Mine That Bird, and other horse stories
You know, six months ago I didn't know the first thing about the horse racing industry or thoroughbreds.
For a smile, take a look at Mine that Bird winning the Kentucky Derby. For most of the race, you can't even see him because he's running last and thus cut off from the picture. Right at 1:36 (give or take a second) you can start seeing Mine That Bird just cut through the pack to take the race. I loved how it was so unexpected that it wasn't until Mine That Bird was at least a length and a half ahead of everyone else before the announcer finally noticed. Cheeky monkey! That's what his name should be.
~~~
This past Sunday was my first ever visit to a racing track, although I did not actually end up seeing any races 'cause we entered through the backside and then left before the races started. I went as part of the Southern California Division of CANTER, which helps TB trainers list their off-track race horses for sale, giving them an option other than sending them to auction. It was very interesting, fascinating even. The horses are quite stunning. Most of the trainers are men, a few women, and most seemed very receptive to CANTER which was nice, in some cases very thankful, because your average trainer care for their horses and want them to be happy. There's a definite shift, it seems (as much as I can tell from hearing other people talk, having had no experience with the racing industry prior to this) in how race tracks and trainers, etc, approach retiring race horses, and it seems to be shifting toward the better.
However, then, you get a blog entry in the NY Times like this one: Why Horse Slaughter Is Necessary and realize it's not a problem that is going to go away that easily when you have the, er, let's just say the uninformed pushing for slaughter as the solution to a very real problem. There are many great responses in the comments. My favorite is this one.
This blog entry is written by Jane Smiley, the award-winning author.
Link courtesy of FHOD post, Realism, Idealism, and Pessimism, a thought-provoking article on it's own.
~~~
I can't help but think that most proponents of slaughter, like Jane Smiley, think of horses like really expensive cars that just happen to be breathing -- they like them, they care for them, many even collect them, but don't think twice about selling or dumping unwanted cars to a trash heap to be crushed and made into cubes.
For a smile, take a look at Mine that Bird winning the Kentucky Derby. For most of the race, you can't even see him because he's running last and thus cut off from the picture. Right at 1:36 (give or take a second) you can start seeing Mine That Bird just cut through the pack to take the race. I loved how it was so unexpected that it wasn't until Mine That Bird was at least a length and a half ahead of everyone else before the announcer finally noticed. Cheeky monkey! That's what his name should be.
~~~
This past Sunday was my first ever visit to a racing track, although I did not actually end up seeing any races 'cause we entered through the backside and then left before the races started. I went as part of the Southern California Division of CANTER, which helps TB trainers list their off-track race horses for sale, giving them an option other than sending them to auction. It was very interesting, fascinating even. The horses are quite stunning. Most of the trainers are men, a few women, and most seemed very receptive to CANTER which was nice, in some cases very thankful, because your average trainer care for their horses and want them to be happy. There's a definite shift, it seems (as much as I can tell from hearing other people talk, having had no experience with the racing industry prior to this) in how race tracks and trainers, etc, approach retiring race horses, and it seems to be shifting toward the better.
However, then, you get a blog entry in the NY Times like this one: Why Horse Slaughter Is Necessary and realize it's not a problem that is going to go away that easily when you have the, er, let's just say the uninformed pushing for slaughter as the solution to a very real problem. There are many great responses in the comments. My favorite is this one.
This blog entry is written by Jane Smiley, the award-winning author.
Link courtesy of FHOD post, Realism, Idealism, and Pessimism, a thought-provoking article on it's own.
~~~
I can't help but think that most proponents of slaughter, like Jane Smiley, think of horses like really expensive cars that just happen to be breathing -- they like them, they care for them, many even collect them, but don't think twice about selling or dumping unwanted cars to a trash heap to be crushed and made into cubes.