Hi

I don't know tb racing well, but it is loosly run here in Ontario under the same rules (with obvious changes for tb runners apposed to harness horses) as the harness horses as the ORC is the same commission for both.  I have raced in the states with my stbs, and while I was there even for the sbs it is very different from commission/state to state.  Here in Canada, the rules are pretty much the same for each province/area/commission and Standardbred Canada is the same across the board.

From a stb prospective and from what I do know of tb racing, much of what the person says is true, but what they want to blame is the money that these horses are now going for, which is not entirely true.  The casino money is only a bit of encouragment, this has been going on for a long, long time, horses have been injected with everything from javex to traditional drugs for as long as I can remember, coupled with the abuse during, before and after the race, sometimes brutal beyond all most people realize, and you have a pretty horrible life.  There are some (few) owners who really do care about their horse, but most do not.  As far as the casino dollars making the abuse worse, marginally would be my answer to this article.  When we were going for 1000.00 purses in the bottom claiming ranks in the late 80's and early 90's horses were injected, and tortured and beaten just the same as now when the bottom purses are about 4300 to 5000 depending on the track.  The only real difference is that the vets and other services will charge more in the areas that have higher purses as they too have dollar signs in their eyes.

For those of you who are not familiar with racing I will give you a typical week in the life of the average stb race horse, (this is not how I work with mine for the record).

Horse is entered in on Tuesday morning- in to go for Fri night.

Leading up to this week the horse has been shocked numerous times and it is not working, so now they are going to try the more 'traditional' routes to sound this horse up. This horse is also being treat for ulcers.  Gets almost no hay daily, and is seldom turned out, is fed high startch diet

Horse before it is even entered on Tuesday on the Sat. has vet come in and inject feet/ancles and hocks (this would vary from horse to horse), then a jug with enough of this and that to sink a ship is given-- all sanctioned by the vet- sometimes the vet does it, sometimes just sold the this and that and given to the trainer to inject, the horse is given everything from ameno acids to electrolytes and numerous druges and vit. added to give you an idea depending on the recent fad 'jug'

Then on Sunday the horse might or might not get lead around or turned out depending on the trainer since it was injected the day before

Monday the horse will then get something for pain and or actch, or some concoction that the trainer has heard is good that must be given 96 hours out.  Horse is trained hard, and as it does not go good (it is lame and struggeling) the trainer pounds the horse (whips it) all the way down the backstreatch.

Tuesday, the horse will be treat for bleeding and given any drug that the trainer thinks for pain at  72 hours, horse joggs a couple of miles, has a head nod, but the injections have helped some

Wednesday, the horse will get a vit shot of whatever the trainer thinks is good, usually the going in thing, the horse will be given something for pain from the local buddy that has 'something' that will get more time out of the horse.  It is given an allergy drug, and bute and banamine even though it should not be given together, horse is visiably still not sound, but jogs 3 miles

Thursday the horse will be again jugged, and this time whatever else the trainer's buddies suggest, and remember no one tells you what is in these 'shots', you just give the horse them blindly on faith that A. you won't get caught, and B. that it won't kill the horse, if the horse is a bleeder (this one is thought to be) than the horses' water will be taken away after it eats dinner, it is given flucourt.

Friday, it will not be 'stall trained' they tried this a month or so before, but it didn't really race better, the beating in the training mile seems to work beter for this horse) the horse will get something for pain that will not test, this horse will be given a trac. shot and a pallet shot, and it will be tubed, but not with soda as the testing is to good for that in stbs. this particular horse (like most) is thought to be a bleeder, so it will be given a dose of whatever they are not testing for bleeding,  also some home remedy that is not a typical drug, given tubes of electrolyets, and other various pastes that the local tack shop sells, these are not really any good, but they do no harm either so that part isn't so bad, the horse will not have recieved water since the night before, and it gets no hay this day either, but it will get high sugar sweetfeed type diet, and a couple of swollows so it won't choke on the feed.  This horse is on lasix so it will go in early to get to the lasix program run by the track and then it will race at is prescribed time.  The lasix program does not stop a horse from bleeding, but it is great for masking the other drugs that are used and that is the number one reason race horses go on the lasix program.  Horse warms up, the vet who has been the one to do the work all week on the horse is the track vet, he knows the horse well, knows it is not sound, and knows that each and everyday it has a head nod, as it does on race day while it warms up and parades before him.  The judges too see this horse has a head nod, but the trainer is respected, and one of the 'boys', so it is not a problem.

