Good/sad 134TH........

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Running of the Kentucky Derby.
Big Brown, the favorite, won, but the 2nd place horse, Eight Bells, had to be put down right after the finish.
Breaks to both front legs.
Put it down right there on the track.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

That seems unnecessary. Even with both legs broken, they could still stick the horse in one of those lifts until they healed, then let it live out it's days on some farm somewhere. For a #2 horse in the derby, I'd think there would be plenty of people willing to give it a good home, even pay for the harness thing needed.

 

[JB]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Eight Bells was a filly. Fastest one in a long time.

Double compound fractures are going to be fatal eventually. Putting her down was the kind thing to do.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Yea, 99.99% of the time they develop some kind of infection that leads to putting them down anyway.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

That seems unnecessary. Even with both legs broken, they could still stick the horse in one of those lifts until they healed, then let it live out it's days on some farm somewhere. For a #2 horse in the derby, I'd think there would be plenty of people willing to give it a good home, even pay for the harness thing needed.

Also the bones never really heal. Thoroughbreds are bred for just one thing. Trying to keep them alive in that condition will just make them suffer.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Way to much stress on horses not yet fully developed. To much to soon all in pursuit of fame and fortune of the owners??

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Oh, not having seen the race I did not realize it was compound fractures...


I know that their leg breaks never really fully recover, but it's nothing that stops them from living out a normal life (obviously all racing is over for them)... and they can't be allowed to put any pressure on the leg for a long time, which is why they make that harness thing I was talking about to basically hoist the horse by the midsection off the ground while the leg heals.

Anyway, if it's compound and would lead to a fatal infection, that's different.

I'll bet PETA get's pissed and raises all kinds of ridiculousness over it.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

I'm a long way from being an expert on race horses but I was around horses a lot as a kid. I don't ever remember seeing a horse with a broken leg survive for any significant period of time. One of the issues at play is the size of the leg just above the hock - when you consider that the average weight of a horse is about 1,000 - 1,200 pounds, it becomes easier to understand how much stress the leg muscles and bones are subjected to.

Having a horse displace weight from a bad leg to one or more of the other legs can also cause "foundering," which is essentially a delamination of the hoof from the foot structure above it. I once watched a friend of mine try to save her horse after it foundered in one foot only. Frankly, she just couldn't bear to put the horse down, so she spent a bunch of money on vet bills and put the horse through two months of misery. In the end, she ended up doing what she should have done in the first place. While I know her heart was in the right place, really all she accomplished by doing what she did, was to make herself feel better.

 

[Coors]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Yeah, that was sad, my wife the animal lover is upset.
But, Brown won me some $.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Tragedy is beginning to haunt the Derby..... sad

I had a friend who picked Big Brown but now the race will be remembed for other reasons..........

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

Sad they had to put the horse down but also necessary. Beautiful horse that will be remembered for her great showing.

TC

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

I'll bet PETA get's pissed and raises all kinds of ridiculousness over it.

I'd be surprised if they did. The "E" in PETA stands for Ethical. They might be against horse racing in the first place, but not for putting it down after the fact.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

I'd be surprised if they did. The "E" in PETA stands for Ethical. They might be against horse racing in the first place, but not for putting it down after the fact.

I'm pretty sure Peta has a stance against horse racing in general, especially when it leads to this kind of thing. I don't think it's "ridiculousness." I'm of the opinion that some kinds of breeding of animals aren't ethical. If you want to build a hand grenade engine to win a race, or build a sailing vessel with sheets that will only last one race, that's fine. Breeding an animal that's so fine-tuned that it can't run a race without breaking its legs? Or at the least, racing a horse with bones that haven't fully developed yet? That's messed up, and it happens far too often.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

I'll add my 2 cents too. I raise horses but I'm not a cowboy nor a race fan so I know a little. My former stud was the grandson of Dash for Cash, one of the greatest race horses ever. He was injured as a young colt. He cut ALL of his muscles and tendons in his rear leg in a fence. He was saved because he has such good bloodlines. I breed him to stock type QH mares. He throws plenty of height and the mare gives them some bulk. Good combo IMHO. Horses will founder for any number of reasons. The most common is over eating grain. Most are saved but never fully recover. I'm NOT a big beleiver in racing these horses so young. IMHO the horses should be at least 5 before hitting a track. It leads to this stupid crap.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Good/sad 134TH........

At that level of competition, age won't make a difference. Thoroughbreds are almost a completely different species than other horses. If you were to just watch them move around the pasture, their body control movements (torso, legs and such) is completely different from that of other horses. Never mind their attitudes and being about as dumb as a cat.

The breeders are pushing the edge on this body type so no matter what the age their gonna be thin boned and some are gonna be thinner and weaker than others.

Me, I like a good Quarter Horse. Nice, comfortable, smart.