Helwan euthanized after breakdown at Belmont Park

[Coventina]

Source: Newsday

Helwan, a 4-year-old colt from France making his first start in the United States, broke down in the backstretch during the fourth race at Belmont Park on Saturday and had to be euthanized. Jose Ortiz pulled his injured horse up at the three-eighths pole and then walked off the track after attendants arrived.

The New York Racing Authority, in confirming the euthanization, said Helwan had broken his left front cannon bone.

"He was making a perfect run," Ortiz said. "He made two jumps and then switched [his] lead [leg] and broke down. There's nothing else to say about it."

(snip)

Helwan was taken off the track in a van after a screen had been raised to block views of the horse as it was tended to and subsequently euthanized.

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/sports/horseracing/belmont-stakes/helwan-euthanized-after-breakdown-at-belmont-park-1.10515360

---

Just wanted to make sure that all celebrating the race results today know that there is a dark side to this "sport".

Oh yeah, and American Pharaoh was doping.
But did he have any choice in that? No.

Horse racing is cruelty, pure and simple.

That is all.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I would suggest that any 'sport' that does not involve

only athletes who can verbally assure you they are participating out of their own free will is one that should end. No horse racing, no dog racing, no dog fighting. The animal athletes are used, abused, then kept in bondage as breeding slaves 'at best', abandoned or murdered at worst.

[Coventina]

3. ITA. It drives me crazy when I hear 'but they love to run!'

Of course they do.

But, they don't know the risks they are taking.
They don't know about the drugs they are injected with.
They don't know how they have been bred to have locomotive lungs on champagne flute ankles.

[gwheezie]

7. I've had horses at my home for decades

And there are days when they take off at a gallop just because they feel good and it is pure joy to watch a horse at play but left to themselves they spend most of the time walking. I love all horses but thoroughbreds are just stunning in motion.
A friend of mine had a washed up off the track TB. He was ewe necked and had pinfired legs from old track injuries. But when he was in his pasture, he would take off bucking and farting at a full gallop and he was magnificent.

[peacebird]

97. Your descriptions are beautiful! Made me smile reading them, thank you!

[CrispyQ]

81. +1 and same with entertainment.

So sorry to read this news.

[City Lights]

2. No words.

All for the pleasure of humans.

[restorefreedom]

4. another abusive "sport" of the 0.01%

time to go. plenty of good human runners training their butts off to run solid races. the snooty mcsnoots of the world can watch them instead. if they really love horses, they can take in rescued abused horses. oh but can't make any money off that......

[jberryhill]

46. Never bet on an animal that can read the odds

[Jamastiene]

58. It's all about the money with the .01%.

They have no compassion for other living beings, even humans. They have proven that. So, I don't think they really love horses, or are even capable. They seem to have no conscience at all.

[AuntPatsy]

5. For the amusement of humans..telling and incredibly sad..

[riderinthestorm]

6. Actually Helwans breeder is more to blame. He's got Native Dancer blood 4x

in his five gen pedigree.

It's a death sentence for any kind of hard work. Don't get me wrong, I abhor that these horses are started so young but I've seen the care they receive at the track - it's exemplary. Beyond exemplary bordering on royal treatment.

Here's Helwans five gen breeding:

http://www.pedigreequery.com/helwan3

This overbreeding of Native Dancer and catastrophic breakdowns is well known in the thoroughbred breeding industry. Breeders don't seem to care. Here's a great article on the breakdown of Eight Belles.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/columns/story?id=3399004

And herein, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, lies the rub. The thoroughbred breed is now so suffused with the precocious blood of Native Dancer, so filled with his great-grandsons and great-granddaughters, so shot through with distant offspring who carry the markers of his tribe -- extraordinary speed with limited durability and soundness -- that today it threatens the viability of the entire breed. Of the 20 starters in the May 3 Kentucky Derby, every single one of them carried the blood of Native Dancer. Of course, this line in and of itself is not to be condemned -- if, that is, it comes in reasonable doses and is counterbalanced by the blood of sounder strains -- but in many of the Derby pedigrees, he appeared multiple times. Native Dancer appeared four times in Eight Belles' pedigree, most conspicuously in the three crosses of Raise a Native that so troubled Parker when she saw them there.

When Eight Belles shattered both of her ankles as she pulled up past the finish line and galloped out around the clubhouse turn -- she obviously broke one ankle first, then snapped the other as she dug it in to support herself -- Parker was but one of millions who sat transfixed in horror as the television camera showed the filly lying prostrate on the track. The recriminations began at once. Columnists, bloggers, talk-show hosts and other observers, some of whom actually know which end of the horse eats, launched into a series of spontaneous public lectures detailing what the problem was and what had to be done. Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) picketed the offices of the Kentucky State Sports Authority in Lexington and flooded the organization with e-mails protesting the sport. They unjustly condemned the trainer for running the filly and the jockey for using his whip, however sparingly, the last eighth of a mile.