The purse for this horse is 7000.00 and it finishes 3rd.  It is a non-winners young horse in the claiming condition races.  The horse is not good enough to even be a claimer when it no longe fits the condition ranks, but until then it can make 60 000 life before it no longer fits, at that point it will be tried in the claiming ranks a few starts, and then when it cannot do it will be sent to the menonites as a buggy horse-- if it is lucky.

The bottom line is this, the judges are buddies with the horseman, are in fact horsemen themselves (even though they are not supposed to own horses some still do), and the vets get paid by the very people that are on the track in front of them on race day with the lame horses.  They are friends with the trainers that are presenting this horses in front of them.  They will scratch the odd horse, but usually they will turn a blind eye if it is an 'insider' one of the 'boy's, or a paying customer.

If the horse can no longer race there is almost NEVER a happy home at the end of the road.  The plain truth is that no matter how good the horse was or how much money it made the horse will if it is sound enough go the menonites, then it will go to slaughter.  If it is to lame for the menonites, it goes to kitchener and then to slaughter.  The very, very few go to riding homes, and the odd horse is owned by a good owner who has provided a home for it when it cannot race.  The odd mare becomes a brood mare, to be bred every year until she dies, or until she can no longer get in foal, then she too goes for slaughter, maybe 1% are kept as pets.  Top flight stallions go to the breeding shed.  Some are treat great, most are just to get the customer's mares in foal, many of these stallions if they are not the elite, will also be slaughtered when they are no longer in vouge.

People drive these horses into the ground for greed, for a paycheck for themselves, most know what they are doing, but many more are so thoughtless they see these horses as property which leagally they are, they see them as throwaway which race horses in this society are.  They give them almost no hay, then treat them for ulcers, they give them drugs that are slowly killing the horse, and then have to give them jugs to attempt to put back some of the things they took out, they feed them all wrong, beat them, and drug them into a sembalance of soundness, they blister their legs, they inject things like snake venom, and javex, and do other unspeakable things to these horses in the name of a dollar. 

Not everyone is this cruel, but many are.  Some people treat their horses somewhat okay, but even for them the bottom line is when the horse no longer makes money it will go to the menonites first then slaughter.  That is reality.  If it can no longer race it's days are numbered it is that simple.  So then for even these kinder people they are left with the choice of injection to keep the horses going, or the horse will go for meat as even these kinder people do not have the money to keep all the horses that will go through their barns.

As to that I cannot believe that people would even consider eating horse meat!!! Never mind the moral grounds (that is a whole nother topic for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! these horses are my life), but the health risk is beyond reasoning.

The whole industry in Ontario is failing, stb and much of the tb.  To me unless it is stripped down and made to fly straight it should die.  Since even in this late stage the industry from the top down refuses to change then horses raceing soon will be gone.  And it needs to be.  The sport could be good, for the horses and the people, but due to greed it seems people refuse to make the changes that they need to, the first change is to treat the horses like the athleates that they are, treat them as the grand creature that all horses are.

I love all horses regardless of breed, but for me the Standardbred is my chosen breed.  They are bred to be race horses, but have so many other uses, it is my hope that people see them as having the tallent to be more than just harness horses, soon in Ontario their will be a mass slaughter of these horses.  I see the breed as coming to an end within the next 20 years.  I hope this is not the case, but for now, the horses that will soon die with the loss of the slots in ON are my worry.  The tbs. will also face slaughter, but at least a number of them will be seen in a good light by people who have riding horses as these horses are still though of when someone is looking for a riding horse.

Yes the article has many of the facts, it puts too much weight on the slots as the problem, but the cruelty is a fact. 

Take care,

Deb