what do u think of greyhound/horse racing??

[cuecumbercool]

Just curious....

[peter parker.]

CRULE!!! THEY ONLY RACE TO GET MONEY AND PEOPLE AND HORSES GET VERY HURT!!!

[starcrusher]

It's pretty cool.
There's a lot of teamwork involved with horse racing; I think that's really nice to see. Sometimes you can't help it when an animal or person gets hurt, though. But the horses and greyhounds that race are very well trained, and I believe they enjoy what they do, too.

[ChemDog.]

My first two dogs were rescued greyhounds, who were rescued by one of many groups who saves them from being put down. The dogs can be in pretty rough condition, living in crates except for when their in a race, and most of them have never felt grass... I dont know much about horse racing though.

[peter parker.]

I hate grey hound races!!! LIKE I SAID, IT IS MEAN!!!

[flupine]

I love races, the people. the atmosphere, the animals. And true... sometimes drugs are found in animals but I would say for the most part they aren't drugged. Simply because if they win, they are drug tested. Can't race if you are pumped full of drugs. And I like the fact that it gives the animals jobs. How many animals are in houses and kennels at people's houses waiting for the family to get off work/school and then not even walked, just let out to use the bathroom? At least these animals are allowed to do what they were bred and meant to do. Run and chase. And I doubt that racing grey hounds are locked in cages all the time except for races. They have to be in peak physical/mental condition if they expect to win, right? Surely they are regularly excercised and fed very well and plenty of vet visits. I mean, that seems like a better life overall than being a couch potato, waiting for ther daily walk. But this is jut what i know of professional well established racing establishments. Perhaps in less reputable places they are mistreated.

[malissa]

I love them, and I agree with flupine

[☼ Graceful Aurora ☼]

I've lived on Standardbred Horse Farms my entire life, so maybe my opinion is slightly biased by the fact that Harness Racing has basically kept my family financially provided for, but Harness Racing is a sport with such atmosphere and history.

Unfortunatly its dying out here where I live in New Jersey, which is sad.

[MoonfallTheFox]

Terrible, just terrible. If it's done for the fun of the creatures, then it's fine, but modern racing is all about whipping them and racing too young, to earn money. It's not fair or right. If thoroughbreds were raced older injuries would be less. When these racers get older, they will be a mess, because of the damage to the soft bone of the young horses.

[☼ Graceful Aurora ☼]

Terrible, just terrible. If it's done for the fun of the creatures, then it's fine, but modern racing is all about whipping them and racing too young, to earn money. It's not fair or right. If thoroughbreds were raced older injuries would be less. When these racers get older, they will be a mess, because of the damage to the soft bone of the young horses.

Thoroughbreds:

"The jockey must ensure that the horse is given the best opportunity to win the race. Some might be a bit lazy or might need a smarten up", but once the horse has been tried "there's no place for continued whipping."

Some horses will respond adequately to hands and heels and there are others who seem to go better after a couple of smacks with the whip.

In some cases "once they get one or two, they certainly lengthen out their stride and put more into it".

Taylor also pointed out that a lot of trainers will tell the jockey before the race not to whip the horse. It happens quite often, he said, which is evidence that not all horses try their best for a whip.

NZ Thoroughbred Racing Control Administration Manager Phil Tolley said: "We are fully aware of the need for the horses to be treated in a humane way."

He went on to say that most riders do not overwhip their horses.

"The better riders only use the whip as a last resort. They don't punish their horses at all." Asked if NZTR was comfortable with its present regulations regarding the use of the whip, Mr Tolley replied: "Our whip rules have been in for some time and all the agencies who concern themselves with animal cruelty are more than happy with the rules as we apply them."

Tolley said that the rules for the use of the whip are simple: "The guidelines are that you can hit the horse with the whip up to six times and then you must relieve the horse for six strides (giving it time to respond) before it can be whipped again."

If the horse starts going backwards all whipping must cease ... "you cannot flog a dead horse, so to speak." He also pointed out that you can only continue to whip the horse if it is improving or sustaining its run.

But when a horse is whipped excessively, the stipendiary stewards will go back through race footage, frame-by-frame and count the strikes. If the jockey has struck the horse more than six times then they'll be warned and if they still don't heed the guidelines next time then they're likely to wear a three-day suspension.

"The ones that can't count have got three days away from the races to learn to count."

Harness Racing:

Provided further that the following actions shall be considered as excessive or indiscriminate use of the whip:

A.) Causing visible injury.
B.) Whipping a horse after a race.
C.) Whipping under the arch or shafts of the sulky.

