Ruffian, Barbaro, Eight Belles, etal, what are common factors in such racehorse breakdown cases? - Page 1

Ever since long ago when the tragedy of the filly :Ruffian" caught my attention, I've been curious to know what factors, if any, the horses who have suffered these kind of injuries, have in common. 

Reading the history of Man O' War, it's interesting that his owner Mr. Riddle, refused to race him in the Kentucky Derby because he thought the race was too long and stressful physically for a 3 year old horse that early in the racing season.

Could too much physical stress too early in the season be a factor in some of these situations?

I've been trying to find info on other horses who have sufferred similar breakdowns, because I think it would be interesting to study their pedigrees, compare situations, ages, etc, at which such injuries occur...try to find some possible common denominators that might point to definite causes or things that strongly might contribute to the problem.

GSD and other serious large dog breed fanciers have taken similar actions in looking for and working to avoid contributory factors involved in gastric bloat and torsion.  Few serious fanciers of large breeds will feed a large meal of expandable dog food followed by a big drink, to a dog of a breed susceptible to torsion!

If common environmental factors that appear to contribute to breakdown of racehorses can be isolated, then perhaps some of those factors can be avoided.  Study of pedigrees and information on the horses themselves. or researching such things as bone density, muscle density, etc, what characteristics of legs and feet are different between horses that do and don't develop problems such as bowed tendons, breakdown or other similar problems, all need to be gathered and studied, to look for common denominators between the animals that break down, and to look for how those who break down, differed from those who don't break down.

So far, from what I've read over the years, I've seen a lot of suggested theories and possibilities, but little data and no mention of common denominators between horses that have broken down, having been investigated.

Racehorses are so strongly bred to run, that they will run just as surely as a bulldog who is bred to hang on, will hold his grip.  I don't know if that is gameness, or obsession so strong that in cases of these racehorses, made them keep on going with disastrous results.  To add to the problem, horses with broken legs are usually their worst enemy when attempt is made to treat them.  Being a herd species and prey species, horses panic easily and fight restraint, etc.  Ruffian for example, began fighting and trying to get rid of the cast on her leg as soon as she started waking up from anesthetic, and tore her leg up again in her thrashing.  The damage she did to herself in thrashing in addition to the original injury, would require even more extensive surgery to try to repair again, and the vets didn't think she could survive more extensive surgery, which is why she was euthanized.  This is typical horse behavior though, and one of the reasons why it's extremely difficult to try to treat horses with broken legs with any chance of successful outcomes.

In only a  few minutes of comparing Barbado and Eight Belles pedigrees, I immediately found common ancestry in their 5 generation pedigrees.  I don't know if there's any significance to that or not at this early stage of research, it takes studying that ancestor and their other progeny, etc, to even start trying to determine what if any significance, it has.

Both Eight Belles have a horse named Mr Prospector in their pedigrees, and Eight Belles is linebred on Mr Prospector 3,4

Both horses have numerous lines going back to Nashua.

Barbaro's grandsire is a horse named Hail to Reason, who is also in the pedigree of Eight Belles

Both have a horse named Neactic in their pedigrees

There's quite a bit of common ancestry between Barbaro and Eight Belles that I found in just a few minutes time!

I believe the common factor is "Fate" - they just took a bad step while running at full speed.  There is no room for error when in a running stride the horse puts 100% of their weight, compounded by the speed and added impact added to their weight (and we're talking 1000 - 1400 lbs or so per animal) - the running stride is a 4-beat, meaning one foot is bearing all weight at once per step. The ankle/fetlock joints are not flexible from side to side, only from front to back.  So, if there is a mistep, a hole or uneven footing and the horse steps "just so" it can cause a catestrophic injury such as fracture or shattered bone, or torn ligament (which can also cause permanent lameness). 

Similar to racecar drivers who can make a slight mistake which causes a crash, or someone else to crash - the racehorse is always prone to serious injuries because of the way they run (bearing all weight on one limb at a time while going high speed), their age (2-3 years old, growth plates are not closed, bones are not hardened completely) and their speed - combined with footing, conditions (mud, wet, dry, hard-packed, deep, etc) and FATE.

molly

Blaming Mr. Prospector for horses breaking down is like blaming Mink or Fero for faults in your GSD.  Mr. Prospector was a heavily used and a very successful breeding stallion.  His breeding worth far outruled his racing career.  He's also the son of Native Dancer...another very prolific breeding stallion.  

