I am not what you would call a "horse person"; when I was a child, my grandmother had a rather ill-tempered pony who seemed to delight in biting me. But I can at least recognize them for the majestic beasts they are, and respect people who happen to be good at working with them. So I was saddened to read of Barbaro being euthanized today, after his struggle against a debilitating leg injury. I don't think it's ridiculous or a waste of sympathy at all, as many have posited. You can feel bad about Darfur and still have some left over for the smaller things.
I believe that most of the people who work with these horses genuinely care for them, but it seems that there should be more to their lives than being playthings for bored sheiks, things that run in circles to amuse reprobate gamblers. While the article refers to the intricate "engineering" of horses, it's generations of selective breeding that gets them that way, and one split-second of bad luck can determine whether the Saudi prince who owns the horse and the Venezuelan dwarf who rides it get a weekend of fame and the horse eventually retires to stud, or the horse gets hurt and becomes dog food.
I dunno. I happen to like and respect animals, and I don't think they're here solely to amuse us and enable our narcissism. And a lot of people spent a lot of money, time, and expertise trying to repair something that didn't have to happen in the first place. On the one hand, Barbaro never would have existed if not for the small industry built around making horses run in circles; on the other, there's something unsettling about endangering animals for our amusement. Sports is one thing; human athletes can make their own choices. This is different, and somehow diminishing.
2 comments:
Horses do not 'run on their own' on a racing circuit. In one aspect, it's true they wouldn't exist if not for the racing 'sport', however, many many horses are destroyed every year because they just aren't good enough of a racer.
horse racing absolutely should be banned. It does suck they don't really have a place/state of their own, but horses are better off in human care anyway.
I'm kind of on the ditch for this one.
on one hand i do go horse racing and i love the thrill of it and horses do enjoy it. you see them when they come in when they've won its like they know it and they love the attention.
what i don't like about racing is when a horse falls or is gets winded hardly anyone waits to see if its alright everyone is just more worried about their winning ticket. alot of race goers don't care about the horses- i'm not one of them.
I really don't agree with slaughtering horses because they can't race or there no good at it. i think its cruel and it shouldn't be aloud. horses have many uses not just racing, they can compete in numerous other activities and its not fair that they are killed.
i think in this senses horses and people are alike because really
if your not good at one thing it dosn't mean that your useless at everything else. everyone has a talent be it horse or man.
ok thats my 2 cents worth.
by the way cool blog.
i have one to
i'd appreciate your opinion on it
www.horsingaround.wordpress.com
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