Comments on naked capitalism: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Triple Crown Editi...

A little trivia about Lasix and horses: anyone eve...

2008-05-05T19:17:00.000-04:00

A little trivia about Lasix and horses: anyone ever hear the old phrase "peeing like a racehorse?" That's where it comes from. Lasix use is pretty common in the industry (and it is a common human diuretic as well). I have to agree with killermonkey that the effect of Lasix on mineral density is probably a non-issue, because you don't use Lasix chronically (at least in healthy horses): you use it just at the time of the race to decrease weight and improve respiration. Besides, the potassium being lost can easily be replaced with supplements (that's what humans who are on chronic Lasix do). I expect professional horse trainers and vets would check potassium levels and replace electrolytes as necessary.

That said though, the underlying tone of horse racing defenders who've commented so far is that horse trainers and owners aren't so stupid as to endanger their million dollar meal ticket, and therefore, the horses are taken care of with their health as the utmost priority. That's true only to an extent. The fact is that the very nature of the sport is antithetical to the normal physiology of a horse. Horses are bred to have enormous leg muscles, all of which must exert their tremendous forces through an ankle/tendon complex not much bigger than a human's. Why don't breeders select for horses with sturdier ankles in addition to larger muscles? Because while larger muscles win races, sturdier ankles don't: they merely reduce the risk of injury. And if you're spending a million dollars on renting a stud, you want the best chance of getting a winner *now*.

It's very similar to all the purebreeds of dog that have bad health problems. Yes, the owners love their dogs and would never mistreat them. But they really, really want that cute pug nose, and while they might feel bad that their dog has breathing problems as a result, that sympathy isn't great enough to make them choose a mongrel that's less cute but actually healthier.

I suspect until there's a million dollar prize for best equine ankle, horses will be bred for speed and speed alone, to hell with the health consequences that poses to the individual horse and to the thoroughbred lines in general. And all the tender loving care that horse owners lavish on their animals after they're born can't compensate for the faulty genetics for which they were bred.

I agree with Yves that horse racing, at least in A...

2008-05-05T12:55:00.000-04:00

I agree with Yves that horse racing, at least in America, is a sad and unpleasant "sport". However, I also agree with the call for perspective: the non-organic meat and dairy industry is by many orders of magnitude hugely more inhumane and savage in its treatment of animals. Reading about how commercially raised pigs, chickens, and steers are treated is literally sickening and will make most people instant converts to organic agriculture and organic animal husbandry. Chickens are certainly not attractive animals, but they don't deserve the flat-out torture most receive. A rationalized, industrial ethic which ignores cruelty, injustice, and pain, and idolizes performance, profit and efficiency, permeates many aspects of our culture, from sports to food raising to financial services. It's time for a change of spirit, literally.

Yves and all,Horses are animals. Beautiful, wonder...

2008-05-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

Yves and all,

Horses are animals. Beautiful, wonderful animals, but animals nonetheless. You want to get on the edge, write about the economice of abortion. If the Supremes had not decided killing the unborn was a right protected by the constitution, what would this country look like now? Are babies killed more or less humanely than Eight Belles?

The horses are treated like pets, and the ones that fail are still treated better than the steak donors we eat without thinking. And do you think MTC or ADM or any of the other agribusiness conglomerates are any more compassionate than those affiliates with the horse racing industry?

Prespective, please.

JohnD
Chevy Chase MD

Excellent article.

2008-05-05T07:25:00.000-04:00

Excellent article.

Apparently, the thoroughbred racehorse lobby has a...

2008-05-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Apparently, the thoroughbred racehorse lobby has a lot of pull in Washington, based on this excerpt from a story in the SF Chronicle today about the kludge of a farm bill that the Democrats are trying to pass. A $93 million write-off for the race horse industry???
----------------------------

"It's remarkable that anyone could call this reform with a straight face," Hassebrook said.

To secure votes, negotiators added a $93 million write-off for thoroughbred racehorses at the behest of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln. That is nearly as much money as organic farmers will get for research, data collection and certification help for small growers.

The organic money is "a very significant step, but it is very far away from a fair share" given the gains organic food has made in the market, said Mark Lipson, policy program director for the Organic Farming Research Foundation in Santa Cruz. Still, he prefers the bill to pass for fear of losing this money.

"It's just transactional politics at its worst," said Rep. Jeff Flake, a maverick Arizona Republican who plans to attack the bill on the House floor.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/MNV410DNAC.DTL

"The Thoroughbred lines are heavily inbred for spe...

2008-05-04T21:23:00.000-04:00

"The Thoroughbred lines are heavily inbred for speed, but at a cost of fragility."

Kind of I am very affiliated with many people in the horse industry and was at the Derby yesterday and the Oaks on Friday. They do not want horses to be fragile and owners and trainers do what is the in the best interest of the horse.

These fatal incidents are as devastating - if not ...

2008-05-04T20:19:00.000-04:00

These fatal incidents are as devastating - if not more so - to trainers, jockeys and owners as they are to readers here.

I think you have to look to the regulation or oversight functions of racing associations. As in some other subject areas we explore here, narrowing the focus of an activity to money and velocity can have disagreeable consequences. As you point out, the conventions common to other parts of the globe greatly reduce some risks. And the conventions of past, but recent decades were somewhat less dangerous than today's practices.

I grew up in a thoroughbred training center and am as fond of these beautiful animals as anyone inevitably is who has spent time around them or had the pleasure of riding them.

I think the changes have been unsurprising as we have moved farther from times when the object of racing and breeding was to produce a superior animal, although speed has always been a great consideration. It's an old sport which, before the automobile became prevalent, existed in a different relation to common experience: not impossibly long ago,nearly everyone had at least one horse of their own.

