0:00:00.080,0:00:05.200 Horse racing is all about the thrill. It’s[br]about the speed, the rush, the adrenaline, 0:00:05.200,0:00:10.570 the challenge, the sound of hooves pounding[br]the track, the sight of extreme physical exertion, 0:00:10.570,0:00:15.849 the pushing of boundaries human and horse[br]alike. And more than anything else, 0:00:15.849,0:00:17.429 it’s about the money. 0:00:21.700,0:00:26.340 Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome[br]to another vegan nugget. Above all else, horse 0:00:26.340,0:00:30.800 racing is a business and a multi-billion dollar[br]one at that. It’s not for the love of the 0:00:30.800,0:00:36.210 sport and certainly not for the love of the[br]horse, it’s for the love of money. This 0:00:36.210,0:00:41.100 video is the third in my series on horse ethics.[br]In the first, we looked at horse riding in 0:00:41.100,0:00:45.470 general and the musculoskeletal damage that[br]it causes and in the second took a closer 0:00:45.470,0:00:49.190 look at the effects of the bit in particular.[br]Now, not everyone can agree on the ethical 0:00:49.190,0:00:54.210 nature of horse riding itself, including many[br]vegans. But horse racing takes the commodification 0:00:54.210,0:00:59.120 of horses to a whole other level that should[br]even give the most staunch non-vegan pause. 0:00:59.120,0:01:04.010 With money as the priority, horses are treated[br]as no more than cash machines. This so-called 0:01:04.010,0:01:08.650 sport is rife with cruelty on so many levels[br]and I’ll do my best to touch on as many 0:01:08.650,0:01:12.800 of them as possible. Please reference the[br]blog post for this video linked here and in 0:01:12.800,0:01:17.010 the video description for further articles[br]and resources. The cruelty of horse racing 0:01:17.010,0:01:21.690 begins long before the track. Racehorses are[br]genetically manipulated and bred to run as 0:01:21.690,0:01:26.280 fast as possible. Their lives begin at a stud[br]farm where mother horses are forced to be 0:01:26.280,0:01:30.570 pregnant 90% of their shortened lives through[br]the use of drugs like prostaglandins and the 0:01:30.570,0:01:34.950 alteration of their environment in order to[br]manipulate their natural cycles. Once born, 0:01:34.950,0:01:38.890 potential racehorses are ripped from their[br]mothers, who are immediately impregnated again 0:01:38.890,0:01:42.810 until they can no longer produce foals and[br]are sent to slaughter. Having been separated 0:01:42.810,0:01:47.070 from their mothers, these newborn foals need[br]sustenance and are nurse by what are called 0:01:47.070,0:01:51.830 “nurse mares”- horses with lower pedigrees[br]who are impregnated simply to produce milk 0:01:51.830,0:01:56.260 for the racehorse foals. The children of the[br]nurse mares are of no use to the industry 0:01:56.260,0:02:00.640 and because it’s illegal to send horses[br]under six months to slaughter, many are killed 0:02:00.640,0:02:04.750 by a brutal clubbing or are simply left to[br]starve to death. They are then skinned to 0:02:04.750,0:02:09.050 produce high-end leather products, known as[br]cordovan leather, and their meat often sold 0:02:09.050,0:02:13.060 for human consumption. A 2009 report from[br]The Jockey Club stated that approximately 0:02:13.060,0:02:20.060 49,817 mares were bred that year, meaning[br]approximately 49,817 by-product nurse foals 0:02:21.260,0:02:25.560 were needlessly slaughtered. And that’s[br]only in the United States. This horrific cycle 0:02:25.560,0:02:30.060 of forced pregnancies, stolen children and[br]premature death closely mirrors the dairy 0:02:30.060,0:02:34.640 industry, wherein mother cows have their calves[br]taken at birth and slaughtered for veal so 0:02:34.640,0:02:36.760 that humans may consume their milk. 0:02:36.760,0:02:41.030 Unfortunately, being bred as a potential racehorse[br]does not save the other foals from a similar 0:02:41.030,0:02:45.209 fate. Out of the hundreds of thousands of[br]potential racehorses bred in multiple countries 0:02:45.209,0:02:50.470 every year, only 5-40% will go on to race.