What Ellen Parker wanted to know, when I spoke to her following the Derby, was why no one was picketing Robert Clay's Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky., one of the pillars of the Blue Grass breeding establishment and the place where Eight Belles was bred and from where she was sold as a yearling, at Keeneland in 2006, for $375,000.

"They're the ones who created this tragedy," Parker said. "Robert Clay is smart enough to know better. He bred her. That's where it starts. You don't blame the trainer, who does not have the reputation of breaking horses down, and you don't blame the poor little jockey. ... She was inbred three times to Raise a Native! [She broke down] right where Raise a Native was the weakest, right in the ankles, and everybody acts like they don't know what caused this filly to break down. It's written right there for everyone to see! Except they refuse to see it. To admit it is to address the fact that all these stallions that are bred like that, that all the yearlings that are bred like that, are potential accidents waiting to happen. And they've got so much money wrapped up in this crap!"

[Coventina]

8. The entire sport has blood on its hands. Yes, it starts with the breeders.

But nobody is clean.

They are all stakeholders in the death of Helwan and thousands like him.

That includes the audience, who were politely shielded from the consequences of their "sport."

on edit: spelling

[riderinthestorm]

10. Actually that's not true. I'm a pro in the industry and a frequent guest backside

of many tracks across the Midwest - from high end to the low end.

The horses are treated like royalty. Nobody wants to see their horse permanently maimed or killed. The vast, vast majority of grooms, trainers and jockeys really dote on these horses. They are pampered. Nobody wants to see that end in tragedy

Nobody.

Are you saying nobody should ever use horses for sport?

I don't like that they start these horses so young and train them to run that quickly - that's wrong and a crime. But then you should work to change that.

Horses run. In the wild. At liberty. Yes, they even race against each other in play,fyi.

[Coventina]

11. Horses may get treated like royalty at the track, but that's a fraction of their lives.

Why the doping?

Why the overbreeding?

And yes, horses should not be subjected to dangers that they cannot give their informed consent to.

And yes, horses love to run and are naturally competitive. That does not mean we get to exploit them for our own gain and their loss.

[riderinthestorm]

13. Ok, got it. You object to horses being used for riding at all

since any horse can potentially fall and break a leg trail riding or even at liberty in a paddock. Any activity involving horses and riders is potentially dangerous to the horse.

You'd wrap them in bubble wrap.

As to doping - agreed. Huge problem that's addresses with drug testing by national organizations dedicated to that.

Overbreeding? Yup. A problem but certainly not limited to horses. Gimme a break!

[Coventina]

16. OK, got it. You're invested in a cruel sport and don't want to see it for what it is.

Horses die on US tracks EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Can you point to another sport where the athletes die in official competitions EVERY DAY?!?!

Life is a risk, but those statistics are way, way over the top and should be an embarrassment to everyone involved, yet, nothing seems to change.

And yes, I think that most equine sports / uses are cruel and that there should only be a fraction of the horses bred that are.
Same with every other companion animal.

I never said overbreeding was only done to horses.
Don't accuse me of positions I never took.

[riderinthestorm]

18. I've already stated I'm not invested in racing

but I do own and operate a sport horse barn.

From your posts, even that would be too much danger for horses.

Horses die by the thousands every single day. The vast majority aren't involved in any horse sport - they die from colic, bad care, lack of vaccinations, paddock injuries etc. They die in ways entirely unrelated to sports but related to the perils of keeping large livestock in confinement.

Horses at the track die in FAR fewer numbers than those in the wild for example, or those in peoples' backyards or even those in boarding barns. You seem to think the track is some kind of killing ground - it's not.

Is it cruel to race horse this young and immature? Yes. Is it cruel to ever race horses? I'd say no.

And the breeders should face the vast majority of condemnation here.

[Coventina]

22. People die by the thousands every day. Death as the inevitable end of life

is not what I'm getting at here.

What I am saying is that there is not another single sport where the athletes die in official competition on a daily basis.

By saying that I am not making light of those that die of neglect and cruelty in other forms.

Horses, as a species, are mistreated in almost EVERY context in which we use them.

However, horse racing has this false "glamorous" image that hides the ugly realities of the sport.
My thread was a reminder of that ugly reality, as a check on blind excitement about one doped-up victim's achievement today.

And yes, I do consider AP a victim. He doesn't get to choose where and when he races. He doesn't get to choose what he's injected with. He doesn't get to choose how often he races.
He doesn't understand the risks that he takes.

