Animal Science

Why do racing horses seem so fragile? Is it the type of horse they breed?

As a kid my aunt had horses on her farm. I doubt if any were pure breeds like race horses except for the one which I believe she said was a Morgan. But I believe a Morgan was bread from two different stocks for a particular purpose. So maybe its not considered a pure breed. I really don't know much about horses other than they are lots of work to care for.

All these horses seemed to survive in a much tougher environment than race horses do. They would get scared by something and literally run through a wood or barbed wire fence. After stitching them up they were fine. If something like this were to happen to a race horse it would be sick for months. What about wild horses they run over much rougher terrain than a race horse will ever see.

Do they break their legs after every fall?

Has it got something to do with their breeding of certain traits for racing? Are race horses legs more fragile due to the fact that the breeders want the horse to be as light as possible in some areas and strong as possible in others?

I am not sure that conformation is the breeders first goal. It is certainly taken into consideration, but track records i.e. races won is the primary factor.

I believe the breakdown rated is related to the trainers pushing young horses harder and running more races while the horses are still growing.

Mike

"I am not sure that conformation is the breeders first goal. It is certainly taken into consideration, but track records i.e. races won is the primary factor.

I believe the breakdown rated is related to the trainers pushing young horses harder and running more races while the horses are still growing."

I agree. While conformation is important (especially in cases where deformities could cause lameness or restrict breathing), the most popular horses to breed to are recently retired champions or those who have produced winners in the past - without looking at what the non-winners looked like. That would be an interesting study!

I also agree with the argument of trainers (and owners) pushing young horses faster and harder. However, horses of the past actually ran more races at two and even three than they do now. Seabiscuit, a famous racehorse from the 1930s, ran 35 times at two and continued racing through age seven. This is almost unheard of today. Most horses today race three or maybe four times - Curlin, last year's horse of the year and this year's Dubai World Cup winner, didn't race at all at two.

I think the change has come from HOW the horses are trained. The two-year-old in training sales I mentioned in my previous comment are obviously a new factor that isn't helping. Many horses come out of these sales with bucked shins, condylar fractures, or worse (a few have dropped dead on the track). The use of drugs (and more drugs to cover up the illegal ones) isn't so good either. Would a person dope up on morphine to run a marathon so they didn't feel the bone chips in their knees? Probably not.

Based on money and the way things are done now, it's really not feasible to wait until the horses stop growing to race them (approximately age four, maybe even older). This would probably be ideal, though!

I'm sure this plays a major part. My girlfriend raises foundation quarter horses for cutting, reining, and barrel racing. They do not see a saddle until they are between 3 and 4 years old. Race horses are racing at 2.

One of the thing I look for in a horse is a strong bone structure. I've seen race horses that have front legs about the diameter of my thumb (OK, a little bigger). I don't understand why more of these weakly built animals don't break legs.

I'm no expert, but do know enough to disapprove of the way race horses are treated; they exist for profit and no other reason, and get about as much consideration as a NASCAR racer.

A lot of it comes from pushing the horses to race at too young of an age. Many horses (regular riding horses and otherwise) are trained to accept a saddle and rider at age 1, but that is about it until the grow up a bit more - their knees don't "close" until age three to five. Thoroughbreds may also head to the track for light work at that time. In my past research I stumbled across the comparison of putting a young Thoroughbred into intense training as being the same as putting a Kindergartner into Olympic training!

Many Thoroughbreds are sold at two-year-old in training sales where they are breezed (a short sprint of less than half a mile) in front of an audience. Basically, the fastest ones fetch the most money - even though this is not always an indicator of how well they will perform in real races. Prime example: The Green Monkey was purchased for $16 million (a record) as a two-year-old in training. His first start was delayed due to an injury and he missed the important Triple Crown series at three. He wound up racing three times in mid-grade races; his best finish was third.

Back to your question about breeds. A Morgan is a true breed of horse. It is an American breed and was founded around the same time as the USA - it began in Vermont and is named after the owner of the first one, Justin Morgan (there is a book and also a Disney movie by the same name if you're interested in history). Morgans are very sturdy "multi-purpose" horses. They can perform in almost any riding or driving discipline, but cannot match a Thoroughbred for speed. My horses, too, have gone through the fence (although I don't have barbed wire, a no-no for horses!). In my experience it seems to be true that Thoroughbreds are bigger "babies" about injuries and the like (with the exception of the adrenaline of a race - then they seem to have the heart to push through the pain). All breeds of horses have stereotypical traits just like breeds of dogs do. Arabians, a very old breed that actually helped found Thoroughbreds, tend to be flighty and a bit skittish.

Race horses don't necessarily break a leg with every fall. But they do tend to add on the stress fractures which can eventually lead to a break. One reason that Thoroughbreds are weaker than wild horses is because wild horses are outside moving around 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The majority of racing Thoroughbreds live in a stall for about 23 hours a day, go to the track for about 10 minutes to work out, and then are hot-walked (to cool out). That's pretty much the daily routine. Yes, they are in shape to run anywhere from half a mile to a mile and a half, but they really aren't in shape to "be horses".

Regarding breeding and its role - yes, breeding is a very complicated process and certain conformational traits are definitely desired. Angles that match up, proportions, and sizes all play a role in how a person thinks the horse will run. Of course, perfect conformation doesn't always make a great runner - and there have been some "ugly" champions in the past too! The Thoroughbred is a "light breed" by definition but I think a big part of why the breed has gotten weaker over the years is the use of steroids and other drugs in racing. Yes, many of them are illegal, but even those that are still sneak through. And plenty of legal meds are used. Horses who only perform well while medicated obviously have a problem - and yet these are often the most desired to breed to after retirement. Their traits only get passed on to future generations of offspring.

Yes I know barbed wire & horses are no nos but this was a working farm/livestock ranch and certain critters need the barb wire to keep them where you put them.

Thanks for the info on the Morgan. Now that I'm thinking about horses again maybe I'll do some research on horse breeds in general. I always wanted a horse like her Morgan. If I remember right the horses name was Morgan too. If I ever get a place big enough to keep them I'd love to get a few myself.

Horses can be put in two categories, working and not working. Working horses have no problems with barbed wire and don't break their legs under normal conditions. Animals bred for extreme speed, looks, colour...... whatever tend to be more delicate, because "tough" and "fit for purpose" weren't in the spec.

Simon

"Horses can be put in two categories, working and not working. Working horses have no problems with barbed wire"

While barbed wire is a staple in some parts of the world, I don't necessarily agree with the statement above. I feel that it's best reserved for animals that may not respect a fence. (Although some horses don't respect fence either - which is where hot wire comes in to play.)

Some horses on 20 acres may be fine with barbed wire since they might never approach the fence line. If you are talking about a relatively small area of a few acres or less, any horse can have a problem with barbed wire. Breed makes no difference.

The maintenance of the barbed wire is also an important factor in its safety, but a downed tree limb on barbed wire that nobody knows about 15 minutes after it happens can cause a nasty accident.