I haven't had the heart to watch any racing since Barbaro and today just clinched it. I am done. Thankfully I didn't see it and DH ran me out of the
room when the news came on, he knows how it upsets me, so I plan on never witnessing it, but I am done. I can't take it, it breaks my heart, how silly am
I? Lol! I'm crying and upset over an unknown horse. I know this is probably "big business" and goodness knows those horse's are expensive,
but I can't help but think of them as "pets" and I'm bordering on feeling this is almost abuse of some type, please don't yell at me, if
you dissagree, just explain please, I admittedly don't "know" this lifestyle or business, like I said it just breaks my heart each and everytime.
I just know I couldn't do it. She was just three years old.
Horse races.....I'm done
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 Ms Mistoffelees |
Horse races.....I'm done |
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Posts: 3024 (05/03/08 17:10:01) Moderator |
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 MsDebbie |
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Posts: 2107 (05/03/08 17:49:53) |
I said a prayer before the race to keep everyone safe. The favorite won and I was so happy that the filly took second. It seemed like a great he race. Once the
race is over, you'd think that everyone had made it through safely, and then the announcers said that Eight Belles was down. It was such a shock. I'll
never be able to watch the Kentucky Derby again without thinking about her; just like I'll never be able to watch the Preakness without thinking about
Barbaro.
You're not alone in your feelings. The horse rescue board that I go to has hundreds of messages posted with people who are devistated about Eight Belles death. Debbie |
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LaMurphette |
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Posts: 801 (05/03/08 20:10:29) |
I've been in knots all evening since reading about Eight Belles. I'm so glad I didn't watch the race. I think it's just senseless. I don't
even have words to express how sad I am over this horse that I'd never heard of before today.
Hugs,
Terri 
~~Somewhere in my wicked childhood, I must have done something good!~~ |
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ElizabethF |
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Posts: 16320 (05/04/08 06:03:05) Board Administrator |
horrible...
Elizabeth |
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MsDebbie |
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Posts: 2109 (05/04/08 06:07:24) |
This is from www.tbfriends.com. It is a daily blog by a man running a thoroughbred rescue facility. There is humor, happiness, and sometimes sadness. He posts
pictures of happy adoptions, and sometimes, horses that didn't make it. I think that he made some very good points here:
Sunday, May 4th... It hardly mattered. The nutty kind of Saturday. 11 different cars up our driveway. 4 horses were adopted, and their new homes are more than we can ask for. Employment at another ranch, and the manager gave Cathy and I a $50.00 bonus for feeding on weekends. A new gelding from the race track, and his name is El Prado. Coming off the trailer, and El Prado looks just like Pencil Point, a stallion I once worked with in Davis. Even the high left hind sock. I think about Pencil Point all the time, loved him like crazy, and now here is his twin. Anika brought much needed morning muffins. George and his family brought Equine Senor. Mike and Kathy brought sandwiches, and delicious chocolate brownies. Cory came with carrots. Allison came with apples. At last it was time for supper feeding. New horses from the race track still learning our routine. 6 horses on night time pain killers. Cathy feeds one section of our ranch. I feed the other. We come together in the middle to finish up. 107 horses, and in less than 3 hours they are tucked in for the night. A shower until the hot water turns cold. Sandwiches from Mike and Kathy for dinner. The 47 incher has a DVR, and I programmed The Kentucky Derby. Rumors are spreading about a monster horse. A horse that comes into our world every 30 or 40 years. His name is Big Brown, and a friend at the race track tells me he is Super Horse. And so Cathy and I watch Big Brown from post 20 destroy his competition. He is beautiful. The rumors are correct. Big Brown is a monster horse. A filly in the race, and past the finish line she breaks both ankles. In less time 2 minutes she is dead. For the world to see. On our ranch from the race track we have broken ankles. Broken knees. Ruptured tendons. One broken leg. A fractured shoulder. Broken withers. All will go on to live quality lives. On our ranch if I rode a horse into the ground and the horse broke both front ankles I would be arrested. Jail time. 3 meals and an old National Geographic. Cathy could come see me every Sunday. At the race track you can ride a horse into the ground and the camera shows her lying dead on the track. No one is arrested. Legalized animal abuse. A friend who works for The Jockey Club tells me one good thing at least. Every year thoroughbred broodmares are having fewers foals. The numbers will be less again this year. Hardly a consolation for the poor filly lying dead on national TV. more to come |
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phillip |
Kentucky Derby | ||
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Posts: 1880 (05/04/08 07:28:19) |
My wife and I watched it on TV and yes it was horrible what happened to 8 belles.
