Horse Racing
The horse racing industry presents itself as the “sport of kings” with horses being treated like “royalty”, but evidence demonstrates this image is a ruse. Over the last few years, the industry has been in the spotlight due to the mistreatment of horses. A racehorse is denied their natural behaviours and is placed at high risk of injury and death. And what about all of the horses that never ever make it to the racetrack? The following article dives into the facts about horses, how the industry operates, and the major welfare issues it presents to the animals who are raced, or never make it to the tracks.
About Horses
Horses are often only seen for the extrinsic values people place on them – how fast they can run, how much they can pull, how submissive they are. Looking at animals from this perspective completely strips them of their intrinsic value – their own rights and purpose. Despite being domesticated over 5,000 years ago, we are still learning about how horses think and behave, and their differing personalities.
Horses are intelligent!
Horses have a complex nervous system, which is proof of intelligence. Various studies have shown that they not only have instinct, but also excellent memory, can make valid judgements, can learn, and work problems out themselves, such as opening stables and freeing themselves [1].
They are very communicative animals with highly developed social skills, and they try to cooperate rather than dominate [2]. Horses can also communicate with humans through body language and can also tell if a human is happy or angry, and respond accordingly [3, 2].
They live in herds and form close friendships.
Horses are social animals who live within a herd. Studies have found that they feel most comfortable when they are in visual contact with other horses. They are very rarely alone [4]. Within these herds, they form strong pair-bonding relationships that can last a lifetime. These bonds can be based on family ties, however, are more commonly formed on individual preferences [5]. Their herds are complex and constantly changing. When separated, they will feel a deep loss [6].
Just because they run, does not mean they should be raced.
Horses are prey animals and enact the ‘flight’ response when in a frightening situation. The main reason a horse would have to push themselves to the limit is to escape predators or danger (fire, flood) [7].
They are all unique.
Horses are all unique and have different personalities – just like us! They can be curious, social, aloof, or more fearful, or confident and challenging [8].
The Industry
The racing industry is a billion-dollar industry, founded on the exploitation and suffering of animals [9]. Despite being used for thousands of years, horses still need to be “broken”, before they can be exploited. While it is an international issue, this article will focus specifically on the Australian industry.
Types of Races
There are three types of racing – flat, jumps, and harness. Flat and jumps use thoroughbreds, while harness racing uses standardbreds.
The Standards and Welfare Issues
Below is a summary of the Australian standards and welfare issues.
Mares and Studs
Branding
Injuries
Jumps racing adds an additional risk of injuries due to the hurdles. Horses commonly misjudge the height or width, leading to falls. According to the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, jumps racing is 20% more dangerous than flat racing [18]. The Australian Jumps Racing Association says the fall rate in 2019 was 2.57% [19]. These horses can suffer from neck and head injuries, as well as broken legs and fractures.
Deaths
‘Breaking’ and Training
All horses have to be “broken” in, which basically means breaking their spirits so that they obey everything the person teaches them and can be ridden [21]. Horses are considered mature at three to five years of age [22]. Despite this, the racing industry races them at just 2 years old [12]. This means yearlings begin the training regime at less than 2 years of age. This places enormous stress on the horse’s immature skeletal frame and can lead to early breakdowns, lower limb ailments, fractures, pulled ligaments, and strained tendons [23]. More research is needed to determine the long term effects of training and racing young horses.
On top of this, a horse wouldn’t naturally run at high speeds for long distances, as a result, some trainers use devices and methods forcing the horses to comply [24].
Whips
“The really interesting part is that right up in the epidermis, which is the top layer and that’s where the pain-sensing C fibres are, in the human specimen that’s thicker than the horses. So by the old argument of horse’s skin is thicker and they feel it less, actually, you could argue human’s skin is thicker.”
Dr Lydia Tong, a University of Sydney veterinary pathologist and forensics researcher [26]
A frame-by-frame analysis of 15 races in 2011 found that “eighty-three per cent of the time there was a visible indentation [caused by a whip]… seventy per cent of the time the abdomen was struck, the flank was struck. This evidence also showed the unpadded shaft of the whip making contact in 64 per cent of cases. Now that’s important because the section between the padded and unpadded sections has a hard knot, so we know that 64 per cent of the time, that knot is hitting the horse,” Professor McGreevy said [27].
Despite this, during the final 100m of a race, a horse can be struck an unlimited amount of times [28].
Tongue-Ties
Bits
Denied behaviours
Abnormal Behaviours
Unnatural Diet
Horses eat small amounts of low energy, high fibre food continuously – eating for 12-16 hours throughout the day and night. They should never be fed ‘meals’ of concentrated foods like they do in the racing industry. If they are being fed meals, they can suffer from poor gut functioning, colic, and gastric ulcers. High energy feed can cause obesity and laminitis, which are very serious conditions [33, 34].
Retirement, Rehoming, and Wastage
Importing Live Horses
The Australian government allows for horses to be brought in from select countries [38]. In the last 9 years, 17,724 horses were sent on live export ships [39]. These means horses are also victims of the live export trade and gamblers and race attendees are supporting this industry. It also means that racing supporters are unaware of the conditions the breeding horses are kept in, and the way in which the horses were trained, as they do not have the same animal welfare standards as Australia.
What Can I Do?
It is evident that the racing industry puts profits over the wellbeing of horses. The industry denies horses their natural instincts, and causes physical and mental suffering, while also places them at risk of sustaining an injury on the track. Beyond this, as long as breeding for racing continues, “surplus” horses will also continue to require rehoming, and face slaughter. If the industry truly loved horses as they claim, they would not risk the lives of these horses for entertainment and gambling money.
If you love horses, please make the decision to never bet on their lives or support this industry in any way. To help further, read about alternative events and activities, take a pledge, and support our efforts to create a more compassionate world for animals -