Thursday, March 5, 2009

Just Wanted to Share

Through the years I have seen some pretty amazing things as far as horses go, and I just wanted to share some of these amazing things with my readers.

Spending hours going through horse racing galleries pays off every once in awhile. Sure, no matter the picture the horses are going to be gorgeous and usually captured in a magnificent action shot or a regal pose, but I have stumbled upon some more unusual pictures that show of the true power of these great animals.










The first picture I have for you is of the late Barbaro just as he is coming out of the gate. He is wide eyed and ready to run as the gates snap open before him.

Here's another picture of the power these animals possess as they literally spring forth from the gate.

This next picture is both amazing and kind of funny. The horse is caught mid jump, giving the allusion of flying. The horse was jumping shadows on the track surface.
















The next two pictures show why horses need to be kept calm.




It's likely this horse just got nervous or overexcited while being saddled. Acting up in the paddock is a common thing in the racing world, but never have I seen a horse get this much air.

No one is really positive what was going on in this horse's mind, but he clearly didn't like something that was happening. (And I thought the other horse was in the air!)

16 comments:

  1. Is horse racing cruel? I've heard a lot but I'm still not positive yet. Thanks!

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  2. That is an extremely difficult question to answer. There are bad things about the sport, sure, but there are also a lot of owners and trainers that love their horses to pieces and do ANYTHING to make sure they are happy and healthy. So...I guess, like anything, there are people who suck and give the entire sport a bad reputation. For the most part, most of these horses are doing what they want to do...run.

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  3. yeah right a lot of the injured horses could live but never race again, instead of saving the life of a horse they rather kill it. Eight Belles stumbbled and broke her leg, it could have been fixed but instead was put down cuz she wouldn't be able to race ever again.

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  4. Actually Madison, that's not true. When a horse has a bad break in a leg, they would be unable to stand, which because of the way horses are conformed is very necessary for their breathing and other body functions. Eight Belles is a tragedy - and no one felt it more than the people that worked with her, trained her and owned her. She was a dear family member.

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  5. Eight belles' accident could have been prevented.. they gave her shot in her ankles before the race so she couldnt feel them.. and when the race was over she never knew that her ankles hurt.. and that is why she went down..
    It is cruel to give horses medication ect just so they can race and make to owners money.. how would you feel if you won the 2nd place purse for the Ky derby and then the horse that put forward all that effort died because of you..???

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  6. I think anyone bothering to read this blog would feel horrible if they had to put their horse down, be it a Derby winner or an old trail horse. Unfortunately that is the dark and horrible part of horse racing.

    However, injections, if she did get them, are not exactly uncommon among any discipline. They are meant to make the horse comfortable doing what they love, and that girl did love to run. It was horrid and sad how she had to end her life. I think it has a lot to do with current breeding. Want speed, not durability.

    I am not saying, nor will I ever say that horse racing is perfect. It has it's flaws like any sport and some changes need to be made for the sake of these amazing creatures.

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  7. some owners/trainers drug their horses if they have a minor injury and make them race after. but many trainers and owners are opposed to this but racehorses usually do have steroids but dont get me wrong not all of the trainers do this im just puttin this out there for you

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  8. I'm more a fan of injecting steroids than I am of them injecting the various substances to block pain. At least the steroids allows the horse move easier while also given them the ability to know they are in pain. Kinda wish the nerve blocking would stop before a race or workout though, that's just not cool.

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  9. In the U.S. they run the horses too young. At two their bones are not yet through growing and that's why so many break down. If we could only wait a year like Zenyatta's owner, a lot of this tragedy could be averted.

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  10. Sadly, there are a lot of things they could be doing to at least help the situation. Not racing at 2yrs could definitely help. Hopefully the industry will be open to change.

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  11. No horse sport is free from unpleasantness, it´s basically up to the individual to respect, and care for, the horse they own or train. All sports have a dark side

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  12. but even for zenyatta, they gave her Lasix before the breeder's cup 2010 race. i heard the EPSN reporter said so on TV. it means that zenyatta has a stress-induced bleeding problem. it is good that they retired her now.

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  13. Most race horses get Lasix. It doesn't necessarily mean they have that problem, it just protects them from it.

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  14. in australia we dont and are not alowd to drug our horses and if they bleed twise must be retired we love or horses and care for them unlike fucking yanks

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  15. Oi, no reason to get vulgar. There are plenty of horsemen that are looking for a change in the use of the anti-bleeder meds and others. But change is slow. Hopefully we can get our breeding back to up to snuff and be able to run clean horses.

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