Horse addict
I certainly understand your point of view. My feeling is that horse racing is OK if they don't start the horse until it is three at least, and train the horse in the Monty Roberts technique. Whips do not work, nor do spurs. The one horse event that I have a problem with is steeple chase. Too many horses have been killed and too many riders severely injured.
Endurance riding is one sport that they have put up safe guards to protect the horse.

Hope your question gets a lot of replies.

Cheers

Horse addict
As an owner of an off the track thouroughbred (who died early this year) i can identify with your comment! The way they are treated may seem like the lap of luxury...stabled out of the weather, premixed food etc but as you say so many of them die young with lots of health problems from high protein diets, being started too young etc. Here in Australia they are racing as two year olds and i think it is a terrible injustice to these beautiful creatures. My boy had terrible feet, weak tendons, and was fussy with his feed.He died from a bout of colic at 21 years old. I am sure that the effects of racing had taken its toll on his body but even so i managed to keep him in fantastic health through a natural lifesyle when i had him.
Dennis you are right that endurance has great safe guards for the horse. In Australia we don't allow them to race until they are 6 years old! We have some of Australia's top endurance riders in my state and they race barefoot in bitless bridles! Very different to the racing industry!
All that said idon't think racing is a bad thing...i just think that there needs to be a shift towards a more normal lifestyle for the racehorse :-)
Thanks for opening up this subject horse addict, it is a good one!
Cheers

Horse Addict - thanks for bringing this one up. I share your concerns and I am not a racing fan. In Australia, like Nelliebell, I hate the way that they can race 2 year olds - these are just babies and I wish we could do something to ban this racing. My other two pet hates which I would like banned are:
1. jump racing which we have here - I guess it is like the steeple chase and many horses are killed in these races. There are invariably protests agains it but nothing is done as too much money is involved.
2. the habit of increasing the weights carried by winning horses to reduce their odds of winning. I think this is extremely cruel.

Unfortunately in Australia there is much cruelty to horses in the racing industry and it seems that there are not many owners or trainers that adhere to Monty's methods. So many horses are broken down by the time they reach 6 years old and they have pretty dismal futures. The horse you had Nelliebell was so fortunate to spend most of his life with you - well done for keeping him going for so long as a surmise that 21 is an unusual age for an ex racer to live to.

Maggief
My husband was only saying the other day that it is awful how they increase the weights for the horses...but what about the jockey's too! sometimes they have to be at such a low weight that they are virtually starving before a race. Makes me wonder who it is all benefiting really. I too think it would be uncommon to find many trainers here who even know of Monty let alone train by his methods.
And yes i think i was fortunate to have my ex racer for as long as i did :-) He was a stunning boy right up to the day he died. I feel lucky to have been able to give him many good years. He was destined to be pet meat when i found him! I think that makes our time even more special! I just wish i had have found monty's methods years before i did!

For the Aussies who know of Gai Waterhouse, you'll be pleased to know that she utilises Monty's training methods! I don't normally bet but I am going to have a bet on one of her horses in the upcoming Melbourne Cup!

Thank you all for your excellent comments!

Thanks Ruthy - yes I had heard Gail was good and I really admire her. Just wish we had more trainers like her.

Dear All, as I'm very closely linked to the race industry, I just need to post a comment on this subject:
As in every discipline there are those ones that just use the horses to earn money and fame, but there are also the ones that treat the horses well and do everything possible to keep the horses they look after sound and in good shape. Especially with the Thoroughbreds you should never forget that this breed has been bred for about 250 years to be premature! You should never compare a 2-year-old Thoroughbred with a 2-year-old Warmblood. It's just not the same. I do not agree with racing a two year old too much and too early. A good trainer should always see and know if he has a horse in his stable that is mature enough to race. Factors like the breeding and development of the individual always play a big role. A race horse is a high class athlet compareable with a Olympic Sprinter or Olympic gymnast. Only the best will get to the top. There are many things that can happen along the way. Just think about how many talented football quaterbacks or soccer strikers had to give up their carreer because their shoulder or their knees didn't hold up to the amount of stress they were put through. They never made it to the Superbowl or the Championsleague finals.
It's the same with some race horses. A lot of them just don't make it. There are some good owners that will bring their horses back to the farm and try to find a good home for them. But there are also the ones that just don't care. I know an old mare that was an high class performer, a valueable broodmare and is now enjoying retirement in a huge pasture and she's 28 years old. Sure, her age is showing, but she enjoys her life and is as fit as a 28 year old mare can be.
So all I want to say is: Don't judge a discipline by bad news. There are black sheep everywhere! But I do agree that there is still a lot of room for improvement!!

Thank you Thommy for that insight.

Thommy, wonderful to hear from you! I hope all is well?
the first time we met, was on the farm and you were bathing Shy Boy so he could go with Monty to LA for a speech in the Gene Autry Center. The next time was during the Special Training 2009, and you got to long line the three year old Friesian who had some amazing bad habits. I think you did the join up with him and Maya nararated for the class. I hope you are having a great life and that you are happy in your work. Maggie Evans

Thommy,
Well said. Please don't take my comment to mean i put all trainers in the one box. I know there are many who do it because they love the animals and do the best by them. Unfortunately there are those who do it for the money and the horses suffer, this is what i was referring to. My boy was one of the lucky ones who was treated well but the rigors of racing and hard feeds took it'd toll on his body. We are in an age where everyone wants things to be faster, bigger etc and thats not always a good thing! The more people like yourself in these industries the better i say :-)

Janelle