At Los Alamitos yesterday, in addition to “bumping” in virtually every race, and several “antsy” horses, there were these:
2-year-old Vanish “hit gate.”
2-year-old Texas Chicklet “hit gate.”
2-year-old Teller to Look “hit gate.”
4-year-old Bf Outfoosed “hit gate and bumped hard at start.”
3-year-old She Goes Up “fractious, hit gate.”
3-year-old Letty Cartel “hit gate.”
2-year-old Docs Best Woman “fractious and reloaded.”
3-year-old Race Thru the Fire “fractious.”
4-year-old Looks On Fleek “fractious.”
Forcing scared, anxious equine children onto the track – this is horseracing.
As a prey species, horses’ first line of defense is flight. Being forced into the confining starting gate goes against their survival instincts and is especially stressful and dangerous for a 2-year-old, a baby.
The lie racing, fans and supporters tell the equine-uneducated public – that what racehorses do is no different than what my horses do in their own pastures – is once again laid bare by this report. I do everything I can to MINIMIZE the chances my horses suffer an injury (or death) by NOT putting them in a situation in which their “flighty nature” tells them to act – this includes keeping their environment “clutter free”. Racing does the exact opposite. That in itself is bad enough but then to acknowledge the WHY? – WHY increase a horse’s risk of injury and death by racing them? Everyone who understands horses and what enriches their lives knows the truthful answer to that.
That line that “what these racehorses do is no different than what my horses do in their own pastures” is so incredibly stupid. How many people have starting gates in their pastures? I could go on and on about how stupid that line of crap is and get sarcastic as hell. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. We need to get a new starting gate for our pasture because the old one is all rusted out. The horses will just have to relax and graze for awhile until we can get that “toy” for them that they just love cramming themselves into.” There is no end to the stupidity of that and that is barely scratching the surface.
And yet they exclaim that ALL THE TIME. Fools.
Just like bits – if you saw a horse wandering around the pasture with his head straight up in the air and foam coming out of his gaping mouth you would automatically, and correctly, assume there was something wrong. But shove a piece of metal in a horse’s mouth and have him respond the same way, and his mouth is tied shut and his head is tied down, because “bits don’t hurt”. Add to that the fact that the majority of riders think that a bit is the same thing as brakes on a car and it’s no wonder so many horses are seen grimacing in agony.
Nodding in agreement, Rebecca…
We must end the abuse of horses caused by the cruel sport of racing horses.