Kentucky Derby

[gritsar]

Source: Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary

Main Entry: inbreeding Function: noun Date: circa 1842
1 : the interbreeding of closely related individuals especially to preserve and fix desirable characters of and to eliminate unfavorable characters from a stock 2 : confinement to a narrow range or a local or limited field of choice

Main Entry: line-breed-ing Pronunciation: \\-ˌbrē-diŋ\\ Function: noun Date: circa 1879
: the interbreeding of individuals within a particular line of descent usually to perpetuate desirable characters
— line·bred \\-ˌbred\\ adjective

 

[GwenFarms]

Quote:
That's why I asked.... because the '20's was a long time ago, and even several times on a pedigree is VERY diluted....

Nancy

Right..and for those that consider breeding "horses that are related" a harmful thing, what I have described is generally the case. It is not breeding daughter to son, or brother to sister . Its more about breeding a breed within a breed to a breed within a breed.

 

[kbarrett]

I'd like to add my 2 cents....
I'm a middle aged

woman who's been in the horse industry a number of years...I spent summers on the racetrack as a kid (my aunt trained) and went into Arabs (showgroom), 3-day eventing (groom), back on the track as a groom and ended up on a TB breeding farm. I get upset when people make generalizations about the racing industry. I've been around some of the best horsemen out there from small timers to big names and also seen my share of those that deserve all the negative comments. As a whole the racing community is it's own little world, sometimes a nuthouse but mostly like a family. People care about their animals, not all make the best judgements for them but I've found that to be true in all areas of life. I've never seen anyone ride a 9mo baby, only on craigslist or dreamhorse by backyard breeders showing how calm their weanlings are by sticking some small helmetless child on them. I've never seen a horse on the backside of a racetrack emaciated from lack of feed, toes growing into elf shoes from never seeing a farrier, gaping wounds that don't get medical attention....all this I see on Animal Planet, rescue websites and CNN. You will never find a horse on the backside of the racetrack that does not have excellent veterinary care and regular maintenance..teeth, feet and worming. I will repeat, people on the track care about their animals. There are those (in more than just racing) I would love to ban from even looking at a 4 legged creature but that's certainly not a "horse" thing, in my local news I've seen cases of dog & cat hoarders not providing care. I've had owners who were horsemen and owners whose horses I rubbed for several years and never met them in person. The last trainer I worked for (a vet himself) was very adamant about the time to retire a horse, there were GIVEN to a lady who rehabbed & resold or if any of us grooms had a favorite they came home with us.
In a perfect world (where I was in charge

) there would be no 2 & 3yo races, the Derby would be for 5yo's and I would make triple my salary as a breeding assistant mgr. But I'm not in charge, people race babies, owners move horses to trainers willing to run sore horses and those who have never set foot on the backside of a racetrack will tell the world how we treat our horses and feel about them to boot.

***end rant***

 

[chicknmania]

Well said.

 

[Cara]

Quote:
Unfortunately there are the spoilt moneymakers, and those who are injured or don't make the mark that end up filling slaughterhouses. Worse still it is these horses that now have to make the long trip to Mexico or Canada.

 

[HorseFeathers]

I was really rooting for the only girl out there, doing her best to compete with the boys. She came in second too!

 

[kbarrett]

quote:
Unfortunately there are the spoilt moneymakers, and those who are injured or don't make the mark that end up filling slaughterhouses. Worse still it is these horses that now have to make the long trip to Mexico or Canada


I also think it's unfair castoff horses are having to endure a ride to the border on top of less humane slaughtering practices. I disagree that OTTB's are those "filling" those vans. I have frequented one of the largest weekly "kill" sales on the East Coast. Out of their average of 250-300 head weekly (not ALL going to the killers) I have never seen the number of those obviously fresh off the track number over 8-10 tops. Not all go to slaughter. This is a sale where you can make the rounds to see the horses and if you had a camera handy make a photo handbook on all diseases and injuries known to horses. I have brought stock home from there to rehab and many times called the ASPCA out to look at stock unsuitable to even get to the sale pen or if I witnessed horses being loaded into the double decker trucks which is illegal.
My point is if you were to actually know someone on your local racetrack and visit, you will find there are many great organizations geared at retraining retirees, racetrackers ourselves network with those in other disciplines to help rehome horses and there are more national organizations working hard too. The local rescues/rehab places have waiting lists....this is because they are being utilized!
I've dealt with people from the following orgs, they are reputable and anyone looking to rehome an OTTB here you go...

www.rerun.org
www.canterusa.org

 

[chicknmania]

One more thought from me....that's right, they don't all go to slaughterhouses. As I said they are readily available for purchase here and many people do buy horses off the track cause they're cheaper and usually very versatile. Not that I condone killing horses by any means, but, racing is a business. The horses have to go somewhere. There are not enough kind and loving homes in the world for all the horses who don't have one, and just look at all the shelters for unwanted horses around the country; most are full, and they're not full of racing castoffs, either, except the ones speciifically for racehorses. The bottom line is, too many horses are bred; resulting in too many horses sent to slaughterhouses. And not bred just in the racing industry, either. There are lots of flaws in the system and no one seems to pay much attention to them. A friend of mine who is a trainer said yesterday that fifty horses in the past two years have been euthanized following injuries in sporting events. Of course, you only hear about the ones in the major events. She said that in her opinion Eight Belles was too young, bones weren't fully formed, and her size did not help matters either. She felt that the ideal age for racing the Derby would be four or five. Obviously, things need to change; we'll see if they do.