And, the breeders wouldn't breed if the buyers weren't buying.
It's all connected in one ugly business.

[riderinthestorm]

30. A link please to your assertion that no other sport has fatality rates

And yes, you ARE going on and on about the fatality rates for horses in this sport.

So ignoring the very real daily fatality rates of horses kept as pets across this nation is disingenuous in the extreme.

The fact is horses die in captivity. They die in even greater and more alarming rates in the wild.

Any industry of any sort has a "bad" side. It's the facts of life. To amplify horse sports as some kind of apex of cruelty is laughable.

Go take a look at the greyhound business, or sex slavery, or illegal immigration and get back to me.

You just hate anyone who owns and rides horses. No pet horse, whether they are American Pharaoh or they're someone's beloved Patches in their backyard, has "free agency" to decide to choose to not go on a trail ride, or get a vaccination, or get their hocks injected for pain relief, or their daily meal. Your premise is based on PETA principles and I reject that.

[Coventina]

39. Why do you keep ascribing statements to me that I never said?

1. I never said "no other sport has fatality rates."
2. I never said I was ignoring the deaths of neglected companion horses.
3. I never said horse racing was an "apex of cruelty."
4. I never said I was unaware of greyhound racing, sex slavery or illegal immigration
5. I never said I hate anyone who owns or rides horses.
6. My premise is NOT based on PETA, I am not a member nor a donor to PETA.

I am, however, a big supporter of Day's End Farm Horse Rescue, where they ride horses regularly. Now if I hate people who ride horses why would I do that?!?!

[riderinthestorm]

40. Ok. I'll just let your own statements stand on their own nt

[Coventina]

41. Thanks! Much appreciated!

[gwheezie]

14. It's a weird way to keep a horse

I know mostly about show barns but it's an odd life to be kept in all day except to work no matter how well they take care of a horse. So what happens to the ones who can't race or their care costs more than their winnings?

[riderinthestorm]

17. City carriage horses are kept the same way and they thrive

I've actually owned horses who HATE turnout. One Intermediaire dressage horse we owned actually jumped a 4 foot fence after his first 20 minutes outside in many years. He galloped right back to his stall and stood in there shivering.

There's a reason barn fires can be so catastrophic - far too many horses won't leave the safety of their stalls even in the face of death.



The horses I've seen, even at Thistle Downs - a very low end track - are all taken out and hand grazed daily. Don't forget most of them aren't on the track very long. Most wash out early.

[gwheezie]

19. I worked at a barn with about 40 horses on 2acres

It was a 2 story barn. The boarded horses in training had box stalls on the higher level. The horses in the lesson program were in the basement in tie stalls. The days I worked, I would stay late after the barn closed and turn the lesson horses out in groups in the indoor and outdoor. Every one of them would drop and roll.
I know that horses are very adaptable. And they feel safe in a routine so I know horses that get used to their stall. One of my horses had bone chips from a stifle injury and 2 surgeries and both times had months of stall rest. She adapted. But she sure didn't take long to get used to being back out with the herd when she healed.

[iamthebandfanman]

26. like royalty

who have countless meds given to them against their will then beat with a whip while already injured just to run?

which royal family are you talking about ? :p

sorry, but ive been brought up around horses my entire life and some of things the owners of racing horses do is sick and twisted. don't kid yourself.
come to church hill downs and hang out in the stables for a while the day before race day.

[riderinthestorm]

36. So any horse given meds and ridden "against their will" is a problem? Got it

FWIW, I'd guess I've spent way more hours on the track backside on race day than you. At many, many, many diverse tracks than Churchill Downs.

I've seen it all up close and personal.

I get horses and have to evaluate their meds, drug and physical history daily. It's what I do. So yeah, I know it intimately. I speak to the horse's vet before I take them home - right there on the track. No secrets or the vet and former owners know they'll be sued for false representation.

Are there charlatans and bad actors? Yes.

Are there charlatans and bad actors in any industry? Yes.

[fasttense]

69. Exactly

I love horses. I've ridden in shows and worked in Olympic events but they are routinely drugged and forced into too small spaces. Most horse events have some amount of drugging. But horse racing is the worst for it. If I'm doing dressage the drugging is not likely to cause injury. But horse racing can result with the most severe injuries from drugging.

Horse are not drugged just so they can perform either. They are drugged when traveling to keep them calm, they are drugged to get them to eat and sleep. It is just so routine that it's no surprise they are drugged to perform too.

[pangaia]

27. I have learned much from this post of yours

and the other one, basically the same.

Horses run in the wild, yes. But, do they run that far that fast?
I really have no idea but I would doubt it.