The biggest problem is unsound bloodlines.  I can't tell you what bloodlines those are but asked a friend who races thoroughbreds.  The horses are bred for speed not sound feet, legs, etc.  All the breeders of the horses care about is how fast the horses cam make it around the track not if the horse is sound.  The run few races because their bodies would not hold up if they continued running.   They horses you see that have run large numbers of races tend to be from older bloodlines which are sound but slower.

The horses are also allowed to run on pain killers which would mean that they would not even know if something was about to break and stop.   Do not misunderstand that I am saying that this filly was on pain killers because I have no way of knowing if she was or was not. 

It is all very sad. 

There are very strict rules on drugs used - every horse who wins or places in a race in the US are taken directly to the "pee barn" where they stay until they urinate (I know, I was a pony-rider and had to wait outside the pee-barn many a night for hours until "my" horse peed before I could take it back to the barn) - the horse is not let out of the barn or out of sight of the testers until the urine is collected and tested for drugs.  The only drugs that I am aware of that are allowed are blood-thinners (Lasix).  Not pain killers, steroids or other.

molly

That wonderful filly, Eight Belles, had an outstanding pedigree.  She was bred to do what she loved to do.  However, I expect that a combination of circumstances led to that tragic "accident" as in most so-called "accidents."  She had never run more than 8.5 furlongs.  The Derby is 10 furlongs (1 1/4 miles).  That is a LOT of extra distance in the context of a Gr. 1 horse race.  She had never run with colts.  Although the jockey had won the Kentucky Oaks a day earlier, he is only 20 years old and inexperienced....

It has been said online that no such incident has happened in the history of the KD, that a horse broke both front legs after the finish.  However, I watched the last stretch of the race again and again.  I saw the filly in the final moments before the finish, turn her head slightly to the right.  And shortly thereafter just before the finish, I think I saw her change leads.  Those are signs that something is not right.  I expect that she may have injured herself in a more minor way prior to the finish and it became a catastrophic injury as she galloped out after the finish.

She was a wonderful girl and ran on heart alone at the end.  May God bless and keep her.

Molly (eichenluft) , in my opinion, hit it on the nose.  I couldn't have said it better.

Also, in my opinion.. I feel the odds would go down on injuries if the horses would be allowed to mature more before racing.  You are watching 3 year olds run.  They start training at 2 years old. 

Hard work and immature bones = more chance for injury.

A later start on training = more costs to the owners which = will never happen since $$ is the motivating factor here.

I find it more shameful and distressing that the winning owners (not to take anything away from Big Brown) didn't have it in them to show any compassion in their celebrations, even well after the fact.

The death of this filly and others like her is truely a tragedy, and we can only celebrate their heart and will to run. 

The problem is the the way the race horse has been breed with the thinner legs...this is like the Greyhound industry the animal's health is the least of importance it is all money driven...the way this type of  horse has been breed for speed is also the cause of the bleeding in the lungs many race horses suffer as well as frequent fractures with the fine bones but no one wants to change this as the speed would suffer...the quarter horse is heavier bone but only good for shorter races but way less frequent fractures/injury ...the horse is a beautiful animal but not made to run the track as stated above but to run in the pastures as long as man's greed for  gambling the race horse is just a tool for them...the pounding these animals take is why the Lasix is used to keep the fluid down from the heart and lungs if they were not running on a track they would not need Lasix ...it is sad about Eight Belles but all too frequent  story and this horse paid the price with her life...the race horse has always been a thin leg animal and the breeders measure the bone density with some sort of a tool the thinner the better and this is and has been geared this way for decades  and decades...I love to watch them race they are so beautiful but when something like this happens it jolts me back to the reality of a cruel sport ..many tracks in Ireland and other countries are grass tracks not dirt and turf much less chance of fractures...they still happen due to the way the animal is bred structure wise but much easier on the horse

Marlene

This filly was only 3 yrs. old and over 17 hands high, and a big horse.  She was bound to break down, especially on such a long race at her tender age.  Her trainer should have known better.  Shame on him.  But there you go, its the almighty dollar speaking again.  Its the money they want, and as long as the horse makes plenty of it for them, they are treated well.  The minute they stop bringing in the dough, its down the road to the killers.   Nothing, but nothing makes me madder than the way horses are made to race as youngsters that shouldn't even be backed until they are 3, and even then used very gently -- NOT raced!  Horse racing, in my opinion, should be outlawed; at least until the horse is fully mature,  and this would not be before 4 yrs. of age.