need help listing the positive effects of racing industry

certifiedgirl · Postby **certifiedgirl** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:04 pm

Can anyone help me list some things that racing or the TB industry has done that are a benefit to horses and horsemen of all disciplines?
I've thought of a few but they are fairly general and I would love to know some good specific examples:

advances in veterinary treatments
TBs have been crossed with many different breeds to improve them
knowledge of how to get horses really fit
organizations like the Grayson-JC and the TRF
individual horses that have been great athletes in sports besides racing

habitat · Postby **habitat** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:09 am

this one won't rank high on the list, but every barn where I took lessons when I first started put me on a TB Gelding with a track history.

KamiBrooks · Postby **KamiBrooks** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:05 pm

Are you interested in TB Racing or TBs? To me these are different. There are many TBs bred for other disciplines that are never even intended to see the track.

If its TB racing, I'm having trouble with anything other than advancements vet medicine and understanding impacts of certain farrier/shoeing techniques. But then some injuries are almost exclusive to TB racing (like factured sesmoids).

TB's as crosses... I'm an Arab fan (a huge source of the TB breed) and other breeds have also been used to improve or create new breeds. I really can't think of a distinct breed that was partially sourced from TBs

Knowledge of getting a horse fit... endurance racing, dressage, eventing... depends on what you mean by fit. Not to take away from TB racing, but getting a horse fit to run a 100 mile race (while passing vet check points) is no small thing.

JC and TRF are definitely TB racing, not sure what positive impact there is beyond the TB racing world? If TB racing didn't exist, would they be needed?

Individuals who were/are great athletes... agreed, but also true of many other breeds.

JMHO

certifiedgirl · Postby **certifiedgirl** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:06 pm

I was thinking things that are racing related, for instance- without racing there wouldn't be any TB breed. So I guess the breed itself would be one example. I know we have the Arabians to thank for that too

!
I was also hoping for some things that could be directly related back to the racing industry- I suspect (but don't know for sure) that there are veterinary advances that would not have been made if it wasn't for the racing industry- more than likely because of the money generated by racing.
I suppose I'm just a little tired of hearing the "Oh, I hate racing, racing is cruel" blah blah blah from some of the general horse community and was wanting to know some things that the industry has contributed.

certifiedgirl · Postby **certifiedgirl** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:08 pm

habitat wrote:this one won't rank high on the list, but every barn where I took lessons when I first started put me on a TB Gelding with a track history.

I think thats a great testament to the breed! I started riding TBs as a kid too and haven't found any other breed that can compare to them.

Diane · Postby **Diane** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:28 pm

The basic thing is that these horses LOVE TO RUN. Put a young arab and a youngish tb in a big pasture and see what they do for play....the arab will put it's tail up and trot. The Tb will gallop. It comes naturally. They can be bred for speed or distance but the basic love of running is already there. Racing provides them the opportunity to run in a controlled environment. Trainers with licenses, jockeys with licenses, veterinarians with licenses, owners, stewards... Yes it's a hard business and not perfect but the majority of people involved love horses and want the industry to be the best it can be.

Stevie Belmont · Postby **Stevie Belmont** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:10 pm

What about the new era of synthetic racing surfaces?

certifiedgirl wrote:I was thinking things that are racing related, for instance- without racing there wouldn't be any TB breed. So I guess the breed itself would be one example. I know we have the Arabians to thank for that too !
I was also hoping for some things that could be directly related back to the racing industry- I suspect (but don't know for sure) that there are veterinary advances that would not have been made if it wasn't for the racing industry- more than likely because of the money generated by racing.
I suppose I'm just a little tired of hearing the "Oh, I hate racing, racing is cruel" blah blah blah from some of the general horse community and was wanting to know some things that the industry has contributed.

KamiBrooks · Postby **KamiBrooks** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:18 am

I suppose I'm just a little tired of hearing the "Oh, I hate racing, racing is cruel" blah blah blah from some of the general horse community and was wanting to know some things that the industry has contributed.

