by Janet Farricelli CPDT-KA

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Aerodynamic horse figures running like the wind. The rumor of the thumping hooves against the turf. The heart pounding emotion at the finish lines. The screams of the crowds in standing ovation. If you have ever attended a live horse race, it's all about that. Velocity, strong emotions, bids and ultimately, the money. However, there is much more than that: add stress and pain inflicted to those magnificent animals and the glorious race tracks will not appear glorious as they have for many years.

All it takes is a stroll behind the scenes and you may get the picture. A picture that may be far from how horse racing is perceived. It all starts with the race horse per excellence: the Thoroughbred breed.

This breed's magnificent aereodynamic features seem to make them born for the race track. However, truth is, as many breeds created by human ego rather than by natural selection, their record speeds come with a price. One of the breed's major flaws, is the fact that most Thoroughbred specimens have ultimately more muscle mass than bone density.

But what does this mean exactly? This can be quite understandable. Just think Barbaro and all the other race horse fatalities and you may get an idea. To make things clearer consider this statement in Bill Finley's article, "Sadly, No Way to Stop Deaths : "The thoroughbred race horse is a genetic mistake. It runs too fast, its frame is too large, and its legs are far too small. As long as mankind demands that it run at high speeds under stressful conditions, horses will die at racetracks."

Indeed race horses have very frail legs. This is a typical feature of horses in general, where their weight is disproportionately distributed on four very slim legs. However, in race horses this feature is over exaggerated, with very tall specimens presenting more muscle mass than bone mass. This causes excessive strains and eventually fractures.

Add on top of all that, the fact that more likely than not, horses are given the drug Phenylbutazone, a drug that effectively masks physical discomfort so that they can run regardless, and you will have a recipe for disaster. There is no such thing as race horses running on hay and oats, perhaps only in a fairy tale world.

Rather, most horses are given all the junk one can imagine to make them run like the wind. All this for the sake of money. Once the horse's legs have been destroyed to a point of no return, they are often sold and disposed of at slaughter houses. An example? Ferdinand was sold to a slaughter house in Japan after a glorious career.

Horses are ultimately the victims of a multi million dollar industry. It is estimated that every year 800 horses die in the United States alone as a result of injuries on the tracks. Now if this is not considered animal cruelty, what other decent name can it be given?

Learn more about this author, Janet Farricelli CPDT-KA.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.