Beth, couple of good posts. Thanks.

About racing 2 year olds: A horse is physically mature enough, imo, somewhere around 18 month. (There are parts that don't complete maturity until after age 5 but, again imo, not important to racehorses. Jumpers like the Lipizzaners need additional maturity) That means even the late thoroughbreds are mature since they're rarely born as late as July.

(For the uninitiated, the official birthday for all thoroughbred horses is Jan1 no matter what the actual birth date,)

The argument has been made that any use of an animal for our gain is basically a form of cruelty.

In terms of horse racing, the cruelest aspect of horse racing is how the horses are sold off after a short career as horsemeat.

1986 kentucky derby winning horse, Ferdinand, was was sold as horse meat. If we use animals for our entertainment and profit, we owe them something in return.

I guess your right it is in the horses nature to run, but not with a person riding on its back, thats when it isnt in its own nature. I rode a horse before and it was really scary to me and not much fun to me because of the fear I had riding such a huge animal, I guess i wasnt in my nature either, go figure.

It is not in the horse's nature to be ridden by a jockey motivated by the need to earn a living. Horses are by nature runners but in nature, they decide when and where to run and it wouldn't be for the entertainment of 100,000 gambling degenerates.

People's egos lead them to believe that they are acting in the best interest of the horse. By the same logic, man is simply food for T-Rexes. Should we bring them back and allow nature to take its course?

Milt, didn't you once say you had been a mental health professional?

I ask because I'm wondering where in the DSM I can find the phrase "gambling degenerates."

BTW, man and T-Rex were separated by a couple of hours in the history of Earth, unless you believe the bible literally.

Hi all,

Am enjoying this discussion and came across an essay in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle I thought worth sharing. I found it both informative and very moving. The author is a veteran horsewoman and heads an organization called SquarePeg Foundation, which helps kids with developmental disabilities by teaching them to ride and care for horses.

Regarding thoroughbred racing and cruelty would also add that there is always the prospect of abuse and cruelty when man, money, power, ego and competition intersect.

Below is a link to the Chronicle piece (you'll have to start by typing www.sfgate.com into your browser; I couldn't get the entire link to post).

- akabukowski

/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/08/ED3J10IGD5.DTL&hw=Joell+Dunlap&sn=001&sc=1000