At 10:54:54 on 18.05.11, Flicka wrote:
One thing I don't like about racing (see link) is the fact that particularly on the flat they do too much too young. But I don't think it's just a fault of the racing industry. Where money is involved, and especially if an animal is well bred, then the pressure is on for it to prove it's potential as quickly as possible. Do you agree? What stage for what age?
http://tinyurl.com/6zhnlhx

At 10:43:27 on 23.05.11, kibby wrote:
show jumpers re getting started earlier too.. with the young horse classes getting bigger and bigger.. four year old classes start at 90cm..

At 23:20:25 on 24.05.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Yeah did you see the horse today at ripon races? I always go to ripon and today was the first time i had ever seen a horse injured like this there it was running fine then its leg just broke, it looked to me like cannon bone because it kept cantering using all four legs just one lower leg swinging in a odd way, i don't like it, my friend works on a race yard and has just bought a new horse to reback just turned 3 and he looks like a baby but at 2 he was backed and galloped and proved too slow and i can't imagine him galloping around a track, he is just so babyish. But it will always happen in racing paticularly with colts because if they prove themselves when they are 2yo they may be retired to stud because at 3yo the options are; stud, retire or geld because you can't race a stallion and they can't put horses to stud that they don't know will produce good offspring. It is all money money money but trainers and owners in horse racing don't see a animal to be loved like us, they are just business, like a car if it doesn't live up to what we expect it gets pushed or sold. It's not right but it will always happen, i mean look at grenville he is 13 and full of structural problems and i wreckon arthritis willl have crippled him in a few more years, i have already spent £2000 in the past year in arthritis treatment and i am awaiting the bill for the treatment he has just had and then there was the £3500 for his back from november 2008 to october 2009 and i blame it all on racing, his back was caused by the crappy fitted racing saddles and arthritis from backing early and steeplechasing on all ground all year for 6 years of his life now he is paying the price of their greed and i can only make him as comfortable as possible but on the flip side if there was no racing grenville would never have been bred and i wouldn't have him now.

At 23:23:42 on 24.05.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Oh and i see these vids on youtube all the time of foals jumping big jumps with their mothers before they are even weaned to prove potential, to me that is stupid :\ the way its back legs seem to buckle really makes me wince, they probably don't and it is probably just me imagining things but i just don't like it lol

At 08:28:34 on 25.05.11, Flicka wrote:
Thanks for showing us that-I didn't know they loose jumped foals-not sure what I think of that but can't think it's much good for them. As for racing, the steeplechasers don't start racing as early as the flat racers-it's more like four, but that's still pretty young by some people's standards. I think that many of them are also better schooled, as having a horse that is balanced and responsive is much more important. However I'm told that a high percentage of racehorses have concussion fractures in the sacrum and pelvic area because the bones don't mature in these areas until 5 years of age-again too much, too young is more likely what Grenville is suffering from rather than the racing saddles which he was ridden in :(

At 23:56:25 on 29.05.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
His was all the back lol it was a mix of the saddle and too much weight too early it had made the bones in his back grow toward eachother to try and support the weight but then they started touching when i began asking him to round off propperly :( but then we sorted that and then the toll from years of racing on all ground came in the form of arthritis :\ i am really scared he is going to die young before he turns 20 and i really don't want that i want him to have spent at lease half of his life with me which would mean 20, but i guess all i can do is make him as comfortable as possible for as long as i can, he is out 24/7 now which is helping his arthritis loads along with the injections he has just finished and new gel ped he is going fab but i can't help think for how long, another 3 years max and he will have arthritis in all 4 legs is what i reckon :( it is horrible and racehorses often die young and have even more problems if they were successful because of the race after race life style but another problem 2 of the exracers on my yard were put down from that is common is stomache ulscers from a combination of the high energy feed and windsucking that horses often eat and do in race yards, they were both younger than 10 years old

At 08:25:11 on 30.05.11, Flicka wrote:
I agree with you that ulcers are a really big problem with racehorses and can lead to colic but also difficult behaviour which can lead to horses being thrown away. This topic is covered in the re-homing racehorses group. However I have to say that asking a horse to carry himself properly by lifting the back is actually good for all horses, and will actually move the spinous processes apart, it's a dipped back which makes them touch. The better we get our horses to carry themselves in balance but also in relaxation the less strain we will put on our horses muscles and joints. It's never too late to start and you look like you're going the right way from the recent photos I've seen of Grenville :)