Parx again. Prior to the 8th yesterday, “Jokemeister and That’s Right were both injured in the starting gate and ordered scratched…on the advice of the track veterinarian.” Both are just two years old – babies. For Jokemeister, this was his very first time being forced into a “starting gate”; for That’s Right, his third. Animal abuse, pure and simple.
The tongue ties alone are abuse! There are so many ways that Thoroughbreds are abused and brutalized everyday and yet you would think it was all fine and wonderful if you were gullible or naive enough to believe the justifications for their demented and twisted “reasons” for tying the horses’ tongues and everything else that is so WRONG in the practice of abusing horses for gambling and racing. I look forward to seeing the subsidies to horseracing in Pennsylvania stopped!!!!!!
Absolutely hate tongue ties!! No more worse barbaric form of so called riding equipment or training device has been devised to be used on highly sensitive horses. We once thought of becoming a race trainer but to pass our states test you had to demonstrate the use & tying of a tongue! We said we would NEVER use one & so all thought of becoming a race trainer was done. We also wanted to run horses & train them without shoes as well but the stewards said no to that idea as well.That poor horse above is clearly in pain & terrible fear we would say as well.
I find it interesting that if a horse came in from the pasture with his head raised and his mouth gaping open most owners would assume there was something wrong, yet if he does the same thing with a piece of metal in his mouth, his mouth is tied closed and his head is tied down to “keep him on the bit”.