Wednesday, January 14, 2009

An Oldy but a Goody - My Take on Eight Belles....

As most know, last weekend, Eight Belles met her demise after the race at the Kentucky Derby. Mind you this did not happen while the race was happening, but actually after the finish line. Now, someone explain to me why it is that her jockey was still whipping her afterward? That's the starting point. It gets better...

Many in my office and my life who I deem non-horsey people have asked me endless questions about what happened. Well, here's the low down. Not on her specifically, but on racing in general. Let's all not forget what happened to Barbaro just two years ago.

People who know me love to ask me questions about the racing industry because even though I am completely against it, I will be the first person to say that some farms, just like in any horse industry profession, are not like the others and actually not only care for their horses, but their horses get the best treatment in the entire country - and they are the farms who usually win the most. You would think people would figure that out, but I digress.

Let me start by saying that I don't give a DAMN what anyone says, the veterinary, scientific proof is there that three years old (which is the minimum racing age for the Triple Crown Races) is too young for a horse to race, let alone be pushed to the maximum of their physical abilities. Here's a quote from well-known veterinarian, Deb Bennett:

"Owners and trainers need to realize there's a definite, easy-to-remember schedule of fusion and then make their decision as to when to ride the horse based on that rather than on the external appearance of the horse. For there are some breeds of horse - the Quarter Horse is the premier among these - which have been bred in such a manner as to LOOK mature long before they actually ARE mature. This puts these horses in jeopardy from people who are either ignorant of the closure schedule, or more interested in their own schedule (for futurities or other competitions) than they are in the welfare of the animal.The process of fusion goes from the bottom up. In other words, the lower down toward the hoofs you look, the earlier the growth plates will have fused; and the higher up toward the animal's back you look, the later. The growth plate at the top of the coffin bone (the most distal bone of the limb) is fused at birth. What this means is that the coffin bones get no TALLER after birth (they get much larger around, though, by another mechanism). That's the first one.

In order after that:
Short pastern - top & bottom between birth and 6 mos.
Long pastern - top & bottom between 6 mos. And 1 yr.
Cannon bone - top & bottom between 8 mos. And 1.5 yrs.
Small bones of knee - top & bottom on each, between 1.5 and 2.5 yrs.
Bottom of radius-ulna - between 2 and 2.5 yrs.
Weight-bearing portion of glenoid notch at top of radius - between 2.5 and 3 yrs.
Humerus - top & bottom, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.
Scapula - glenoid or bottom (weight-bearing) portion - between 3.5 and 4 yrs.
Hindlimb - lower portions same as forelimb
Hock - this joint is "late" for as low down as it is; growth plates on the tibial & fibular tarsals don't fuse until the animal is four (so the hocks are a known "weak point" - even the 18th-century literature warns against driving young horses in plow or other deep or sticky footing, or jumping them up into a heavy load, for danger of spraining their hocks)
Tibia - top & bottom, between 2.5 and 3 yrs.
Femur - bottom, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.; neck, between 3.5 and 4 yrs.; major and 3rd trochanters, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.
Pelvis - growth plates on the points of hip, peak of croup (tubera sacrale), and points of buttock (tuber ischii), between 3 and 4 yrs.

...and what do you think is last? The vertebral column, of course. A normal horse has 32 vertebrae between the back of the skull and the root of the dock, and there are several growth plates on each one, the most important of which is the one capping the centrum. These do not fuse until the horse is at least 5 1/2 years old (and this figure applies to a small-sized, scrubby, range-raised mare. The taller your horse and the longer its neck, the later full fusion will occur. And for a male - is this a surprise? -- you add six months. So, for example, a 17-hand TB or Saddlebred or WB gelding may not be fully mature until his 8th year - something that owners of such individuals have often told me that they suspected" )."


That being said, I have done extensive research on this very topic just to see what kind of break downs, etc. that starting a horse too young can do to them. I will tell you that my old horse, Burtie, who was a Hungarian Warmblood and topped out at 17.1hh, did NOT top out until his 7th year. Yes, that's right, when I bought him as a 3.5 year old, he was only 15.3hh high. And by the time he just got past his 7th birthday, he was taller by almost two whole hands (hand is 4").

Another example: My horse now, Gretzky, who is a full-bred Thoroughbred, was 16.2hh when I bought him as a six year old. He now measures at 16.3hh. So while this isn't quite as significant of a change, it still was a growth spurt none the less.

As Dr. Bennett points out, some horses "appear to be" more mature with their actual outer appearance, this does not mean that their bones have finished fusing properly. With all the difficulty people are having placing off the track thoroughbreds and how over-run rescues are in this day in age, you would think that people in that particular industry would stop breeding bad flesh to bad flesh and then on top of that, racing them at too young of an age to ensure that there will be physical difficulties at an older age.

So, if you are still wondering how she broke both ankles at the race after reading all of the aforementioned text, I will break it down for you. This also applies to Barbaro. These horses have extra cartilage in their leg bones when they are born to protect their legs from bumping and smacking into inanimate objects. Similar to that of a human baby's head - which happens to have an extra layer of cartilage around the brain to protect it. As their age progresses, their bones fuse together and a great deal of the cartilage disappears. If a horse is raced or worked or put to the full extent of their physical ability before their bones have matured, then there is a greater chance of breaking their bones right in half – because once they are fused, they obviously, are stronger, but before fusion, it is like two very seperate, thin bones that are easier to break. We must remember the random way that a horse is put together. We have a big ol body placed on stick thin legs with little tiny feet.

Hence, racing at too young of an age, their legs cannot handle it – not to mention the amount of navicular and laminitis (founder) cases that happen because of similar instances. Unfortunately, this usually happens to horses in the lower purse races, and they never make headline news. Trust me , if you do a little digging, you will find out interesting facts about horse racing.
When I got G, I pulled his racing records, and it was enough to make me believe that the racing industry leaves something to be desired. He stopped on the track, he flipped himself out of the shoot, he wouldn't leave the shoot, he wouldn't run fast enough, he would buck throughout the whole thing – now, you tell me, does that sound like a horse who "loves his job?" I think not. But I will tell you, he likes his job just fine now.

That is not to say that the industry that I currently participate in is any better, but that is another blog for another day, and I fear that I will insult too many people with that one.

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