The CHRB has confirmed that 3-year-old Soar Home was euthanized Sunday after fracturing a shoulder while practicing at Golden Gate. The Ed Moger-trained filly was last raced on the 18th (the same race that saw Jennakins perish). In the two starts before that – both under Moger – Soar Home finished 24 1/2 lengths back on May 3rd and was pulled up and vanned off on June 5th.
Also, in its most recent Stewards Minutes (Oct 25), Santa Anita reports two dead horses for the week. Alas, they are anonymous. This is horseracing.
Reblogged this on Pass the SAFE Act!.
Wow – fractured shoulder? Everyone knows the front legs are not connected to the spine. The legs are connected to the spine by very taut muscle structure. There is no bone frame in the front to carry weight, just the hips are connected to the spine. People talk about center of gravity but it is important to understand that there is no weight bearing structure outside of God given muscle structure in the front. So to fracture a shoulder is just mystifying. Unless she ran into the gate coming out.
I come across a broken shoulder every now and then in my research – it is not common. Many racehorses are running on dysfunctional feet, there is so much stress on their feet especially when badly shod, collapsed heels, long toes, their bumpers hitting into the ground, so this has an adverse affect on their legs and to their shoulders. The horses compensate so much – they take the stress off say the near fore leg which has a problem and then put more pressure on the off fore leg and then eventually they break down in the off fore leg and then the necropsy states no pre-existing condition in the off fore leg so death could not have been avoided. They fail to report a stress fracture in the near fore leg because the horse did not break down in that leg. It is just so frustrating when i investigate the deaths. Yes she could’ve injured her shoulder jumping out of the barriers. It is also possible she had some sort of deficiency in her shoulder bone (weak) or she landed awkwardly on that foot and the stress shot straight up to her shoulder.