# Horse Racing Survey-Need for school project



## kljumper14 (Aug 26, 2008)

I'm not really sure where this belongs, but it envolves Horse Racing, the morality of the sport in terms of safety and abuse of the horse, and racehorses once they retired, I would really appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to fill out the survey.

So, I have to do an AP Lang research paper. My topic is on the morality of horse racing and we need to do either an experiment or a poll/survery, so there's just a few questions that i would be glad if you would answer. If you have any other horsey friends, I'd be thrilled if you get them to fill out the survey as well.

How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?
If only a few, maybe name them...

How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.

What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?

Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?

If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?

If you own a off-the-track-Thoroughbred, feel free to tell me some of its background when it raced, why it retired, and what it does now, you don't have to, but it would be appreciated.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?
If only a few, maybe name them...*
All the main stream ones: Eight Belles, Twist Bookie, Backlash, etc...


*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.*
A bunch. I used to work at a standardbred track. I know a ton of people who own OTTB or OTTSB. 

*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?*
I've seen: Dressage, show jumping, cross country, driving, polo, pleasure, trail, lesson horses, barrel racing, endurance..


*Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?*
It should be continued. Horse racing is not cruel by nature. There are changes that need to be made and precautions that need to be taken. The sport as a whole should not be stopped though. 

*If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?* 
Do not only breed for speed, but breed for conformational soundness. Some issue needs to be taken with racing so young, but I think more important is that the horses need to be better conditioned. If the horses bones and joints are conditioned over better terrain, they will hold up better on the track. The problem with racehorses versus CC horses or other disciplines, is that the public watches these horse races. More people watch the Kentucky Derby than the Superbowl I heard once. All the focus gets thrown on the race industry because it is a buissiness. No one pays any attention to the other deaths that are going on in other similar sports. I don't think public education would hurt.

*If you own a off-the-track-Thoroughbred, feel free to tell me some of its background when it raced, why it retired, and what it does now, you don't have to, but it would be appreciated.*

I owned an OTTB at one point. He had a very successful racing career before he fractured is LF leg. I didnt know about it at the time of purchase and he failed the PPE. He was a great horse with a good mind and huge heart. He was retired and now lives in NY munching on grass and being a pasture puff.


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## draftlover215 (Apr 2, 2009)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?
If only a few, maybe name them...*

- Any of the ones that have been covered by the press, and also one personal one I witnessed while working at the track.


*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.
*
- I know a siginificant number of ex-racehorses, including Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. They are generally even tempered, wonderfully well adjusted horses after a few months of being pastured and allowed to become a horse again. Many racehorses come out of the industry "machine-like" in their behavior. They are programmed to eat, stand in their stall, come out to run/jog, go back in their stall, eat again, with minimal if any turn out time.

*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?
*
- I've seen a number of Quarter Horse racehorses go on to become barrel racers, speed event/gaming horses, cutters, ranch horses, trail horses, pleasure mounts. And numerous TBs have become jumpers, hunters, equitation mount, pleasure and trail mounts. I know of Arabian racehorses that are now endurance horses as well. They are very versatile animals, regardless of the breed, and have an amazing work ethic. (Granted I am generalizing, please realize this!)
*Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?
*
- I absolutly believe it should be continued. With that being said I think there are a number of improvements that could be made to the industry, but I think every discipline in the horse world could have improvements made on regulations and the rules governing it.

*If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?
*
- The BIGGEST thing I would change is forced sanctioning of small, "back woods" racetracks. Down here in GA Quarter Horse racing is extremely popular. Because of this many dirt tracks pop up around the surrounding areas so that everyone can make a quick dollar. At these small, unsanctioned tracks many, many problems arise from doping horses and poor training methods. Urine tests are not required at small tracks. The drugging needs to stop. I saw a beautiful horse die on the track because he was doped with cocaine, ran, broke his leg and continued to try and run on the broken leg because he was so strung out.

*If you own a off-the-track-Thoroughbred, feel free to tell me some of its background when it raced, why it retired, and what it does now, you don't have to, but it would be appreciated.*

- I owned an OTTB and he was one of the most amazing horses I've had. He was a stakes winner on the track and retired due to a cracked sesamoid. I adopted him from a rescue called the New York Horse Rescue. He was very calm, well behaved, had a great work ethic, always came to the ring with his head focused on the task at hand. He came to me knowing only to go fast and turn left but within about three months he was jumping courses and performing low level dressage and going on trail rides. I competed in English pleasure, equitation and hunter paces with him. He was an amazing mount. I sold him when I joined the Army and he is happily enjoying his time as a pleasure mount/weekend eventer up in Connecticut.


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## RedRoan (Mar 2, 2009)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?*
- The ones i've heard off the news. But the biggest ones that I know of were Ruffian, Eight Belles, etc...

*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.*
- I know of a bunch (probably ten). Half are crazy (but is probably due to the lack of knowledge their owners have, they got them because of their history, not of their personality and safety a beginner needs). And the other half are advance lesson horses which do very well in dressage of what I have seen.


*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?*
Thoroughbreds - English Pleasure and lots of jumping.
Quarter Horse Racers - Barrels, and jumping
Arabian Racers - Endurance trail horses, and jumping.
*
Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?*
- I totally think yes, it should be continued and never banned. Yes, there needs to be a lot of changes but I personally think its one of the hardest sports to be in that exist. 
*
If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?*
- There should be a control on how inbred horses are. If there are to many of one horse in the line, the horse shouldn't be allowed to race. Crossbreeding is very dangerous and it is why the thoroughbred breed (and even quarter horse lines) are deteriorating today. I totally believe conformation should come over speed.

