What is the regular person on the streets to think about the state of horse racing in America and around the world? There is one set of trained and licensed veterinarians saying the horse is/was being mistreated; there is a second set, involved with racing, who say that the horse's treatments were very normal. I can't blame people who know nothing about horses being confused, and not knowing whom to trust. - As I have written before, and will, no doubt, write again, I have conflicting feelings about racing. Horses are not completely mature creatures until they are 8 years old. Most folks who use horses start breaking and training them when they are 2 or 3 years old, which allows their back and leg muscles, tendons, and joints to begin maturing. In the world of today's thoroughbred racing, horses are bred to run faster and at very young ages, which causes developmental problems for the legs and back. Thoroughbred racing is a money-making business, and, as such, can not return to having a horse in it's first race when it is 4 or 5 years old - too much time and effort would be needed to be put into the horse before it could race and show a profit. It's sad that the horse has to pay the price of man's avarice throughout the world.
On one other note, Holy Bull, the big grey stallion that was the USA's Horse of the Year in 1994, has been retired from stud duty. He still loves his mares, but his fertility has plummeted.
Holy Bull in 2011
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