31st Horse Dead in Less Than a Year

​worldanimalnews.com/heartbreaking-news-as-31st-horse-dies-at-santa-anita-race-track-in-arcadia-california/

Heartbreaking news as the 31st horse has died following a complication from a fractured pelvis at the Santa Anita race track in California. The horse sustained the injury during training and although initially seemed fine, by nightfall it was evident the horse was getting worse and eventually succumbed to its injuries. The track put out a statement claiming to be heartbroken and investigating what could have led to the horse's injury.

Although we must expect the track to put out a statement claiming to be devastated by the loss of this beautiful horse, it seems a touch clueless and ignorant when you consider this has happened 31 times in less than a year. When one animal dies under your care, you should already be on alert for problems and such but 31? When do you recognize that perhaps the sport in itself is what's killing the horses? The answer is they won't because despite being "heartbroken", they need these horses to continue making profits.

Horse racing has been around for a very long time and its become a tradition in many places around the world. Customers place bets on horses for winning or losing which if they wager correctly, will pay them handsomely from a pool of money. The horses are put through rigorous training to prepare them for these races which has evidently led to some deaths. The problem with horse racing is that we assume that because a horse CAN race, we should be forcing them to do so hiding behind the guise of tradition. Unfortunately, there are some traditions we should be moving away from like the rodeo, bull fighting, and horse racing because they are nothing more than exploitation of animals.

Horse racing is simply another example of humans profiting off of animals disregarding their well being for our own entertainment. It amazes me that we are on one hand crying foul with the circus but endorsing horse racing. There is no difference between these things aside from our perception. With the circus, we see wild animals forced to perform which seems wholly unnatural but with horse racing, we know horses can run fast and therefore it doesn't seem as unnatural or cruel. The fact is, any form of exploitation of animals for our entertainment is wrong, plain and simple and this latest death is evidence that horse racing is dangerous for horses.

Horses are beautiful animals that have been with us as civilization has continued to grow. Prior to vehicular travel, horses were seen as a means of travel and carrying goods between villages or towns however as time went on and we developed other means of travel, we moved away from using horses in this manner. There is no place in today's society for the use of horses in any capacity aside from allowing them to live their lives in peace without us forcing them into these ridiculous situations endangering them. Horse drawn carriages and horse racing are abominations that should be completely banned across the globe. Horses have served us well in history so it's time we repayed them appropriately by releasing them from their destiny of servitude to us. 

Enough is enough, it's time to ban horse racing!

HAPPY VEG