Thanks for the Secretariat footage. I wouldn't have thought myself a racing enthusiast, but that clip goes some distance towards demonstrating how riveting the sport can be.

Anon of 3:44 PM,There is not a single reference in...

2008-05-04T16:27:00.000-04:00

Anon of 3:44 PM,

There is not a single reference in the post to glue factories or Thoroughbreds becoming horsemeat (although that almost happened to Secretariat's brother). And the part you found objectionable came from a New York Times sportswriter, who is in a far better position than I am to discuss the level of risk suffered by the participants in horseracing versus other types of contest.

You also failed to acknowledge that there ARE things that could be done to reduce the death rate, namely, not racing horses until they are three (or better, four) and switching to synthetic turf. These are WIDELY acknowledged as measures that would help, but oh no, it would interfere with "tradition."

I love this website but I must agree with killermo...

2008-05-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

I love this website but I must agree with killermonkeys, the issues discussed such as lasix, inbreeding, and the kept in stalls comment are a weak attempt at trying to expose an issue that is just not there, given the facts you have exaggerated. There are comparable issues in every sport whether it be amimals or humans. To say that the horse goes to the glue factor once he snaps an ankle and this is a business similar to bullfighting, c'mon. The weakest and most important joint on a horse is clearly an ankle, once those break, it is very difficult for a horse to recover and most are in pain the rest of there life, there are too many activist groups that would be all over this issue if there was one there.

killermonkeys,Thanks for your comments. I have see...

2008-05-04T14:10:00.000-04:00

killermonkeys,

Thanks for your comments. I have seen the training schedules of some top racehorses, and it does appear that they spent their non-training time in the stall. Obviously, I've only seen a few records, so my sample may not be representative, but I can see how a horse with top prospects wouldn't be permitted to run around.

I agree age is likely the biggest culprit, but most experts now agree the dirt tracks are also a factor. The few tracks that have switched to synthetic turf have seen a dramatic fall in deaths (I don't have the stats at hand, and have a sufficiently busy day as to deter tracking them down), but as of the time of Barbaro's death, I recall the decline was five fold, maybe even seven fold. That's huge. The deterrent (aside from the cost of re-doing tracks) is that it removes the track consistency as a performance factor. Apparently the synthetic turf is the more or less the same from a running perspective wet or dry. That of course may impact betting, since it reduces an element of uncertainty.

As for Lasix, I am still inclined to believe it could be a culprit, Even when the horse is rehydrated, it isn't clear how fast his electrolytes are back at the proper levels. And I wonder if the mass/speed tradeoff that Lasix produces (less horse mass, slightly higher running speed). Force = mass x acceleration. If the decrease in weigh allowed a horse to get a gain in acceleration (say when he/she is asked to go full out) out of proportion to the weight reduction, that would indeed lead to an increase in impact, which could indeed increase injuries.

One way to test this would be to look at the reverse phenomenon: injury rates, particularly bone breaks, in handicapped horses carrying heavier weights. If horses carrying higher imposts show lower injury rates compared to those carrying "normal" (126 lbs) to light imposts, that would provide some support.

Finally, the inbreeding, or more accurately, breeding for speed is an issue. Again around the time of Barbaro's death, I recall reading a piece by someone who had ridden European Thoroughbreds and was amazed at how they could handle rough terrain. He said something like "I never realized Thoroughbreds could be so sturdy."

By the way, the problem is not limited to thorough...

2008-05-04T11:25:00.000-04:00

By the way, the problem is not limited to thoroughbred racing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/sports/othersports/09equestrian.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=show+jumping&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Off the mark here, as someone who has lived in the...

2008-05-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

Off the mark here, as someone who has lived in the thoroughbred industry but never worked in it. Lasix is a bad, bad drug and more common than you'd hope (depending on the horse's build), but American thoroughbreds race about 12 times in their careers, and they receive about as many doses of Lasix. It's not going to cause a mineral deficiency. I think a lot of mid-tier trainers would be all for a zero tolerance policy.

As for the track, dirt surfaces aren't really the problem so much as the age. An extra year would do a whole lot more than moving to turf.

Finally, very few horses are "kept in stalls all day", particularly on good farms. It depends on the horse, the farm, and the trainer, but suffice to say particularly at that young age most horses have spend more life outdoors than in.

I detect an overtone of confused animal activism. Horses are carefully bred and raised to race and most live to a long age. That's more than can be said for any cow, sheep, or chicken. Thoroughbreds also aren't turned away like old greyhounds. This is the reality of any business that involves live animals. The concerns are absolutely no different from running a service business, except that your star employees are horses. You can burn them out and shoot them and lose the real money maker (their post racing career stud fees), or you can treat them well enough to keep them happy and making you money for years.

Finally to the commenter suggesting inbreeding, to some extent, yes, all horses are theoretically bred from a 4 bloodlines. But don't you think that the hundreds of thousands of people working in the industry have heard of inbreeding and know not to cross lines too closely? There are financial incentives to get all this stuff right.

Yes, horse racing is animal abuse. When will it s...

2008-05-04T08:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, horse racing is animal abuse. When will it stop? When the dollars stop from the bets at the track. The cruelty occurs all too often, for far too long.
Hopefully, Eight Belle's death will be the final wake up call to broadcast the ugly truth about horse racing.

Re: the cruelty of racing. It starts in the breedi...

2008-05-04T05:21:00.000-04:00

Re: the cruelty of racing. It starts in the breeding shed. Owners pay a premium for the get of Native Dancer and Northern Dancer. The Thoroughbred lines are heavily inbred for speed, but at a cost of fragility.

So sad. Of course it is all about the money. Alway...

2008-05-04T05:16:00.000-04:00

So sad. Of course it is all about the money. Always was, always will be. Same on Wall Street.

Everything else reuired to get your hands on ever more money is considered just "collateral damage"....