Horse Racing and Facebook
A friend of mine commented on Facebook about a rather unusual claim at the track. The owners of a race horse who ran for a tag of $5000 got claimed by a rescue organization after winning a race. I wish I had looked up the name of the horse and verified the number of wins, the horse's age and basically his racing history. Claiming a thirteen year old horse that is still able to run competitively and has been described as a one owner horse does raise some questions.
I don't know if the rescue organization got it right. I have been around horses some and there are tired horses and there are horses that really like to run. I also think all horses are better off if they are cared for and have a "job".
This leads me to a discussion of "old age". Some age better than others but there are always issues regarding soundness as horses age. It would seem that the horse would tell the owner and trainer about his condition and retirement from the racetrack. Ask yourself about folks who should have retired but hung on too long and something bad happened. Football players with too concussions or horses that go lame or are abandoned as they slow down are not good outcomes. There are folks that should be tested before they get their driver's license renewed.
The upshot of many of the comments was that horse rescue organizations overstepped their bounds and should leave horses entered in races alone. I'm not sure this is the best use of scarce resources when picking who to rescue but these rescue organizations do provide a valuable service by providing a home and an opportunity for some horses to be retrained once they are off the track.
The guy who posted the article probably got some grief from his bosses because he has a very public job at a race track and many of the comments were down on the sport and the rescue organizations.
I wish the rescue organizations well in their mission and money should come the from the industry to support these worthwhile programs. Not everyone has a farm or the resources to care for retired horses but it is clear that more needs to be done to stop the abuse of animals when they get old.
I don't know if the rescue organization got it right. I have been around horses some and there are tired horses and there are horses that really like to run. I also think all horses are better off if they are cared for and have a "job".
This leads me to a discussion of "old age". Some age better than others but there are always issues regarding soundness as horses age. It would seem that the horse would tell the owner and trainer about his condition and retirement from the racetrack. Ask yourself about folks who should have retired but hung on too long and something bad happened. Football players with too concussions or horses that go lame or are abandoned as they slow down are not good outcomes. There are folks that should be tested before they get their driver's license renewed.
The upshot of many of the comments was that horse rescue organizations overstepped their bounds and should leave horses entered in races alone. I'm not sure this is the best use of scarce resources when picking who to rescue but these rescue organizations do provide a valuable service by providing a home and an opportunity for some horses to be retrained once they are off the track.
The guy who posted the article probably got some grief from his bosses because he has a very public job at a race track and many of the comments were down on the sport and the rescue organizations.
I wish the rescue organizations well in their mission and money should come the from the industry to support these worthwhile programs. Not everyone has a farm or the resources to care for retired horses but it is clear that more needs to be done to stop the abuse of animals when they get old.
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