[riderinthestorm]

31. Yes they do. Come by and watch mine at liberty some day nt

[pangaia]

33. Thanks for the invitation.

How about I come by in spirit.

[iamthebandfanman]

32. i can tell you two things..

they aren't pumped full of drugs ..
and they aren't being beat with a whip (and a lot of jockeys try to sneak in electric devices that shock the horse)...
that's the big difference between a horse you see on a farm and a horse you see at church hill downs on derby day.

horses are beautiful animals.. and ive lived around them my entire life (as someone from Kentucky)..

but some of you would shit your pants if you had a chance to go walk the stables at church hill downs the day before the big race...
what these owners and trainers do to these race horses is SICK and TWISTED... greed greed GREED.

not to mention all the poor undocumented laborers that get treated like complete shit and forced to sleep in stables cause they cant stay in the dorms without proper paperwork..

[pangaia]

35. Are you replying to me, or someone else?

[gwheezie]

34. When being chased by a mountain lion

Horses run on their own. Horses in the wild can come to some gruesome ends at a young age. Horses in the wild usually run as a group. The herd and being able to accelerate quickly are defenses. You hardly ever see a herd of horses where they're all galloping but one is just standing there. The horse in a herd who is last is usually the one who gets killed by the mountain lion. If one horse takes off galloping, the rest follow and none of them wants to be left behind.
That being said, while domesticated horses have few reasons to run, most of them will run if one of them runs. They don't wait around to see why is that horse running, they say oh shit I better start running and I don't want to be last. All my horses do run just for the hell of it. I have one that is a mustang adopted from a wild horse herd. She runs much faster without me on her but she doesn't run far. I've watched her gallop around the pasture and thought I hope she never does that while I'm on her.

[pangaia]

38. Thanks for the reply.

I know next to nothing about horses. In fact nothing.. I have ridden a horse twice and then there is the horse in The Tin Drum. That's about it. They are definitely beautiful animals. I like Arabians.

[riderinthestorm]

47. I had one off track TB mare who'd run like crazy when turned out

she'd lap a 7 acre turnout around and around. She loved to run just out of exuberance.

Scared me to death because I feared an injury but she did it every day.

[griffi94]

51. reminds me of a cow pony we had one time

had to keep him separated from the cows or he'd he'd bunch them up in the corner of the catch pen and just hold them there.

[Stargleamer]

70. Treated like royalty? Tell that to those who loved Ferdinand and Exceller

Ferdinand - Kentucky Derby winner, post racing career - slaughtered for food in Japan
Exceller - beat Affirmed and Seattle Slew at Belmont - also slaughtered for food in Sweden

"A 2012 Government Accountability Office report found that nearly 140,000 American horses were sent to slaughter in countries like Canada, Mexico, and Japan in 2010. Between 10 and 20 percent of them were racehorses, according to industry estimates. Their meat is cured for human consumption or use in pet food."

http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/06/10/2121291/after-the-finish-line-horse-industry-confronts-issues-plaguing-its-retired-racers

When are 'royalty' treated like this? When???

[riderinthestorm]

72. This thread is about horses still on the track

and horse slaughter is illegal in the US fyi

[Coventina]

74. How racehorses are treated before, during, and after their careers is all part of it.

And, if you knew anything about the hose industry you would know that overseas slaughter buyers frequent horse auctions in this country and often outbid those who want companion animals to love and nurture.

[riderinthestorm]

78. That's just a lie. Outbidding on the average TB would mean @ $1000 max

horses are sold by the pound in the US.

If a potential owner wants a horse in an auction bidding just over the per pound price gets you the horse. If a potential owner can't afford $1000+/-, then they shouldn't be able to buy a horse in the first place. They cost money to care for properly. The initial cost is nothing in comparison to what it's going to cost every month.

Secondly "overseas" kill buyers is a lie. It's not economically feasible to buy and ship a horse overseas for meat since they'd be spending upwards of $10,000/ animal to ship plus the quarantine fees and restrictions.

Horse slaughter is illegal in the US. Kill buyers buy the horses and ship them to Canada and Mexico. Canada and Mexico slaughter and sell the meat overseas.

The care of racehorses before and during their career is typically stellar -these are high money animals and are treated as such.

That said, far too many DO end up badly which is why horse rescue operations have sprung up virtually everywhere. See CanterUSA.org.

I've tried hard to dialogue with you but your posts are growing increasingly filled with outright lies. Feel free to have the last word. I've got things to do.

[Coventina]

82. Really? Horse rescue organizations are the source of my "lies".

Are you saying they are making up stories?

Your quarrel is with them, not me.

But, nice move calling me a liar.

Stay classy!!

