A Horse, of Course with Don Blazer

I get tired of the uninformed, emotional, bleeding-hearts, who without any knowledge or firsthand experience, so quickly criticize others while ignoring their own shortcomings.

In this case, I’m speaking of those who tell me the horror stories of the abuse of race horses. In criticizing, they believe, they wear a halo. "We don’t do those kinds of things," they say.

I know there are horses racing on drugs, and I know some horses shouldn’t be racing at all. I know that a large percentage of horses need anti-inflammatories just to be able to train. I know that race horses break legs and have to be destroyed.

I know there are a lot of areas of horse racing which need improvement. I don’t condone or approve of any of it.

I also know--and this I know from firsthand experience--for the most part race horses live a good life and get plenty of expert care. I know that most race horses are not in pain, are not being abused through drugging, and most don’t break their legs.

Most race horses do not train on drugs. Most race horses get the best of feed, not once or twice a day, but in front of them all day and all night. They have plenty of cool, clean water at all times. They get bathed and groomed every day. Most race horses get planned and controlled amounts of exercise so they remain healthy and strong. Most race horses are shod on a regular basis. And most race horses get needed veterinary attention within minutes.

Unfortunately, you can’t say that about most horses.

Most horses are not under the care of professional horsemen. That is not to say they aren’t under the care of people who care. But caring and knowing are two different things.

You can love your horse all you want, but if you’re pointing a finger and saying how horrible it is to be a race horse, let’s take at look a little closer to home.

Pick up any of the major horse magazines--breed or general--and you’ll find numerous advertisements for performance enhancing drugs, from feed supplements to joint damage remedies. Horses of every breed and every performance category are training on drugs. And it is obviously acceptable if it is happening in your area of interest.

It is hard to believe, but most horses, even with the best of intentions of their owners, are not fed properly. Horses are grazing animals, but are seldom fed as such. And it’s almost a certainty the horse’s owner has no idea the nutrient value of the horse’s feed, let alone how much digestible energy the horse is getting per day.

You can go almost anywhere and see a horse without a fresh, clean supply of water. (And don’t think an automatic waterer is always clean.) Here in hot Arizona, where you would think horse owners would know better, the water for hundreds of horses is so hot during the summer, the horse can’t drink it.

Most horses in boarding stables and backyards don’t get brushed or bathed daily, or few have their feet cleaned weekly, let alone daily.

You can walk through a public stable or a back yard and see horses with injuries which need treatment, unsoundnesses and painful conditions which are ignored.

For most horses planned and controlled exercise is a joke. Most horses get worked too hard, for too short a period of time, too infrequently and then are left to stand. Exercise comes for the horse when the owner wants some fun, and it ends when the owner gets tired. All too frequently the horse is left huffing and puffing and put away wet and dirty.

Regular attention to the horse’s feet by owners other than professionals is almost nonexistent. You can pick up the foot of almost any horse, anytime, anywhere and it will be dirty and probably have a little thrush. The average horse is not trimmed or shod frequently enough.

Too often veterinary attention comes when what would have been a minor problem has become an emergency.

Yes, I do get tired of hearing how poorly race horses are treated, especially when I hear it from people who can’t see the forest for the trees.

Instead of judging others, let’s put our efforts into understanding more about our own horses, and working to benefit them. It is sad for the horses, but true, there is much to be done.

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