Gary, sorry for th elong dealy for a response....
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Gary, sorry for th elong dealy for a response....
Submitted by AmyandSophia on April 20, 2010 - 10:44pmI actually am of the same mind as Lu. I only, ever, use my horses for trail/pleasure riding. In the wild, a horse carries no weight but his/her own. When a rider is added, the entire dynamic of balance shifts, and the horse is the one who generally has to make the shift to correct it. It can cause hoof issues, spine issues, leg issues, all things used to correct that imbalance. We are the ones who need to move with the natural motion of the horse, not them. I learned a long time ago to ride low and loose, and "feel" the motion of the horse beneath me, moving with, not against, that stride and movement. While a race horse is born to race, it isn't natural to race around in circles, going only one direction ever, carrying extra weight. Soft or hard packed tracks, the effect is the same. It takes a long time to work them out of the issues that Adminse just from that one thing, much less the whole problem of just being a racehorse.
I think if you start a horse too young, it's bones and muscles aren't fully developed and can be easily injured, resulting in a lifetime of pain and loss of ability to live normally.
The same is sadly true for horses that are bred for specific "sports". Halter horses were mentioned by Lu. I know a lady who breeds and shows some of the finest halter horses in the world. Many of her line have won world titles (World Congress, Bayer Select titles, etc.). But let me tell you, I hate it. Her horses stay in a stall ALL the time. They NEVER get ridden, nor groomed much, let out to graze, etc. They wear protective body covers to maintain a show coat all year round. In the summer, so they don't move around in their stalls and overheat themselves, they are tied to a wall in their stall for hours and hours. Absolutely inhumane. Saddest thing? The nicest of all her horses, the best looking girl she has, isn't ever going to step foot in the ring or on a trail because she is HYPP positive and has seizures without any forewarning. She can't even be turned out because she could go down with no notice and be gone. No a normal life for any animal.
My new gelding had shin splints at some time in his past. To make him heal faster, he was "hot-pinned". They took hot metal pins and injected them into the inside of his foreleg to increase circulation to the muscles and tendons, thereby reducing down time. Problem is, that doesn't work. So they shot hot pins into him, created scars that he still has to this day, just to get him fox-hunting again and being profitable. Now he is a nice trail horse and will never have to jump again. Or be ridden so hard he gets shin splints. But he still has scars and the after effects of abuse that he lived with for so many years. The ingrained things that have to worked out over time. Time that many people aren't willing to give them.
I guess all that to say this. I love horses. They are my utmost passion. But I sincerely hate what people do to them to earn their "gotta-have-it" wealth. Sorry for the very long answer, I am a little tired and this issue is too big for a short answer, but I do appreciate all the good questions you pose about horses. I enjoy answering:-)
Amy and Sophia
OOps! Didn't answer the second question.
Impressive was a fabulous Appendix Quarter horse that was famous years ago. Here is a link for you. An Appendix is a Thoroughbred / QH cross. The link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressive
Amy and Sophia
They were broguht here mostly by the Spanish
All of our plains horses in North America come from those first explorers. Indian tribes never could migrate far until the ponies showed up. Then they could range far and wide, and that is when the tribal fighting began. The grass is always greener in another tribes land:-) Very cool history, and I could tell you some good books to look into if you are ever interested. I have to look them up again myself to tell you the names, but they are wonderful history lessons:-)
Amy and Sophia
Thanx again
Do you happen to know if horses are native to America, or were they brought over by European explorers? If the latter, that may answer my question, i.e., they may have evolved in a terrain very different from the Great Plains area of the U.S.
BTW, who was Impressive?
And click here for puppy photos of Boo & Clovis:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glandry113
Hi Gary...well....
I am a creationist, I don't believe in evolution:-). So I will give you an answer that is more of a research on the subject type answer.
Wild horses are definitely hardier, but by necessity. They certainly have serious injuries occur to their lower legs and die from those injuries because they are then able to be caught as prey, or they can't move to graze, etc. But if there isn't good grass to graze, wild horses can starve to death or become sick from nutrient loss. If the terrain doesn't wear their hooves down, they will have serious feet issues from long hooves. They stay outside in the bitter cold and very hot weather, sometimes with no shelter, and that can cause much sickness and death. I can also make one tough little horse though, which is what I have seen more often than the sickly, broken horses that are tame. I worked with a wild Mustang rescue in Colorado for a while (and in fact one of my horses was born wild and is still in training to become a stable, well minded riding horse. If he never does, that's okay too.), and seldom did we get horses in that were very ill or with life threatening injuries.
As with some dog breeds, some horse breeds have been hurt by the breeding programs out there. Now, I think there are some excellent horses being bred, don't get me wrong. But, Thoroughbreds are bred for only speed. Not much thought is in how healthy their hooves will be in 5 years, or how well they can walk after their racing career is over (which in some cases is quickly). In racing, they have begun starting horses just a little older than they used to, preferring to have a sound three year old than a two year old on the track. That has helped to a small degree, but they push these animals so hard to achieve what they want to get (money), that injuries, when they happen, are life ending ones. With Quarter Horses, there are some dang fine examples out there of wonderful, healthy horses that come from excellent breeding programs and are as healthy as can be for many years. Then there are some, like my friends horses, that have been bred for a specific part of showing and they are huge, well above normal size for a QH, with little tiny hooves and ankles that bend inward because of the massive weight put on them. Some have HYPP, a dangerous disease that was supposed to have been stopped by forcing a halt to breeding that line, but obviously people still breed that line (the horse Impressive carried it , and all of his progeny are susceptible to it. My colt has Impressive in his 5th generation back, and he had to be tested for HYPP). It is a debilitating illness and is unpredictable. That means those horses that have it can't be ridden or shown or used for anything but a stall horse. Not much of a life if you ask me.
There are good and bad points about lots of breeds out there Gary. I could name so much more, but I think you get the point. Wild horses breed for survival, domestic horses are generally bred for money. A wild mare will let the strongest stallion breed her, she knows she has a better chance that way of having a foal survive. Same with lions, tigers, etc. A female chooses the strongest male to breed with to ensure survival of the species. In captivity, we do that choosing for them, but it isn't for survival! It is for profit or a look or a style we like. Sad to me.
Amy and Sophia
Thanks for a very interesting answer
what is your opinion, tho, on my question r.e. evolution. Do wild horses usually have stronger, less injury prone lower legs, or does it make no difference whether they are born and live wild versus domesticated horses bred for racing? Or, in other words, is the incidence of lower leg injuries the same between the two? Or, does anyone know?
I'm asking this from the perspective of how evolution works, not from the perspective of whether racing horses is good or bad. Normally, evolution works almost perfectly for evolving an animal's traits to meet its environment. Thus, incredibly thick white fur for polar bears, lions with a fur color that lets them conceal themselves in the grass, huge lungs for hippos, long necks for giraffes, etc. Since the lower leg is so important to a horse's survival in the wild, it just seems, from an evolutionary point of view, that their lower legs would be one of their strongest body parts rather than their most vulnerable. Just curious.
And click here for puppy photos of Boo & Clovis:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glandry113