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Ms Mistoffelees |
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Posts: 3025 (05/04/08 07:56:12) Moderator |
On our ranch if I rode a horse into the ground and the horse broke both front ankles I would be arrested. Jail time. 3 meals and an old National Geographic. Cathy could come see me every Sunday.This. Thanks for posting that. I am still brought to tears this morning. |
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ebaymommy2girls |
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Posts: 602 (05/04/08 07:59:39) |
Heartbreaking....
I don't know much at all about horses and thier physiology but why did she have to be put down? I don't understand...so she can't race anymore does that mean she had no reason to live? I did see an interview with the track vet and he said the bones had broken through the skin.... I never really understood why Barbaro was put down either after they spent so much time trying to fix his leg even though they knew he would never race again and wanted to stud him. Just a little confused by the whole process.... 
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MsDebbie |
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Posts: 2110 (05/04/08 13:58:46) |
ebaymommy2girls wrote: There are a couple good explanations here:
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Bayley Rose |
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Posts: 209 (05/04/08 18:01:47) |
This was heart-breaking! Eight Belles was a beautiful horse! But, she should never have been pushed so hard against a field
of nineteen colts. I was actually surprised that she hadn't collapsed from a heart attack.
Ms. Mistoffelees, I cried for hours after hearing that Barbaro had been put down. I had so wanted and prayed for him to live. You shouldn't feel at all embarrassed about crying over Eight Belles. It's very sad about what happened to her. |
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Lighthouse |
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Posts: 2067 (05/04/08 18:27:02) |
I didn't watch the race but of course heard about it. I read somewhere on the internet or in the newspaper, that all 20 of the horses in the race were
related to the horse Native Dancer. He did not win the triple crown, but he was famous and highly sought for breeding. It seems he has been used so much,
that his genes are now in most race horses, which tends to weaken their bodies. I don't know if this is true, but since we have seen so many injuries
lately, it may be true. The article said breeders are becoming very concerned about the gene pool. I don't remember when Native Dancer raced, but I do
remember the name.
Loretta |
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Freebird2424 |
horse races | ||
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Posts: 3396 (05/05/08 04:04:53) |
You are not alone in your feelings Ms. M. - I feel most die-hard animal lovers would feel this way... It absolutely broke my heart to hear about what happened
to Eight Belles. It's horrible and disgusting. I'm sure the trainers/owners loved her, but of course, she was just a cash cow. It's a business
and although I don't know much about it, it seems to me they literally run these poor creatures to death. While it's awesome that she came in second,
it is just such a tragedy that a gorgeous creature so young is now dead. I haven't been able to get it off my mind at all. I refuse to watch the races.
Seems something always happens anymore.
Jamie |
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ImShellyC |
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Posts: 6555 (05/05/08 05:57:46) |
I was pulling for Eight Belles for a couple of reasons. (1) She was the only girl in the race and (2) she was trained by a man who is from our local area.
I watched the race in my garage after push mowing the yard. I was waiting for my bf to come in from doing the riding mowing to start the grill. I watched the race, saw Eight Belles finish second and then I put my mower up and bf pulled into the garage with the riding mower. I told him Eight Belles finished second and about that time they showed the equine ambulances on the track. I was in shock. I don't understand what happened; she had a natural stride when she crossed the finish line and then we are being told she broke both ankles. I hope it was a freak accident and not something that the jockey did. I've read a lot of articles from the trainer (before the derby) because he is local and I can tell you that he truly loves horses. I'm sure he and his family are mourning the loss. I'm sure there will be several articles in the paper today about it because this horse did have this local connection. I truly believe they put her down because both ankles being broken would be extremely painful and almost impossible for a horse to recover from and not because she was no longer useful to them. I love to watch the Derby. It is a Kentucky tradition and the horses are beautiful. I have never been to the Derby, but I have been to horse races. They are very exciting and the horses are born to run. I'm sure there are people in the business that treat the horses only as cash cows; however, I hope those people are in the minority. I hope that this was a tragic accident and that no one did anything wrong to cause this. It is a very sad thing. She was a beautiful horse. 
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phillip |
Kentucky Derby | ||
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Posts: 1886 (05/18/08 12:19:56) |
I have never been to the Derby,I've been to the Kentucky Derby 4 different times. We haven't been back since 1999
Last Edited By: phillip
06/05/08 17:39:01.
Edited 1 times.
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phillip |
Big Brown | ||
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Posts: 1900 (06/07/08 17:17:29) |
Well Big Brown did not win the Belmont today!!!! No triple crown again this year!!!!
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MsDebbie |
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Posts: 2161 (06/09/08 08:18:43) |
That was a very strange race. I think that the heat definitely affected him.
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