Thoroughbreds bones do not mature until they are 5. So no wonder they snap like twigs when they are 2 or 3 or 4 (the time when Thoroughbreds race). This was not a freak accident. This happens every day at racetracks around the world. Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

Rena Sherwoods last blog post..When Wishes Are Horses

To Katie; Can I stop by your place tomorrow then follow you around all day beating you with a leather whip so you will move faster?

If a horse has a broken leg (let alone two) no matter how gallant the horse is not going to be able to run an will go down. As you can see if the video clip, Eight Belle’s legs break just a moment before she falls. She did not run on broken legs.

The reason she was put down immediately is because there is no coming back from 2 broken legs for a horse. This was the kindest thing to do. It’s very difficult for a horse to recover from one broken leg, but two is not possible. These are 1200 pound animals. They need all four feet, sound, to be able to stand and walk and run. Often time with horses who are recovering from a broken leg will compensate by shifting weight from the injured leg to the diagonal leg. This excess weight on the completely healthy leg often times causes the healthy leg to deteriorate. I believe this is what happened with Barbaro.

While I do agree that there is a serious problem racing horses at 2 and 3 years old (and as all Thoroughbreds turn “a year older” on January 1st, some of these 2 year olds aren’t even 2 yet) are two young to be raced, in this specific case, I suspect this was just a freak accident.

I think it’s time to put down the rhetoric and give them their credit for doing that. I refuse to jump on the bandwagon of bashing PETA just because Penn and Teller did a half-assed expose on them (ripe with errors and biases). But with that said, I do think that their recent decisions have shown a lack of management and commitment – and as a result I do not consider myself a supporter of PETA.

I like the ASPCA but they’re not vigilante enough, they let far too many assholes get by. Anyways, I think using animals for sport, entertainment, or research and clothing should be illegal. I’m not against meat, but I do think that it needs to be heavily regulated and controlled – certain living standards need to be kept and the quantity of meat being consumed at least in America does not make it possible to give them equitable or even liveable conditions. I’m a vegan btw, I hold no hatred for those who eat meat – however I believe you should eat it in moderation – most people have no restraint and out of a fear of having to give it up choose to just ignore the problem of animal abuse all in all.

Anyways, onething that is most frightening is the case of fishing and hunting, alot of wilderness preservation groups are funded and run by hunting organizations that seek to clean up and preserve such environments only so that they can hunt and kill the animals themselves. That’s absolutely disgusting, “save the forest-so I can destroy it” type mentality. Horse Racing is cruel, because the rampant abuse involving steroids to better the horse’s performance as well as the brutality involved in rearing and grooming these animals to conform to racing guidelines. There is no need for horse racing, we have car racing and computers – surely we could use computers to rig up some sort of simulation to simulate this if need be.

The biggest thing that I think needs to be changed is the banning of animal testing and research. I will NEVER donate to Cancer Research, they get lots of money and on top of all that they do the most sadistic disgusting things to the animals – vivisections (that’s dissecting an animal while it’s still alive without any drugs so it’s fully concious). I’d rather die of Cancer, then no that a cure or treatment came at such a price.

Shame on people for not researching the effects of what they think to be charity, and further shame on those who are willing to pay this price to save themselves.

How does a beautiful two year animal get both front legs broken RUNNING around a track less than 2 miles long??? What the hell are we doing to these horses?

There was another thing that happened which I have to comment on and it was when I was watching the presentation of the trophy to the owner(s) that one of them related the win today of his horse to the birth of his children…honestly how can the two compare!

“Eight Belles crossed the finish line second in the Kentucky Derby today and then jockey Gabriel Saez heard the worst sound possible – a pop.

Saez said the filly did not take a bad step, but he heard the pop and tried to pull her up.

“I tried to get her to stop,” he said. “I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t stop.”

Dr. Larry Bramlege the on-call veterinarian from the American Association of Equine Practitioners said the filly had a condylar fractures of both front legs. That is the same type of break that was suffered by 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro in one leg. She was euthanized on the track.”

This just makes me sick. A brilliant horse that just kept going even after two broken legs. I don’t know what the answer is here…but what a waste of a life. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say.