One of the greatest of all thoroughbred race horses, of all time, was Native Dancer, who won all his career races, with one exception. This, ironically, was the Kentucky Derby in the early nineteen fifties.
The irony to this is that Native Dancer was the ancestor of Eight Belles, the filly so tragically euthanised after her second-place showing in the last Derby resulted in both of her front ankles breaking.
Native Dancer was, in fact, an ancestor of every single horse that run in this year's Kentucky Derby, including winner Big Brown-a horse that, incidentally, was considered a potential problem horse regarding his legs.
Of course, all thoroughbred horses are potential problem horses due precisely to their particular breed, bred as they are for speed, at the expense of strong bone structure.
This is in fact the natural state for horses. Their speed was a natural defense against predators, like the eyes at the side of their heads. This made them perfectly suited for adaptation to some human needs involving speed. Their use as Pony Express horses is one later example of this.
Draft horses came later, and were actually purposely bred to carry heavy loads as "work horses", and "war horses". Thoroughbred breeding is, in effect, a return to the basics.
Of course, with this comes it's own set of problems. Unfortunately, two year old and three year old horses, while they might be faster and have "spirit" more conducive to such competitions as the Triple Crown, their bones, particularly in their legs, are not suited for the stress of long distance running. Add to this the fact that such heavy in-breeding as is plainly seen in the bloodline of Native Dancer-the ancestor in fact of roughly seventy-five percent of all modern thoroughbred race horses-magnifies the problem exponentially.
Leave it to Kentucky to come up with a sport where in-breeding becomes an issue.
That being said, let's not be too quick to dump on the sport. It obviously needs reform in many areas. Raising the age limit would be a big help. At four or five years old, a horses bones are better developed and thus better able to handle the stress of racing.
There should also be some kind of insurance fund to provide for the care of injured horses. Contrary to popular belief, horses don't necessarily always have to be euthanised if they break a leg. In many cases, they simply have to have exptended periods of treatment and therapy that requires them to refrain in some manner from putting weight on the broken leg. Since horses can't lie down for more than very short periods, this requires some kind of halter to keep them hoisted comfortably off the ground to the exend no weight is put on the break, or that extra weight is not shifted to a good leg, as happened to be the case with last year's Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro that led to his eventual euthanization after last year's Preakness.
It can be done, but it can take a year or two of extensive therapy. However, this is expensive, so most owners will opt for the quicker and less expensive euthanization.
An insurance fund is the way to go here.
There should also be some kind of method to strengthen the bloodline by decreasing the rate of inbreeding. Native Dancer was a great horse, but he doesn't need to be the ancestor of every hose on the track. That bloodline needs to be thinned out somehow before it is too late, if it is not already.
As for a lot of the other hue and cry about this issue, a lot of it is overblown. Most thoroughbreds are well cared for, even pampered to an extent. Plus, they do love to run. It is in their natures. There are undoubtedly cases where cruelty is exhibited, and this should be dealt with, but for people to go ballistic over most training methods and the use of riding crops is really inappropriate. Riding crops and whips do not hurt a horse. They are guidance and communication tools. The horse knows this. They would not stand for someone inflicting pain on them. Believe me, you do not want to piss off a horse. They are nervous animals that are easily agitated when unnecessarily or cruelly provoked.
It would probably also be a good idea if fillies were not run in the Derby. It is an unusual filly that can keep pace with a colt, and in fact only three fillies have won the Derby in its entire history. Yet, they will compete when put in that position because it is in their natures. Yes, they know they are in a race, and they want to win it. This puts more stress on their already weak bone structures. A prideful filly like Eight Belles just will not give up, and will keep on running until she drops, pain be damned.
All in all, there are a lot of changes that need to be made. Dirt tracks need to be abolished, for one thing, in addition to some other changes. Horses are by nature social animals, and should be allowed some level of interaction with each other. Often they are confined and isolated from others way too much than is good for them. Most of course do have stable mates, but not all of them do, nor are they often allowed the opportunity to run together openly, for fear of injury. This should be addressed in some way.
In-breeding is perhaps the worse problem though. Native Dancer was, by the way, a quarter horse, yet is the ancestor of horses that are run in races of one to two miles. How this problem might be addressed is of serious concern, and it will take some years to thin out that bloodline. By it's nature, in-breeding tends to magnify genetic deficiencies to an exponential degree. That is why in-bred humans tend to develop serious health problems of a genetic nature which can manifest mentally or in physical deformations, or both. In rare cases, it can result in individuals of inordinately high IQ or in other beneficial properties, but unfortunately, these are exceptions rather than the rule. Small wonder then that a process meant to tap into a positive aspect in thoroughbreds resulted in unforeseen problem areas.
Still, a call for reform in needed areas should not be considered tantamount to calling on a ban, as others have done, such as Peta. Bear in mind that if Peta had their way, animals would probably have voting rights and a monthly government stipend.
All kidding aside, it really hurt me to see that horse fall like she did. When they got around finally to showing her lying there in pain on the track right before they euthanized her, that was really painful to see, but at the same time, I couldn't make myself turn away. If it does cause people to make serious efforts at reform, I guess it will make it worthwhile on some level, but it's still a shame it had to come to that.