*If you own a off-the-track-Thoroughbred, feel free to tell me some of its background when it raced, why it retired, and what it does now, you don't have to, but it would be appreciated.
*- Well one of the ones that I know the most is now a lesson horse at my stable. He is wonderful and very fast. His trainer uses him for some pretty grueling endurance rides over the summer. He totally loves his job and loves kids messing around with him. When he was on the track he mostly raced at Portland Meadows in Oregon, but sadly I have no idea how well he did. But I know he ran quiet a few races before being retired. I do know when he got off the track his owner had to get his mind on collection and not bucking when she mounted him. Its just some bad habit he picked up along the way and wasn't corrected but it is now.


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

I heard on the radio the other day that in Australia approximately 40000 horses go to slaughter each year and half of those are thoroughbreds.

Most OTTBs that I see in Australia are retrained as jumpers or if they are cool-headed dressage.

I think it should be continued but much more regulated and training methods should be regulated.

I would change the age that horses race, galloping 2 year olds flat out is just not a good thing. Also take away the whips. I've seen a horse whipped so hard it's shoulder was grazed.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

If you take away whips/crops/bats in racing you may as well take them away from every other discipling. Same with spurs.


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

I don't use spurs and only occasionally use a crop to wake up my horse if he has gotten lazy, just one tap and thats it.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?
If only a few, maybe name them...*
If you go to the memorial wall, you'll see that over a thousand horses have died either on the track or because of an injury sustained from racing worldwide. 
Wall of Names

There are no statistics on how many horses die in America because the racing industry doesn't want us to know. There's a site that records deaths in the UK, though.
Race Horse Death Watch

The ones I know of off the top of my head would be Barbaro, Eight Belles, Pine Island, and Ruffian.

*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.*
I knew an ex-harness racer named Houston. He came to the barn half dead and nearly starved, with broken bones that had never been treated. The previous owners said he was skinny because of his age and claimed he was 19 years old (which is no excuse anyway). His new owner got his papers and he turned out to be only 9. They thought he would have to be put down for a while, but once he realized that the food and attention were just going to keep on coming, he perked up and started gaining weight, and even started being ridden as a pleasure horse. His hindquarters are permanently deformed because of past injuries, but as far as I know, he's doing well. My trainer also had two OTTB's that she used for show and hunter jumping.

*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?*
Usually English disciplines. Eventing, jumping, sometimes dressage.

*Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?*
I don't believe it should be ended per se, but there are a lot of things that need to be changed. The racing industry needs to redeem itself and stop the cruel practices of starting yearlings under saddle, racing 2 and 3 year olds, drugging them (anabolic steroids are legal), and running on hard tracks or in bad weather in trecherous conditions. They also need to reduce the yearly foal crop, because more foals are produced each year thanthe industry can absorb, and the ones that aren't fast enough are tossed aside. They also need to take better care of the retired horses and make sure that they get good homes after their racing career is done. Too many ex-racers end up in bad situations, whether it be irresponsible owners, the carriage business, slaughterhouses, etc.

*If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?
*The fact that the horses are raced so young. Two and three year olds aren't even fully developed physically or mentally, and their bones can't handle the beating that running puts them through. That's one of the main reasons we have so many breakdowns. They're babies that are expected to perform like professional athletes and run a mile in under 2 minutes. Why not race them all at six years?


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

What do you guys think about jumps racing. we've had four deaths (of horses) in jumps races so far this year in Australia.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?*
*If only a few, maybe name them...*
Basically the bigger names: Barbaro, Eight Belles, Ruffian...
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddgcczxz_12gcdwj3dn


*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.*
Sorry, I don't personally know any ex-racers


*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?*
I would think generally the English disciplines. Lots of eventing, stuff where speed is a factor for sound horses, and hunter flat classes or companion animals for horses with a less glowing medical history.


*Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?*
I believe that horse racing should continue, but with modifications. I like the new synthetic track surfaces. They are supposed to be better for the horses hooves and legs, and safer for the jockeys in the event of an accident. Letting the horses grow up even one year more before racing would, I think, go a long way to prevent injuries. Breed for conformation along with speed.

*If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?*
Let the horses grow up a little bit. Allow them to grow some bone and tendon strength.


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## VanillaBean (Oct 19, 2008)

Spastic_Dove said:


> If you take away whips/crops/bats in racing you may as well take them away from every other discipling. Same with spurs.


 And that would be fine!!!


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## AlmagroN (Jul 19, 2009)

VanillaBean said:


> And that would be fine!!!


i dont think you understand the necessity


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

*How many deaths of racehorses (caused due to an injury inflicted while racing) do you know of?
If only a few, maybe name them...*
Eight Belles, Twist Bookie, Backlash, etc...


*How many ex-racehorses do you know? To clarify, horses that have now been retrained in a different discipline once their career has ended.*
A heck of a lot, both quarter and thoroughbred. I know a friend that just got one and is re-training her now. 

*What discipline do you see most ex-racehorses retrained for?*
I've seen almost everything, but around here, mostly pleasure and eventing.


*Do you believe horse racing sould be continued? or that it should be ended?*
Continue it. Horse racing isn't cruel; most of them that I know love to run. They should, however, use better training practices and start the horses under saddle later. 

*If there was one thing you could change about the horse racing industry, what would it be?* 
Breeding for conformation, not only speed, starting the horses later, less inbreeding, etc. 

*If you own a off-the-track-Thoroughbred, feel free to tell me some of its background when it raced, why it retired, and what it does now, you don't have to, but it would be appreciated.*

I don't have one, but my trainer does. She was registered under 'Moon Landing' and had been raced five times I think. I'm not sure why she was sold though...




> That would be fine!!


 
No, it wouldn't. Proper use of whips and crops is necessary to back up leg cues. Spurs are used in dressage to control the horse with a slighter touch of leg, not to poke them till they bleed.


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