[br]The remainder are either sent to slaughter 0:02:50.470,0:02:56.000 for human consumption or pet food, re-entered[br]into the breeding industry, or sold for lower-tier 0:02:56.000,0:02:59.970 racing, which has even less safeguards and[br]regulations. While the consumption of horse 0:02:59.970,0:03:04.360 meat is taboo in many societies with even[br]regular consumers of other animal products 0:03:04.360,0:03:08.560 balking at the idea of eating horses, what[br]many people don’t realize is that horse 0:03:08.560,0:03:13.410 slaughter is simply the back-end of horse[br]racing. Just as the egg industry has no use 0:03:13.410,0:03:17.980 for male chicks and grinds them up alive or[br]gasses them, so too are the horses not deemed 0:03:17.980,0:03:20.920 fit enough for racing discarded as industry[br]waste. 0:03:20.920,0:03:25.300 For those horses who do make the cut to race,[br]it’s just the beginning of a tortured existence. 0:03:25.300,0:03:29.849 Race horses typically begin rigorous training[br]when they are around 1.5 years old, long before 0:03:29.849,0:03:33.910 their bodies are fully developed and their[br]skeletons mature. According to the text Practical 0:03:33.910,0:03:37.670 Anatomy and Propaedeutic of the Horse, the[br]length of time for complete growth of the 0:03:37.670,0:03:42.879 epiphyseal plates, or cartilage, is not until[br]they are (on average) between 6 and 9 years 0:03:42.879,0:03:47.530 old. The extreme training demands put on these[br]vulnerable young horses leads to a tragic 0:03:47.530,0:03:52.550 preponderance of fractures and breakdowns,[br]leaving them finished by the age of 4-6. This 0:03:52.550,0:03:56.599 footage of a young filly in a speed trial[br]shows the audible crack [loud crack] of her 0:03:56.599,0:04:00.959 cannon bone as her body is pushed beyond its[br]natural limits. These injuries, more often 0:04:00.959,0:04:05.319 than not, seal a horse’s fate as they are[br]deemed to expensive and troublesome to treat. 0:04:05.319,0:04:10.470 On average 24 horses die per week on racetracks[br]across the United states, with numbers in 0:04:10.470,0:04:17.470 Australia as high as 68/day or 25,000 a year.[br]The injuries aren’t all external breaks- 0:04:17.659,0:04:22.529 the demands of racing cause a large proportion[br]of horses to bleed into their lungs and windpipe, 0:04:22.529,0:04:27.169 called Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage,[br]with a University of Melbourne study finding 0:04:27.169,0:04:32.270 that 50% of race horses had blood in their[br]windpipe and 90% have blood deeper in the 0:04:32.270,0:04:36.830 lungs. Their high concentrate diets of grains[br]also leads to gastric ulcers with a study 0:04:36.830,0:04:41.339 in the Veterinarian finding them present in[br]89% of horses with many of them developing 0:04:41.339,0:04:45.389 deep, bleeding ulcers just within 8 weeks[br]of the commencement of their training. 0:04:45.389,0:04:50.249 When not tossed aside as too expensive to[br]treat, injured horses are pushed to keep racing 0:04:50.249,0:04:55.159 with the aid of dangerous drugs. Pain medication[br]can mask injury, allowing wounded horse to 0:04:55.159,0:04:59.909 run harder, further endangering their lives-[br]as many as 90% of horses that break down have 0:04:59.909,0:05:04.599 pre-existing injuries. Journalist Max Watman[br]explains that because “thoroughbreds are 0:05:04.599,0:05:08.460 bred for flashy speed and to look good in[br]the sales ring … the animal itself has become 0:05:08.460,0:05:12.409 more fragile” and that “to keep the horses[br]going,” they’re all given Lasix (which 0:05:12.409,0:05:16.860 controls bleeding in the lungs), phenylbutazone[br](an anti-inflammatory), and corticosteroids 0:05:16.860,0:05:20.659 (for pain and inflammation). Injured horses[br]aren’t the only ones drugged, however. Former 0:05:20.659,0:05:25.110 public relations manager for Churchill downs[br]Alex Straus says, “There are trainers pumping 0:05:25.110,0:05:29.240 horses full of illegal drugs every day. With[br]so much money on the line, people will do 0:05:29.240,0:05:33.650 anything to make their horses run faster.”[br]This includes chemicals that are made to bulk 0:05:33.650,0:05:38.610 up pigs and cattle before slaughter, as well[br]as blood doping agents, thyroid medications, 0:05:38.610,0:05:43.559 stimulants, Viagra, cobra venom, and cancer[br]drugs, among others. 