Exploding hearts on the track. Electric torture devices. Illegal drugs used to cover up cruel injuries. These are the terrible things happening to young and unregistered horses. This is what the horse racing industry has come to. This “tradition” is harming horses and needs to be stopped.
Horse racing exposes horses to fatal injuries and even death. Accidents on the track are not rare, and are often so bad, that the horse has to be put down. In 2003, a horse shattered his leg while running a race, and he had to be euthanized.
Many jockeys will do whatever it takes to win the race and get the money. So much so, that they use illegal shocking devices to make the horse go even faster. There is a certain limit to how many times a jockey can whip the horse during the race: usually 7-8 times, except in the last 100 meters. During the last part of the race, many jockeys whip their horses without end.
Horses that are going to be raced are started out way too young, usually at the age of two, which is technically a foal. The horse owners do this to fully exploit the seemingly boundless energy that young horses have. However, these horses also die way too young, oftentimes at around age ten. This is primarily due to them taxing their growing bodies beyond what is normal.
Horse racing is an old tradition and a world-wide phenomenon. In the US, yearly events, such as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Triple Crown, are much anticipated and even celebrated. The events are watched by millions of people, oblivious to what racing does to horses. Despite several documented, on-the-screen tragedies, such as horses dying on the track, there is no outcry against this yearly tradition.
Many people think that racehorses love to run, and that horse racing is not abusive to horses. However, this is not true. Racehorses may love to run, but they are whipped, electrically shocked, and tortured to run faster than they ever could. What many passive participants of racing events also fail to understand is that horses are often running on old and unsustainable injuries. Owners pump them up with illegal drugs to cover up injuries. What else would explain devastating accidents such as legs shattering during the race?
It is important to educate the public, so that we all understand what racehorses are subjected to. As horses cannot speak for themselves, it is important that we speak up for them. Horse racing is an abusive practice and by all standards animal cruelty. It is time to stop it.
