As many of you know, my husband and I are horsemen. Our education ( PhD and MS) is related to horses. We have taught at three universities and spent our lives training horses and people about horses. While at the University of Maryland and Louisiana Tech, we were involved with Thoroughbreds. We also trained our own racing stable.
I have been so “upset” about the “verbage” written about Eight Belles that I haven’t been able to even write a response. Yesterday, I read this quote on line in a New Zealand newspaper. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. So to follow are my thoughts…
“It is possible the horse began to feel pain and would have slowed down but couldn’t because she was being whipped,” said PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo. “We want to know.”
It is hard to believe that anyone who has actually owned a thoroughbred or a horse (or a dog) bred for a high performance event would utter a statement like this. It hard to believe that a person who trained for any event or trained anything for a high level performance event would have even had this thought.
A race horse is experiencing such a high level of adrenaline and or endorphins being in the moment of competition that it does not feel pain. The function of the “whip” is not to inflict pain – it is a communication signal to a horse in the peak of performance.
It is the same sort of state that drives humans and animals in the wild to perform amazing feats after they have been injured; the same state that drives human athletes to amazing peaks of performance
Thoroughbred and other equine athletes are bred to have this drive. It is one of the traits which makes them great. It is one of the traits that separates some individuals from the rest of their species: The desire to achieve the goal at any costs.
Instead of trying to crucify the jockey, we should be hailing him a hero and thanking the powers-that-be that the filly did not break down till after the finish line. If she had gone down in the stretch, it is likely that there would have been a horrible pile up. Jocks and horses scattered over the track as they dodged falling horses and riders in front of them.
After the finish line the jock guided this filly toward the outside rail where the dirt was best. In retrospect, this was the best possible scenario for a bad scene. The rest of the field was free to come home and easy down slowly from the speed of the race.
It is impossible for a horse running at those speeds to stop in a short distance of space. They are like a train. They have to time and distance to slow down.
While it is unlikely that we will ever know when the filly’s injuries actually occurred, shouldn’t we discussing the heart and courage of this filly who came in second in a field of boys.