[Stargleamer]

76. Yes, and that's why they were sent abroad or to Mexico!!

read the ThinkProgress article, for Chrissake! The profit motive!!

Also being treated like 'Royalty" is supposed to be a lifelong thing--King Edward VIII wasn't treated like a commoner after he abdicated.

[riderinthestorm]

80. My comment related to their treatment at the track nt

[awoke_in_2003]

94. Only because we over glorify horses

What is the difference between the eating of cow meat or horse meat? Not a damn thing. I am a meat eater, but I can respect vegans a hell of a lot more I can fellow meat eaters who find horror in the thought of horse slaughter, yet have no problem killing cows.

[Coventina]

73. They aren't treated like royalty, they're treated like gladiators

As long as they can fight (race) it's all good.

Once that's over, all bets are off (if you'll pardon the pun).

In the case of Ferdinand, he was a gelding, so he couldn't be used as stud after his racing career.

So, off to the slaughterhouse for him!!!

[gwheezie]

9. 8 belles

There are no words for that horror.
I've had horses most of my adult life. Mostly a hobby but I worked for amatuer training barns off and on. Most were low level show barns and since back in the day I was thin, I'd go with trainers to the auctions to ride some of the horses we could flip. Put a couple of months in and sell them. You could find the ones off the track, they were fit looking and in good flesh and lame among the poor looking bags of bones. Very few came to a good end. I have to think whoever was breeding them thought there was money to be made breeding horses. Most people wind up very disappointed and if lucky the horses may wind up with a decent life.

[riderinthestorm]

12. Yep, her breeder is a monster.

I don't go to auctions. I go straight to the track and buy them there.

There are many, many OTTB rescues now. The industry is slowly figuring out there's actually more $ to be made selling their racetrack rejects as re-purposed event, barrel, h/j etc prospects.

Canter USA is only one of many now operate nationally. I encourage anyone who is upset about this to explore the realities NOW.

http://www.canterusa.org/

[gwheezie]

15. Its a good organization

I love the success stories. The best horse I ever owned and knew came from new Holland in pa. She had the head of an anvil and the stride of a 5 legged gerbil and the heart of a giant. I got her for 500 bucks and was told I paid too much but I had her until she was 35. She's buried in her pasture out back.

[BlueJazz]

28. It's no sense arguing with these people...on this subject. They know absolutely nothing....

,...except what they read in some idiotic blog. Their minds are made up before they even type the first words. They mean well.

[riderinthestorm]

37. Agreed and thanks. I'll give up soon. I just had to make a stand tonight

while I had some energy.

The PETA is strong in some of these...

[gwheezie]

42. Have you been to the auction?

I will concede there are just as many show and pleasure horses as track horses at the low end auctions but if every TB breeder and owner as well as stb breeders and owners retired them to the farm in the country, how did these tb's with tats wind up at the auction?
I don't own race horses. When I was younger I did a little of this and that in the show world. I competed and trained. I am not proud of some of the methods I've used. The older I get and the more horses I know I've come to realize nothing I did with a horse in the show world was to benefit the horse. It was because I enjoyed a hobby. I treated them well because I'm not a psychopath. Now many horses have had wonderful lives with caring owners. They are loved and doted on but mostly its because of the owners ego, they enjoy the discipline they compete in and if the horse is lucky, the owner appreciates what the horse has given them and they do get a long and happy retirement.

[BlueJazz]

45. Yes and I understand. We humans do so much cruelty to each other and to...

...other animals. I used to train Greyhounds when I was in college. People used to holler at us for being cruel to them. I used to think "Ah...like taking them home with me and letting 3 of them sleep in the bed"
I know the mean stuff goes on...but not as much as people think. Still too much though.

[demodiva2]

50. So true...

Great post -- "ego" is, indeed, what fuels it. I stood at the rail at Belmont for eleven hours on June 9th, 1973, in the heat and humidity -- all so that I could see Secretariat "close" the Triple Crown. That was the last race I ever went to see -- all that I learned, in all the years after that, has totally turned me against this "sport". Pain-masking drugs, brutality behind the scenes (especially that despicable "soring" in the gaited horse arena) are out of control. Animals are not ours to use for entertainment. End of story.

[jmowreader]

48. I only count two

[riderinthestorm]

49. Raise a Native is also part of that bloodline

any horse with "Native" as part of the name is of that bloodline.

So there's four total if you go back to the fifth generation.

[CountAllVotes]

64. +1,000 !!!

Re: Helwan: Interbred to the max as you point out with Secretariat and the grandfather of Secretariat (NASRULLAH) on the sire's side and good old Northern Dancer and Nasrullah again on the dam's side. The whole thing was indeed the recipe for a huge disaster which is exactly what happened.

