Guest post by the awesome Dr.J - “A Florida surgeon and fitness freak with a black belt in karate, he runs 50 miles a week and flies a Cherokee Arrow 200.” The man is cool. AND he is absolutely one of the kindest people in cyber space that i’ve never met. Check out his column at CalorieLab!
Until the running of the Belmont Stakes this year, many people thought we would have our first triple crown winner in years, Big Brown! A lot of money changed hands with that race, not too much going to the favorite! Big Brown was a big disappointment for the handicappers, to say nothing for his owners, trainers, and rider! Horse racing is big business, and much goes on behind the scenes that, we the public, are unaware of.
Just before the running of the Kentucky Derby, I was out feeding my horse and asked him who was his pick in the run for the roses. Just trying to chat him up, I went on to say how at his age he has buried plenty of past competitors! Not long after that he sadly buried another one. The second place horse, a filly, broke both forelegs at the finish and was put down as they say. Being a surgeon and also quite familiar with horses, I understand the differences between our species and how the repair of this injury due to the genetically determined behavior of a horse is probably impossible. That said, I do have a problem with this occurrence. Using my three years to one in comparing horse age to humans, this would make the horses in the Derby NINE years old. Yes, due to survival necessities, horses mature faster than people, but these horses, because of the economic nature of the racing business, are more overloaded by training and drugs than any steroid exaggerated baseball player could even imagine! It would be one thing if it were normal three-year-olds running the circuit, but this is not the case, and it is wrong.
Horses have been a loyal servant to humans for many thousands of years, and we need to insure that they are treated with the kindness they have earned!
Dr.J’s beautiful horse
