Tuesday’s Horse

Tuesday’s Horse has only a few feature articles this week.

We at the Fund are out in force continuing our street teaming with our chief focus being New York City, beginning with Manhattan.

Today we were at Bryant Park, not styling but talking about our wild horses and burros and horse slaughter.

New Yorkers and tourists alike were in good spirits because of the beautiful, sunny weather and there was hardly a spot of grass not covered by human or animal.

We also spent time in front of the New York City Central Library on Fifth Avenue, in Central Park, and on Wall Street.

There will be a further report complete with pictures next week. Sunburn was the order of the day for some of us, and thankfully it was too hot for Vivian to wear her horse hat.

Thanks everyone.

By VIVIAN GRANT

Thoroughbred race horse Eight Belles was euthanized after finishing a gallant second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby this past weekend in Louisville.

Much is being made in the press about the filly’s death, who was put down on the track at Churchill Downs because she was unable to stand, let alone walk, due to two broken front ankles.

While horse racing has its share of abuses no matter where it occurs, it is particularly barbaric in the United States where racecourses are often death traps and only miniscule attention paid to the welfare of the horses.

The blame game is well and truly underway, full of half truths and misrepresentations, with Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones being the chief offender.

Steve Ginsburg reports for Reuters that Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones, has “slammed critics of jockey Gabriel Saez as uneducated about the racing industry.” Jones singles out Peta in particular stating they “jumped into the fray over the euthanized horse in an effort to raise money.”

I cannot vouch for what Peta knows about horses or horse racing, but I know the racing game inside out, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Jones’ defense of his jockey is not unusual, but loathsome all the same.

Here is what Jones had to say in the Ginsburg article:

“We have photos 50 to 70 yards from where this happened and the horse had her ears up and she was happy,” Jones told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday.

“If this horse had anything going on with her at the time, she didn’t know it. If the horse never had a clue, there’s no way the jockey could have had a clue.”

Race horses push their bodies to the limit when racing, and adrenalin is running high, especially in the finish. It is likely Eight Belles did not realize right away that she was injured and just how badly, until she passed the winning post. However, her jockey certainly would have.

The way horses run is called their “action,” and this would have changed the moment anything was amiss with Eight Belles.

Even an exercise rider in the same position would notice something going wrong underneath. A professional jockey would know instantly.

A good example might be this one.

I am hardly a professional rider like these guys, but had an experience not dissimilar when exercising a Thoroughbred mare. We were nearing the end of an eight furlong fast gallop when I noticed a slight change in her action. Within a few strides I knew something had gone seriously wrong with her. My first thoughts were that she had made a bad step and injured herself. As I tried to pull her up, I realized by the way her body shuddered she was having a heart attack, and did the only thing I could do, bail out. She loved to run and liked to work, and we were having our usual great time. There was not a hint until the fatal moment that this was going to be anything but a routine morning out for us.

Ginsburg continues:

PETA in a statement called for the suspension of Saez, “who whipped Eight Belles mercilessly as she came down the stretch,” and for her owners to forfeit the $400,000 in prize money.

Jones vigorously defended his jockey, saying Saez “did everything great” during and after Saturday’s mile-and-a-quarter race.

“As a matter of fact, I liked the way he galloped out better than I did the winner and the third-place finisher (Denis of Cork),” said Jones.

Galloped out, under the whip of course. As anyone involved in horse racing knows, a good jockey does not need a whip to win. Hands and heels is all it takes from a true professional. A whip should only be used to guide and steer.

For the most part, I have to say I side with PETA. The entire Eight Belles tragedy is a disgrace, and her jockey Saez should be punished. Insofar as Eight Belles’ owners go, one would wish they would voluntarily forfeit some of their prize money in her honor — not for further equine medical research — but for the care and sanctuary for race horses whose careers have ended due to injury.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot that can be done about trainer Larry Jones, but I am hopeful owners who have horses with him will take them away, and future owners will be wary of putting their horses in the care of a character who thinks Eight Belles’ jockey “did everything great.”

AT THE ROOT
By PRESERVE THE HERDS
May 6, 2008

Whether you’re passion is wild horses and burros, wildlife or just someone who loves to go hiking around in nature, eventually we all run into the same issue; the degradation of public lands by poorly managed livestock grazing and our government authorizing unsustainable numbers for decades.

The question becomes why…

Why does the ranching of our public lands have such a death grip on our natural resources? How is it that after all these years little has changed despite overwhelming evidence of the damage?

Why, despite all the laws and many, many good dedicated people in the government agencies themselves that have tried to effect change, nothing substantial can be done?

Why is it that report after report submitted to Congress clearly outlining the mismanagement and malfeasance of livestock grazing to our resources, including wild horses and burros, is met with indifference as they not only continue to support livestock grazing but will viciously fight for the rights of ranchers time and time again?

Why is it possible that just a handful of ranchers who produce less than 3% of America’s beef on public lands continue to wield so much power over our Nation?

Well, the answer is, they don’t. The banks do. Just like everything else these days it’s the banks that continue to dictate American policy and cause Congress to ask “How high?” when they ask them to jump.

In Mike Hudaks’ Western Turf Wars - The Politics Of Public Lands Ranching, an interview with Mike Sauber sums it up in a nutshell and what he describes should send chills down anyone’s spine who cares for America’s resources, “our” public lands and why the current system has eternally doomed us to failure until there will be nothing left but dust.

Mr. Sauber so aptly and clearly describes America’s real predicament in this powerful truth so often hidden from public view when he states: “People typically assume that ranchers have a lot of power, but it’s not really true. It’s the banks holding the estimated $2 billion that’s loaned out on grazing permits on western public lands that have the power. Our public lands are being used as collateral for bank loans. Our wilderness areas, archaeological sites, watersheds, wildlife habitat is being mortgaged - used as collateral for bank loans of ranchers that are buying base properties with grazing permits attached to them.”

If you really want to know the truth about America and our resources, Western Turf Wars is just an amazing public service. If you already care about what you see going on around you, it has incredible insight on multiple levels as to why our public resource system is such a mess. If you didn’t give it much thought before, by the time you finish this book, you might find yourself suddenly caring very much!

To order a copy or read other reviews of Mike Hudaks’ Western Turf Wars - The Politics of Public Lands Ranching, click here.

http://www.americanherds.blogspot.com/

Originally a boarding home for 15 horses, Dancing Hooves Stable was transformed into a horse retirement facility in January.

The stable, located on 1575 Carsley Road between Clinton and Flora, is equipped with 10 stalls in the barn, a shed, pond, feed, hay, a veterinarian on call 24 hours a day and a blacksmith.
With an estimated start-up cost of more than $100,000, the stable is on 40 acres.

Dawn Clark, owner and operator, is an animal lover; she houses 10 horses, eight cats, four dogs and two pigs at her live-in stable.

Based on a flat rate of $350 a month, horses are fed and housed, receive medical attention, and get feet trimming with new shoes every six to eight weeks and worming every three months.
Owners are not able to ride their horses on the property.

The stable also houses horses whose owners are on vacation for $20 a day. For more information, call Clark at (601) 940-1818 or visit the Web site at http://www.dancinghoovesstable.com.