I'm a horse racing fan myself and I love the sport but not many of the things that happen that no one much hears about.

However, you are right, many of these fine thoroughbreds are indeed treated like royalty -- some lived well into their 30s.

[chernabog]

20. So sad

[cigsandcoffee]

21. Bullshit.

These horses are fantastic athletes. They live and love to compete. It would be cruel to prevent them from doing it.

[Coventina]

23. Really? Do you have informed consent papers?

Otherwise, you are merely projecting your desires onto them.

[LTX]

60. Do you have informed consent papers from your dog or your cat?

[Coventina]

61. I don't force them to participate in dangerous sports.

[riderinthestorm]

62. Any animal in your care, custody and control can suffer a catastrophic accident

Even going for a walk.

Life is full of risks. Wrapping animals in bubble wrap isn't the solution.

Helwan had a fatal pedigree. His breeding meant he would have been at risk of a catastrophic breakdown running around his paddock.

[Coventina]

63. Again: Random accidents do not equal regular participation in a dangerous sport.

And again:

Breeders would stop breeding these "time bombs" if the buyers quit buying them.

It's all connected.

Plus, Helwan probably wouldn't have been doped to the gills running around his paddock.
He would have most likely only run within his natural limits and not injured himself.
He also wouldn't have had a human on his back urging him on.

[riderinthestorm]

65. Do you have any information Helwan was doped? They drug test at every major competiton

this one especially so if you have information Helwan was doped I'd love to see it.

"Natural limits" is a laugh. Horses have a brain the size of a walnut. They don't process information the way we do. They can't. They'll run themselves lame all by themselves. They'll drink gallons of water afterwards and kill themselves with colic. They do any number of stupid, counter-intuitive stuff because we keep a large livestock animal in captivity.

They'll eat themselves to death if allowed as any grieving owner whose horse has gotten out in the middle of the night and found the feed cart will tell you. I could go on and on but clearly you've made up your mind that wicked humans riding horses causes most of their deaths and destruction.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. More horses die every day while in the care of their loving owners than have ever died on the track in any given day.

I've already completely, 100% agreed that breeding is the problem. That is my biggest point on this thread.

[Coventina]

66. The article I linked to in the OP states Helwan was drugged

for the first time ever, btw.
Coincidence?

I've tried and tried to explain to you the difference between the hazards of everyday life versus the hazards of a dangerous sport.

Yes, I agree it STARTS with breeding, but then, why are buyers buying them?
Why do "reputable" trainers train them?
Why do "reputable" jockey ride them?
Why do "reputable" vets drug them?

It's all connected in an inherently corrupt system.

[riderinthestorm]

68. He was on Lasix. That's not a performance enhancing drug. It's for nosebleeds

it masks nothing. (And word to the wise, PETA is not a reputable source of information).

Lasix had zip to do with Helwans break. Zero.

As for the rest of your questions, I've answered them elsewhere but will answer them here.

Why breed them? Because the breeders haven't yet been under the scrutiny they deserve. That's changing. Especially in the past five years.

Why do trainers train them? Because that's their job. We aren't often given a choice of horses to say yes or no to. The trainer can do what s/he can to help any horse on any given day but in the end, it's all a crap shoot. Literally. American Pharaoh has Native Dancer 5x in his pedigree and he hasn't broken down like Helwan who broke down with NA 4x.

Why so jockeys ride them? Trust me. No rider wants to be on a horse they believe is going to crash underneath them galloping at more than 30 miles/hour. They ride them because they understand the odds - the vast majority of horses die doing things other than racing.

Why do reputable vets drug them? They don't or they lose their license to practice veterinary medicine forever. It's a lie to say the horses are drugged. Helwan was given Lasix for nosebleeds. That had nothing to do with fracturing his leg.

[Coventina]

71. Why are horses run so hard they need medication for nosebleeds?

Why was Helwan given that for his race at Belmont when he'd never needed it before?

Your answers to the buyers, trainers, jockeys & vets do not satisfy.

If these horses are known to be so damaged and dangerous, they need to stand up and say "NO MORE!" if they REALLY CARE about the animals.
Everything they do (actions speak louder than words) indicates that they care more about money than the animals.

[riderinthestorm]

75. Why do some humans need Lasix? Do you hear yourself?

Its ridiculous!

Helwan was given Lasix because he'd had a nosebleed. Have you ever gotten a nosebleed? Was the air too dry? You bonked your nose? You got hit? You're pre-disposed to nosebleeds? It's crazy to somehow assign a nefarious purpose to this.

