Yeah, the horse racing industry is a very sad one. Breed them lightweight (meaning skinny bones), then put too much muscle on them and make them run as babies. If they don't actively break a bone, they're not strong, they have foot problems, a lot of them can't even survive as pet horses.
OTOH, my horse, who I had until he was 30, was a race-track reject. He loved to run, but he wasn't fast enough. He had good strong bones and probably weighed too much to be lightning fast. But, yeah, all he knew was to run fast and how to do that. Luckily, he had a great temperament, and teaching him how to be a "real" horse was fun for him. I knew lots of people who had horses who washed out early in their "racing" career who were trained for polo. When they wash out really early, they haven't been damaged, and if they get to the right owners, they're allowed to finish growing up before being put to hard use.
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carisma_sensei
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Date: 2009-02-03 04:37 pm (UTC)OTOH, my horse, who I had until he was 30, was a race-track reject. He loved to run, but he wasn't fast enough. He had good strong bones and probably weighed too much to be lightning fast. But, yeah, all he knew was to run fast and how to do that. Luckily, he had a great temperament, and teaching him how to be a "real" horse was fun for him. I knew lots of people who had horses who washed out early in their "racing" career who were trained for polo. When they wash out really early, they haven't been damaged, and if they get to the right owners, they're allowed to finish growing up before being put to hard use.