If you bet on a horse to win and arrange to fix that race so it will no real harm is done. Cheating goes on everywhere 24/7. Right?

i think cheating is wrong

I think betting on horses is wrong.  Period.

The horses are treated very badly in this sport.  Not always, but too often they are.

I got this off the net by a horse handler.
 I know how expensive the cost of the sport is. The horses pay with their lives.

Prior to my relocation to Hawaii, I worked in the horse racing industry for 8 years as a veterinary specialist in holistic modalities (acupuncture, massage, cold laser therapy). This is my story – an uncomfortable one, but my hope is to share my truth with you so that you can understand the sacrifices made for the “Sport of Kings.”
Horses – Man’s Most Graceful Friend

Like many of you, I have always been enamored by horses. I love their horsey smell, and watching them run free with grace and strength. I enjoy riding horses – especially on a trail in the forest or alongside the ocean.

If horses could live indoors with me (a house-horse?) along with my dogs, cats, and wife Jane, I would be in heaven! (Side note: One of my clients on Kauai specifically designed her house to allow her horse to stick his head in the kitchen and bedroom windows from his outdoor stall. Very cool! What a great example of living with “Nature”).

A relationship with a horse is different from the one you could have with a dog or cat (can you imagine sharing the bed with a horse?!)

The dog was “domesticated” long before wild horses were, so modern day horses retain some of that wild spirit. For many thousands of years, wild horses were hunted for meat (and some cultures still consume horse meat, even today). At some point in time, ancient humans saw the value in domesticating these animals for work use, riding, and companionship, rather than as a food source.

A bonded relationship with a horse (and one not based upon fear…or money) is unique. It can be very deep and emotional, as well as primal, and can take you back to when survival was dependent upon one’s horse.

But not all people feel this way about horses, especially if the horses don’t win races. At the track, if a horse does not produce income (profits) to cover expenses, it is sold or traded. Love is not part of the equation.
Life at the Tracks

I started working at the racetracks because it was an opportunity to work on the nation’s “top” horses. It was exciting to have the chance to help these beautiful animals (and that small possibility of improving the horses’ experiences is what kept me working there for 8 long years). I was familiar with the typical injuries of racehorses, and I believed that my training in massage, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and cold laser therapy could help these animals recover faster and with less stress. Traditional veterinary medicine seemed to treat horses like “machines” that need parts fixed, and pain mollified with drugs, chemicals, and antiquated surgeries.

The horses I worked on were very sweet, and the longer I worked with them, the more I fell in love with their individual quirks and character. I massaged their injuries with Chinese liniments, performed acupuncture on them, and supplemented their diets with herbs to help support their stamina and well being. When I began to see the “full picture” of the horse racing industry – it broke my heart. I couldn’t believe how disposable these animals were to the industry. It really was just about the money.

I would often dream about buying all of these horses and placing them in a large pasture to run free in their retirement. Unfortunately, this was not possible.

When I started working in the industry, I wasn’t aware of the “race track mentality “and “culture” of the trainers, jockeys, and many of the owners. Over time, I began to see that the horses’ welfare wasn’t as central to the sport as were profits. At the time, alcoholism and drugs were also prevalent in the scene. Gambling was just as dangerous and addictive, and I watched many families go deep into debt when they literally “bet the farm” on these races. I was quickly disillusioned by the whole business.

One of my most traumatic experiences at the track occurred while working on a filly – let’s call her “To the Roses” (name changed). It was my first time working on this gentle horse, and I had never seen her race. I was working on repairing strained tendons using acupuncture and cold laser therapy. The treatment was going well. I thought she had another two weeks before she was totally healed and I recommended that she should be rested until then. I was then both shocked and surprised to hear that she would be racing that day!

The trainer had her standing in ice water for about an hour before the race, then wrapped her injured tendons with tape, and geared her up for the race. Unable to do anything more to help this filly, I left the barn to watch in disbelief from the spectator area. As I sat in the stands, and saw her take off and run, my heart was in my throat. She ran a great race, and was the first horse at the finish line.

Then she went down with a broken leg.

I ran down from the stands to help, but the head track veterinarian had already given her euthanasia injections because she was beyond repair. I watched as a forklift arrived on the scene to pick up her lifeless body and drop her into a large dump truck. And that was that – and I quickly learned that these kinds of events occur every week at tracks across the country.

But the extent of disrespect for the animals didn’t end there. After witnessing a “fixed” race at the track, I quit working on racehorses for good.

This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at July 15, 2017 4:59 PM MDT