Two-year-old – two-year-old – Chippewa being abused by a stablehand before the 4th race at Turfway yesterday:
And the response from Stidham Racing (Chippewa’s trainer is Michael Stidham):
“We here at the Stidham stable have been made aware of a video…appearing to show one of the stable’s employees treating a horse in his care in a manner incompatible with the barn’s typically extremely high standards of horsemanship.”
It “appears to show”?
The trainer himself then added:
“[Our stable] condemns any mistreatment or abuse of horses in any form. This type of behavior, for any reason, is unacceptable in my stable and inexcusable. The actions taken by this trusted employee of more than 20 years are entirely out of character. He has been reprimanded and reminded that any mistreatment of any horse under my care is unacceptable and abhorrent. Accountability in our sport is absolutely necessary and I take complete responsibility for this incident.”
All boxes checked: “condemns” – “unacceptable” – “inexcusable” – “abhorrent” – “reprimanded” – “reminded” – “accountability” – “responsibility” – blah, blah, blah. Now wait for it to blow over, and move on.
This is horseracing.
Horseracing, i.e., where everyone, (*e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e.*), is either actively ~or~ essentially complicit in ………… keeping evil alive, you know.😢
And THESE types of handlings are what causes horses to flip and fracture their skulls.
What a POS this guy is. Stidham tried to explain it away as being uncharacteristic for this employee. I call BS. Wonder what this guy does when no one’s watching? And even if it is “uncharacteristic” of him- maybe give him a job shoveling the shit instead of dealing with the horses for a bit. Completely uncalled for. What’s even more disgusting is that there are people on twitter defending this LUMP OF CRAP.
Actually, there were a number of so-called men watching and didn’t move a muscle to stop the stable hand from jerking on the colt’s mouth with the bit, slapping him on the neck and yelling at the colt.
Thankfully, someone got it on video and shared it. It shows to me that this is routine and nothing new at all in this egregiously barbaric and cruel ABUSE of young horses exploited for racing and wagering.
Which guy in the video is the trainer himself that is doing all of this verbal backpedaling?
Box checked…little man mentality. Horse taller then you , better looking and doesn’t need anger management classes.
It sounds like this creep has been doing this s*** (slapping 2-year-olds on the neck and jerking their mouth around and yelling at them) for 20 years and so far it’s been okay with the trainer and all these other guys that are standing around watching.
Many thanks to whoever got this ABUSE of a colt on video and sharing it, because the public has a right to know what their tax dollars are paying for, for one thing.
I count five people in the video counting the stupid creep that’s doing the slapping and jerking and yelling. I don’t see anybody in the video trying to stop the stupid so-and-so from abusing the colt.
This inhumane treatment of horses at RACETRACKS is routine and this is only a fraction of the ABUSE that young colts and fillies must tolerate.
Wanda, we can only imagine behind closed doors.
The trainer has been paying this stable hand to slap colts around for 20 years, so this brute force man-handling is absolutely nothing new for any of these morally depraved horse-abusing, horse-doping, horse-killing human scum of the earth.
Stidham states he was made aware of a video “appearing” to show…and then he goes on to defend the guy roughing up the young horse causing fear and confusion.
First of all, Stidham does not know how this guy has been handling horses over 20 years.
Secondly, once something like this is documented it would be highly unlikely it was the first time.
Thirdly, the camera does not lie. What was happening was quite clear even though he he tried to cast some doubt re the handling by saying “appearing to show”
Too bad Stidham your stable is getting some negative PR. So what you do is make an extra strong statement of outrage at the conduct, try to sow a little seed of doubt and at the same time defend the abuser. Then go silent.
I have said it before, these horses are not trained, they are brutalized.
FIRE HIM NOW!!!!!!!
Did you see him jerking on the bit as well as the physical assault with his hand to the colt’s neck?
Wanda. The horse didn’t fare well in the race after getting “disciplined”. Sad situation.
Nancy, I have no doubt the filly was abused in the starting gate plus on the race track itself as well as everywhere else in between.
High standards of horsemanship, what a bunch of crap that is. Forcing yearlings and 2-year-olds to carry over 100 pounds of human WHIP-WIELDING garbage on their backs and run at a FULL GALLOP and with all of the painful metal bits in their mouths is not horsemanship; it’s brute force man-handling ABUSE.
Go back and look at the video and you will also see a pool of diarrhea behind the horse. Another stable hand had to watch out to step over this diarrhea as he was coming around the back of Chippewa to the left side…she is a nervous wreck….and has diarrhea. Can a vet scratch for diarrhea? The trainer Mike Stidham, who is a good guy, does not appear to be in this video.