The use of the whip shall be confined to an area above and between the sulky shafts, to include the sulky shafts and the outside wheel discs. Drivers shall keep a line in each hand from the start of the race until the head of the stretch finishing the race. At extended pari-mutuel meetings, under the supervision of the Judges, there shall be mandatory visual inspection of each horse following each race for evidence of excessive or brutal use of the whip. At all other meetings, the Judges shall have the authority to order/and or conduct such visual inspection at their discretion. The use of any goading device, chain, or mechanical devices or appliances, other than the ordinary whip or crop upon any horse in any race shall constitute a violation of this rule. The brutal use of a whip or crop or excessive or indiscriminate use of the whip or crop shall be considered a violation and shall be punished by a fine and/or suspension. The mandatory minimum penalty for a whipping violation shall be a fine in the amount of $100 and a 3 day suspension from driving for the first offense and for each subsequent violation the mandatory minimum penalty shall increase in the amount of $100 and 3 days (e.g. $200 and 6 days for the 2nd offense, $300 and 9 days for the 3rd offense, etc.)”

Racing Horses at Young Ages:

There has been no research completed to date that evaluates the incidence of athletic injuries in cutting horses relative to the ages they are started. Studies conducted on Thoroughbred racehorses indicate that the key factor in injury prevention of the athletic horse is not delayed training of the 2-year-old, but the proper conditioning of the musculoskeletal system to achieve the necessary remodeling of the bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons to increase overall strength. Investigations conducted at the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University indicate that exercise of the very young horse, including proper conditioning and training of the 2-year-old athlete, is beneficial in strengthening the horse’s musculoskeletal system and decreases the risk of serious or long-term injury.

Data from the racing industry further indicate that factors such as increased competition, demanding increased levels of training, and more stress on the musculoskeletal system must be considered when evaluating the incidence of injury. It is reasonable to believe at this time that these same factors are the principal causes of increased injury rates in the cutting horse. Future research is needed to improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of exercise-induced traumatic disease, early diagnosis of bone and joint disease, as well as conditioning and training methods to strengthen the musculoskeletal system in the young athletic horse.

Most of the studies and anecdotal/experiential data that says horses don't mature enough to tolerate hard work is derrived from information accumulated in the early part of the 20th century, even back into the late 19th century, and the facts are that horses raised at that time were fed less and grew slower than horses are now, and certainly weren't fed the kinds of supplements that are routinely given now. And as a result, age-for-age they weren't as physically mature as horses are now.

What's also true is that individual horses mature at different rates, both physically and mentally, and there are some two-year-olds that have a degree of physical development that would have even an experienced horseman unable to guess they are just two, based on appearance. It is also very apparent in viewing the racing records of Thoroughbreds that many horses who are raced at two suffer no apparent ill effects and go on to race for years more. (Many of the top horses that go off to stud at three now do so because it's economically advantageous to send them to stud early, not because they can't keep running.)

A two year old horse could be compared to a 14 - 16 year old human. At three, he could be compared to a 25 year old or so. Human athletes are well aware of the problems associated with waiting too late in life to train for a particular discipline, and so it is with horses. Young bone, tendon and muscle is far more resilient than it will be at a later age. Just as most world class athletes have to begin training at a young age in order to maximize their potential, so do horses.

Studies done by The Animal Health Trust in England have shown that by age three, tendon and cartilage development in the horse has basically stopped. As a two year old, you can increase tendon and cartilage strength and resilience with proper conditioning, but by three, all changes tend to become degenerative, rather than adaptive. Bone development is much the same. Dr. Nunamaker at New Bolton Center did the definative study on shin development in the young horse several years ago, which showed that proper training methods in the young horse could completely prevent the incindence of tiny microfractures of the cannon bone, known as "bucked shins". This is very important, because bucked shins can often lead to saucer fracture leter in life. Young bone adapts and grows stronger more easily in response to stress than bone in an older horse. Older horses have a greater risk of fracture, instead of remodeling in response to the stresses of training and racing.

Oddly enough, the New Bolton study showed that proper bone conditioning was achieved by adding speed early on in the training process, as opposed to long slow mileage. The bone only develops to withstand the amount of strain put on it by training, so by giving the young horse long slow gallops, the bone never develops enough to withstand speed work. The key is to add short bursts of speed at the end of the gallop a few times a week during early training, and gradually increase the amount of work done at speed as training progresses.

As with anything else, too much of a good thing is detrimental. Too much stress on young growing bone and tendon will cause them to fail, and result in fracture or worse. Careful attention to any signs of overwork is essential, and a light racing schedule as a two year old is certainly in order, if you want the horse to continue running well into adulthood.

Also generally true: the people who own racehorses are generally not out to destroy their investment by shoving horses that are physically unready into competition that would be destructive of them, particularly if their state of maturity is such that they would have no chance of being competitive. At least, the smart owners and trainers don't do that; unfortunately, just like every discipline you want to name, the people in racing fall into a bell-shaped curve: some are very stupid, some are very smart, and the highest distribution is in the middle. There are some owners/trainers who do stupid things that turn out to be detrimental to the horses (and to their own finances, incidentally), but they are a minority.