Are race horses a dying breed? Right now, there are many race horses which does not place them anywhere near any endangered species list. However, this does not remove the fact that horses are treated like objects of greed. Along with this will inadvertently involve violence, cruelty, animal rights violations, and death.





A study done on the horse racing industry a few year back established certain facts about the use of horses.

First of all, it is an industry and one of the side businesses to horse racing is breeding. Horse breeding is done on a massive scale based on the rule of numbers. The more horses are bred, the more likely to get a winner and fast runner. But what happens to the horses that don’t make the grade? Often they are sold but if no buyers come forward, then they are left to fend for themselves. They are neglected and not given enough to eat. The logic is that there is no return on money spent, so owners and breeders will cut corners.

Second, training race horses means that there is high rate of injuries which leads to horses being put to sleep or left in pain. Sadly, race horses have to start training even before they are fully developed. This is why there is a high incident of injuries, some too permanent to heal. If they are too old to race, which is still a young age for a horse, they are either put to death or sold at a cheap price. Usually there are older race horses than there are buyers, which mean the former choice instead of the latter.

In one report, more than 5,000 thoroughbred race horses are retired each year in the US alone. Out of every 22 races, one horse ends up with an injury; while 800 die every year because of an injury sustained in a race. Since we are talking about a sport that is all about money, the poor injured horses are euthanized rather than treated. In some countries, they are shot because a bullet is cheaper than the drugs.

Race horses that have a reputation to maintain as a winner are often given drugs to pump up their performance on the track. It’s not done to every horse, but there are cases where bronchodilators are injected to allow the nostrils to widen and increase air flow. Supposedly, this should make the horse have more power and masks any pain the horse may feel. Of course, these are illegal practices and not easy to find evidence, but it happens.