A “good guy” who says all the right things to excuse the abuse of an anxious and immature filly who has learned – at least in this particular instance – that she’s got reason to be anxious (and then she’s claimed so right after her race, new everything for her – she’s probably got a stomach full of ulcers).
Even the pro-racing folks are recognizing what Chippewa endured was cruel and unnecessary. In regards to Stidham’s statement, this; “If the groom has 20 years experience, he should be more competent and should have acquired better skills and finesse in controlling his horse so as not to have to resort to abusive means. I ain’t buying it.”
I ain’t either.
If a horse has diarrhea, they should NOT be allowed to run the horse even in this egregiously CRUEL horse-killing, Animal Welfare Code violating business.
CHIPPEWA was claimed by Jonathan Wong according to the chart.
YES, the vets can scratch ANY horse they deem unfit to race, But THE VETS ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM, THESE ABHORRENT MONSTERS TOOK AN OATH TO PROTECT ANIMALS & THEY ARE THE ONES DOPING THEIR CHARGES ON RACE DAY & TAPPING JOINTS 3 DAYS OUT – THESE PEOPLE ARE MONSTERS. THEY ARE THE WORST OF THE ENTIRE LOT, FOR THEY ALONE ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HORSES UNDER THEIR CARE, “$$$$$$$ IS AT THE ROOT OF ALL THAT IS EVIL” & THESE RACETRACK VETS ARE TRUE EVIL. https://horseracingwrongs.org/2022/08/02/vet-on-not-euthanizing-horse-on-the-track-i-feel-that-in-doing-so-i-allowed-for-jamerican-to-suffer-for-longer-than-needed-for-that-i-am-deeply-sorry-and-the-rest-of-the-shocking-maryland-re/ via @racingwrongs
The diarrhea could be from what is happening to her- many times horses will have diarrhea when they are very fearful or in a high stress situation, and being slapped around by a POS certainly qualifies.
As always. Wanda nailed it. This has probably gone on for 20 years. This is just the first time it has been made public. Thanks Wanda. Keep giving them hell.
You’re welcome, Rick. I only wish I could do more to stop this hideous ABUSE of horses and the deception that goes with it.
I do hope the you tube video gets more comments on it for a different audience to see ON YOU TUBE, THESE HORSES NEED all the support they can get, everyone who commented here, PLEASE COMMENT ON YOU TUBE. apparently this horse with a LIP CHAIN CUTTING INTO his SENSITIVE upper lip INSIDE his mouth, A CHAIN WITH A 200 LB man HANGING ONTO THE CHAIN CUTTING INTO the horses gums & the TWO-YEAR-OLD horse still unable to behave, i GUESS THEY FORGOT TO HANDLE THIS HORSE APPROPRIATELY TO TRAIN HIM TO STAND TO BE SADDLED, without a doubt most likely the chain pressing into his sensitive gums is attributing to his misbehavior, DO YA THINK? but more horrifying, I count at least SEVEN other people within 5 feet of this horse, all LOOKING ON at what is going on here, “business as usual” it seems! Just IMAGINE what happens in their stalls with no one looking on, I don’t have to imagine, I have SEEN HORSE ABUSE THAT WOULD TURN YOUR STOMACH, horses being beaten with leather girths in their stall, grooms HANGING ON HORSES TONGUES in their stall, YES I SAID HANGING ON THEIR TONGUE, when they refuse to be bridled & if you DARE TO SPEAK FOR THE HORSES on any race track in the nation, your license WILL BE threatened, while the abusers NOT SO MUCH AS A REPRIMAND. YUP THIS IS HORSE RACING folks.
Of course its totally out of character for this vile POS to abuse this horse (yea right!!), but obviously all those standing there watching and doing NOTHING couldn’t care less either…probably part of the CV, must be able to abuse the ‘innocent’ horses in the stables,but even more brutally when NO-ONE is looking!!!
This is just graphic evidence of what goes behind the scenes at racetracks every day. “High standards”, my ass. More like, “damn it, we were caught doing what we do all the time – throw out some of that bullshit rhetoric and it’ll all go away”.
And I will bet my fore mentioned ass that NO federal charges will be brought for this documented abuse and no (other) animal rights group will make a peep.
Federal charges? Are you kidding? Only in my dreams would Federal charges be brought against such lower level daily routine jerking and slapping of a young and underdeveloped Thoroughbred filly with more than three years to go before being matured. (It’s a question of whether or not she will reach maturity.) The racing fans will defend the indefensible and the State of Kentucky will welcome more of the same except for being video-taped.