lighter”)…and many other medications that are supposed to increase their performance. AS A TWO YEAR OLD.
This is wrong, and some well known trainers have been banned for using illegal substances to increase their horses performance. I won’t name any names right now, but a short Google search will give you the answers. I may post some of those google results in the comments.
Right now I’m just sad, angry, and disappointed. Money is the leading force in this industry. Money money money.
How did it become ok to use, abuse and destroy the living beings on this planet for monetary gain.
I have talked with a person who used to ride quarter horses, running quarter horses, not ranch horses….she told me that these horses will have insurance, and when they die, the insurance pays out. She said she’s seen “people” put ping pong balls up horses noses to suffocate them resulting in their death, so the owners can collect the insurance money.
So if you think it doesn’t happen, think again.
We need to do better.
💥💥Credit to this information goes to the following websites.💥💥
New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/sports/horse-racing/kentucky-derby-churchill-downs-horse-deaths.html
Horse Racing Wrongs
https://horseracingwrongs.org/killed-2023/
Keywords: horse racing, corruption, dying thoroughbreds, illegal medication, banned trainers, breakdown, insurance.
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