It's a therapeutic remedy to help the horse. Period. It has zero performance enhancing effect. It does not mask pain. Helwans fracture is entirely unrelated. This is crazy land and you're not doing your credibility any good here going down this road. It's PETA bullshit.

As for my "unsatisfactory" answers well quelle surprise.

You persist in glossing over the FACT that many many more horses will die today, this week, this month, this year being loved by their owners in their beloved barn or backyard than will die on the track. Owners, trainers, jockeys and vets know this. So yes, they proceed to do a job they love.

I'm not in the mood to defend racing. I've already said I think it's got fundamental flaws. I've never been to a race, I've never been frontside to see one live but as the article I posted about 8 Belles indicates people are speaking out, especially as it relates to the breeding. That's a great start.

[gwheezie]

83. This brings up another ethical question

If the horse in any discipline begins to require intervention beyond normal care to stay sound and compete, should the horse continue? Or in order to move up a level? Like you said we've all seen horses run with a leg snapped in 2, they will keep going. To me is the fact that a horse will keep running then make it OK to keep running it?
In my own life when a horse I've had needs a week of bute after competing then its done. If it needs HA injections to stay sound, its done in that discipline at that level. It is natures way if saying the horse isn't built to do the job. I'm not talking about high maintence care and I know you know what I'm talking about.

[riderinthestorm]

85. Agreed on all fronts. I guess I just don't view Lasix in that category

Nosebleeds aren't in the same category as bute for a week post-performance imo. Besides, not sure when you last competed but now you can't have any bute in a horse's system at a competition (along with numerous other drugs, too many to list). If your horse tests positive, you're suspended indefinitely. The drug rules have gotten very strict which I applaud.

Clearly for some folks here however, Lasix is a bridge too far. I disagree.

[gwheezie]

87. It hasn't been that long

I'm talking about the horse comes up unsound, you spend weeks and probably lots of money getting the horse sound again, the ethical question is not competing on bute because you just can't but do you bring the horse back to compete.
My friends ottb ewe necked pinfired 3 day horse competed at the 3* level back in the 80's. He was going xc at Radnor and took a bad step. The rider felt it but the horse kept jumping. Finished with no faults. Came up 3 legged lame. The horse had a sesamoid fx. So after a year off and 1000's of dollars he was sound enough to go back to work. They tried him at dressage but bless him the horse wanted to run. She thought of selling him as s lower level school master but he had do much heart she feared someone would push him back up the levels. She was offered good money for him. Instead she gave him away to a woman who liked to take meandering trail walks. Within a few months he looked like a fat quarter horse and he never competed again. He died a sound old man.

[riderinthestorm]

93. If the horse is sound to compete, then they compete

especially if they enjoy it.

Since you can't compete anymore on even bute, your horse with the old sesamoid fracture would never have gone very far anyway, even if someone had tried to do that. One of our old Advanced level horses is 23 yrs old and is a lovely schoolmaster. He took his senior citizen rider and his senior citizen self schooling cross country at Hunter Oaks yesterday and eagerly ate up the beginner novice course. He wouldn't fare well without a job. Each horse is different.

I do agree though that it behooves us all to find the best retirement or semi-retirement that we can for our old friends.

[Damansarajaya]

88. Riding horses is cruel, but eating spare ribs is just fine,

apparently. Do these folks even hear themselves?

Have they stopped eating hamburger and wearing leather shoes?

Sometimes, I think the point is to prove one's superiority on the scale of liberal purity around here.

I'm a vegetarian, but I don't think riding is cruel. Given a choice, most horses do a lot better and live a lot longer when they're not starving to death in the desert or infected with brucellosis.

[riderinthestorm]

89. The average lifespan of a wild horse is 7 yrs

I should have quit arguing 30 posts ago...lol. I was given that advice last night and simply kept trying. Alas.

Some people are never going to listen.

[gwheezie]

91. Same with feral cats and dogs

I'm not a Peta person. I think Peta is nuts. But I've come to understand I'm not just a benevolent caretaker of animals, there is value in the relationships I have with animals that makes me s better human being.

[gwheezie]

90. Well I am vegan

I had an epiphany when I was breeding goats for meat. I'm not going to lecture anyone. People come to their own decisions. Even my saddles are synthetic.

[Damansarajaya]

92. I'm vegetarian . . . but my comments were directed not at you,

but other posters.

[Coventina]

84. If Lasix is unrelated to racing, why was EVERY HORSE BUT 1 given it

(including AP) for the Belmont Stakes?

Do you hear YOURself?

Why the insistence that I'm somehow related to PETA?
I'm not.

YOU persist in conflating the statistics of normal behavior with racing fatalities?

They are not the same!

For someone who doesn't want to defend racing you sure are spending a lot of time and effort doing so.