I always find this comment interesting when it comes from a person with Quarter Horses. Unfortunately, I think that bashing racing is 'in fashion' but some should consider what is done to/with other breeds in the name of profit. Given the 150k+ QH to the ~40k TB bred each year, I would guess that many more QHs endure less than ideal conditions than TBs.

skeenan · Postby **skeenan** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:23 am

Well, to use one statistic I quoted in another post (from Equus magazine/American Horse Council) Thoroughbred racing contributes the largest to the GDP—$20.7 billion dollars.

Not the most interesting, but it is impressive...

griff · Postby **griff** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:11 am

racing produced the Thoroughbred; i.e., with out racing the would not be a Thoroughbred breed.

griff

TBLADY · Postby **TBLADY** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:34 am

Racing produces EDUCATION. I have often looked at people I used to event with and noticed how clueless they really were about leg care, injuries, proper conditioning, bandaging etc...I think every horse owner should spend a month working at the track as a groom. Learn to hand walk a horse whos less then DEAD QUIET. Learn properly to apply an exercise bandage, a compression bandage, a standing wrap, a support bandage. Learn to cold hose, ice, nebulize a horse and take the proper amount of time to do it right!!!! (not just cold hose for 5 mins and walk the horse back to stand in a stall)

When I was eventing my stallion (of course a TB) could trot...with nice extention for 5-7 miles over cross country. then would go out and work his Dressage later in the day. Then on other days would work over fences. After every work his legs were done up in some sort of therapy. After competition he was put into ice boots or tub as he ate his hay bag. People would come up and ask how was he hurt....they had no idea I was doing preventitive maintenance!

To this dayI have SHOW Friends have me come out and hop on their horses from time to time to tell them whats wrong. "Well hes off in the rt rear better also look at the left front....one will throw off on to the other." they are amazed. They couldnt tell you if their horses stiffle was off or if he was just a pig and didnt want to work...heaven forbid the horse not be 100% sound! But its all things I learn from being at the track and working with racehorses.

I have great respect for racing people. You have to be a hardy dedicated person to do what we do...everything fromt he detailed breeder to the well oiled racing stable, even in caring for these retired warriors...theres something to be learned in all areas of the TB industry.

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:57 am

KamiBrooks wrote: I really can't think of a distinct breed that was partially sourced from TBs

What about Quarter Horses and Hanoverians? There are a lot of the warmblood breeds that have mostly become 7/8 Thoroughbreds.

Sysonby · Postby **Sysonby** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:56 am

TBLADY wrote:
To this dayI have SHOW Friends have me come out and hop on their horses from time to time to tell them whats wrong. "Well hes off in the rt rear better also look at the left front....one will throw off on to the other." they are amazed. They couldnt tell you if their horses stiffle was off or if he was just a pig and didnt want to work...heaven forbid the horse not be 100% sound! But its all things I learn from being at the track and working with racehorses.

One thing I've noticed is how few pleasure riders can tell when their horse is unsound. They'll be trotting around and you can see that the horse is a little off but they don't notice. They are usually the first ones to get on their high horse about how cruel the racing industry is too :roll:

Sysonby · Postby **Sysonby** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:59 am

madelyn wrote:
KamiBrooks wrote: I really can't think of a distinct breed that was partially sourced from TBs

What about Quarter Horses and Hanoverians? There are a lot of the warmblood breeds that have mostly become 7/8 Thoroughbreds.

Also the QH did evolve from the TB. One of the foundation sires is the TB Janus.

In the warmblood breeds, the xx means TB. Check out your average Hanoverian, Dutch Warmblood and Oldenburg. There are "xx"s all over the place in a 5 generation page.

CA Michael · Postby **CA Michael** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:35 am

TB racing creates thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly. From the hay farmers to the hot walkers to the mutuel clerks to the farm workers to the trainers and, of least importance, to the racetrack executives!

Perhaps the greatest aspect of TB racing and breeding is that it allows many of us to live our passion. How many morning commuters can say that?