Monday, May 05, 2008
I love horses
That being said, I trust the experience of the jockey, trainers and vets on the track at Churchill Downs more than someone from PETA. Are two year old horses too young to race? Perhaps. I'm not a trainer. Is racing cruel? IMHO, no it's not. A writer from Detroit decries the cruelty of racing on Fox Sports.com today and it's gotten over 1100 comments. An article on the Pistons from 3 days earlier only managed 87.
Horses are beautiful, intelligent creatures. I rode my first one when I was 3, had her for a few years and have ridden on and off ever since. Dusty, a friend's palamino liked me because I didn't kick him in the flank. However, that appreciation went out the window one day when he was tired of riding and I wasn't. We approached the barn at a speed that was way to fast for EY at age 10. Right past a tree limb that was taller than Dusty, but not taller than me. Fortunately, all I got was a scratched up face, neck and head and my glasses knocked off.
People get hurt on horses. Horses get hurt with people. Eight Belle's injury was serious and untreatable. The right call was made. For a human, a broken leg can be fixed and we resume life as normal. For horses, it's just not that way. I think her story is a tragedy. I hate that she had no other options. But I have to say again, I trust people who have spent their life breeding, raising, training and caring for horses over a group trying to snatch a headline, any day of the week.
Horses are beautiful, intelligent creatures. I rode my first one when I was 3, had her for a few years and have ridden on and off ever since. Dusty, a friend's palamino liked me because I didn't kick him in the flank. However, that appreciation went out the window one day when he was tired of riding and I wasn't. We approached the barn at a speed that was way to fast for EY at age 10. Right past a tree limb that was taller than Dusty, but not taller than me. Fortunately, all I got was a scratched up face, neck and head and my glasses knocked off.
People get hurt on horses. Horses get hurt with people. Eight Belle's injury was serious and untreatable. The right call was made. For a human, a broken leg can be fixed and we resume life as normal. For horses, it's just not that way. I think her story is a tragedy. I hate that she had no other options. But I have to say again, I trust people who have spent their life breeding, raising, training and caring for horses over a group trying to snatch a headline, any day of the week.