[ann---]

77. Greyhounds are forced to

participate. A friend of mine owns a former competing Greyhound
and belongs to a society that rescues them. It is a crying shame what
happens to these dogs - and the way they are treated.

[iamthebandfanman]

25. if someone pumped you full

of narcotics (or other drugs like thyrozine) and then beat you with a whip youd want to run too.

[pangaia]

29. You're joking, aren't yo0u?

[iamthebandfanman]

24. As someone from KY

let me be the first to say that horse racing is sick ..
anyone who has worked around or been around the stables of racing horses knows how they are treated.

they drug them up and make them run no matter how injured they are and then put a bullet in their head after they are done breading them (assuming they didn't get a bullet when they were injured)...

sick sad stuff.

[Gloria]

43. I watched the Belmont today and had an awful fear watching American Pharoah

I was so uneasy. And I did not know about the earlier death until I saw this thread...eek😢

The extreme breeding of animals for the buck is really unconscionable. Life is cheap, for animals and our fellow man!

I donate to Frontline Equine Rescue ever year and the are in my will...as are the dogs, cats, pigs, chimps, Koko....I wish I could do more! Our wild horses are
in trouble, too...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. I boarded horses....

They were all treated like family members.

[Warpy]

52. Most of them are. In addition, a race horse represents a big investment

in not only the money that produced him/her, but the time and effort of training the horse.

The animals have been overbred, IMO, and nature is starting to side with a lot of hidden flaws.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

53. Keep in mind that EVERYBODY used to have horses....

They were the "cars" 100+ years ago.

You had good owners and bad owners then too.

[Peregrine Took]

54. Agreed. I despise it.

Think Ruffian...everyone was in tears but she was still dead.

[riderinthestorm]

55. Ruffian's a product of 3 damned bloodlines: Native Dancer, Shenanigans and Reviewer

blame the breeders.

[Gloria]

57. Ruffian..so upsetting

She thrashed so much after waking up after surgery that she wound up destroying her elbow and that was the end...

Because of her, pools are now used to avoid the horror of post-anaesthesia thrashing

RIP Sweet girl

[Jamastiene]

56. I admit I don't know much about it, but I have always

had a question about horses in races on these seemingly smooth runs. Why do their legs break so easily? Or is it a lot harder on the horses than they make it seem?

I don't like the idea of people making oodles of money on animals and animals dying doing entertainment for people. Usually, it is rich people who can afford horses and betting on horses and even seeing horse races. That can never be good. The rich are not known for their compassion, for a reason.

[Judi Lynn]

59. Nothing good about the "sport". Thank you, Coventina. n/t

[Rossi]

67. "Jumps"?

From the article: "He made two jumps and then switched lead and broke down."

Was this jumps racing? I thought they stopped doing that at Belmont a long time ago.

[gwheezie]

79. Not jumping fences

He was changing leads. Maybe he was trying to get his feet organized to change leads might have changed in front and then needed a stride to change behind.

[Damansarajaya]

86. Squirrel and bear soup.

If horse racing is cruel (squirrel), what about institutionalized and systematic killing of hogs, cattle, sheep and chickens for their flesh (the bear)?

Until you're ready to give up the bear (and I have), then why complain about the squirrel?

[Coventina]

95. FYI: I've given up the bear as well. But, that doesn't really matter.

You seriously don't see an ethical difference between using animals for food and using animals for entertainment?

[Damansarajaya]

98. Not at all . . . particularly when using them for

entertainment doesn't kill them.

[Coventina]

99. This whole thread is about how horse racing kills horses all the time.

The abuse of animals used for entertainment is inexcusable.

It's pure evil.

[LiberalEsto]

96. Rehabilitating a horse with a broken leg is extremely hard

My next door neighbor Dee keeps a riding horse on a farm. It's not a thoroughbred or anything. A couple of years ago it stepped into a hole and broke a leg.

Dee, who is retired, labored all day, every day for most of the past two years to help the animal's leg heal and get it walking normally again. She has used massage and other therapies, brought toys to entertain the horse while it was stuck in its stall getting bored, and even got someone to give the injured leg some kind of experimental stem cell transplant to help it heal. Dee is gone practically from dawn to dark and now is able to lead the horse out to pasture again. I rarely see Dee; another neighbor recently told me about the horse's progress. I don't know whether the horse will ever be rideable again, but the fact that it can walk again is due to Dee's superhuman effort

Ironically, Dee can't even ride the horse herself because 5 or 6 years ago it threw her, shattering her knee, breaking her leg and fingers, and an arm. She has never fully recovered. The horse also broke her jaw with its head when something startled it last year. I could never have done what she has done for her horse.