0:05:43.559,0:05:47.499 In addition to being chemically pushed to[br]perform, horses are brutally whipped during 0:05:47.499,0:05:52.699 races in what is probably the most public[br]and societally endorsed form of animal abuse 0:05:52.699,0:05:57.389 today. The racing industry assures that whips[br]must be padded and when used properly only 0:05:57.389,0:06:02.409 stimulate a horse, not cause pain. However,[br]according to a study by professor and veterinarian 0:06:02.409,0:06:08.520 Dr. Paul McGreevy, the padding failed to protect[br]horses in 64% of strikes and 83% of whip impacts 0:06:08.520,0:06:13.169 showed visible indentation of the skin, with[br]some 75% of strikes hitting the horse’s 0:06:13.169,0:06:17.210 flank even though that’s against the International[br]Agreement On Breeding, Racing, and Wagering. 0:06:17.210,0:06:21.979 Dr. McGreevy also found that 70% of strikes[br]were delivered “backhand” and were thus 0:06:21.979,0:06:25.919 not counted under the rules limiting the number[br]of strikes. In many countries, the number 0:06:25.919,0:06:30.669 of times a horse may be struck during a race[br]is only limited up till the last 100 meters, 0:06:30.669,0:06:35.300 at which point horses may be whipped ceaselessly.[br]This piece of ballistic plastic consistent 0:06:35.300,0:06:40.330 with a horse’s flesh, shows the impact of[br]a standard single whip strike. Dr. McGreevy 0:06:40.330,0:06:45.029 himself took this further and did a thermograhpic[br]study of his own leg after delivering a standard 0:06:45.029,0:06:50.139 blow to his thigh. These white areas show[br]inflammation 30 minutes after the single blow. 0:06:50.139,0:06:54.259 Whip proponents argue that horses are much[br]larger animals and have thicker skin and a 0:06:54.259,0:06:58.349 higher pain tolerance. There is nothing to[br]support this claim and McGreevy points out 0:06:58.349,0:07:03.139 that horses can feel even a single fly landing[br]on their skin as evidenced by the characteristic 0:07:03.139,0:07:07.219 shake called the “manniculus reflex.”[br]It is rather naïve to assume being beaten 0:07:07.219,0:07:12.110 repeatedly with a blunt object is a pain free[br]experience. Racehorses are also subjected 0:07:12.110,0:07:16.399 to the use of metal bits, the impact of which[br]I’ve extensively detailed in this video. 0:07:16.399,0:07:20.659 It’s important to note, however, that the[br]bits used in racing are even more severe than 0:07:20.659,0:07:25.179 those used for equine sports. Horse whisperer[br]Frank Bell states that, “Racehorses have 0:07:25.179,0:07:28.779 bits in their mouths pretty much their whole[br]lives... A lot of jockeys actually balance 0:07:28.779,0:07:31.849 on the horse’s mouth so often [its mouth[br]is] destroyed...” 0:07:31.849,0:07:35.550 When off the track, horses in training are[br]stabled for the majority of the day. This 0:07:35.550,0:07:39.599 is the most practical way to “store” a[br]horse, however, this isolation robs them of 0:07:39.599,0:07:43.719 social and environmental stimulation. Stabled[br]horses can developed a number of neurotic 0:07:43.719,0:07:48.119 behaviors such as crib-biting, where they[br]bite on fences and other fixed objects, as 0:07:48.119,0:07:50.830 well as swaying back and forth and self mutilation. 0:07:50.830,0:07:54.449 After all of this pain and suffering, you’d[br]think that racehorses would be rewarded in 0:07:54.449,0:07:59.389 the end, especially the champions. But these[br]animals are treated as disposable commodities, 0:07:59.389,0:08:03.089 regardless of their achievements. When a horse[br]is no longer able to perform or his or her 0:08:03.089,0:08:07.990 performance is no longer deemed adequate,[br]he or she tossed aside like so much garbage. 0:08:07.990,0:08:12.110 Those who break down on the track are euthanized[br]on the spot and sent off to rendering plants 0:08:12.110,0:08:16.689 for pet food and byproducts or simply dumped[br]in a junkyard like this horse. Those who don’t 0:08:16.689,0:08:20.860 die or are killed on the track are sometimes[br]downgraded to lower-level racing, like jumps 0:08:20.860,0:08:26.550 racing, which caries up to 20 times more fatalities[br]than flat racing and has far less regulations 0:08:26.550,0:08:31.099 and standards. The final destination for most[br]failed racing horses is slaughter, where captive 0:08:31.099,0:08:35.549 bolts are often sloppily and ineffectively[br]used, prolonging the painful and terrifying 0:08:35.549,0:08:40.179 death of these long-abused animals. Even champions[br]who won their owners hundreds of thousands 0:08:40.179,0:08:42.299 of dollars are sold for a pittance. 0:08:42.299,0:08:47.590 From cradle to grave, racehorses live tortured,[br]terrifying, brutal, and completely thankless 0:08:47.590,0:08:51.680 lives. This is what happens when money is[br]placed above the lives of sentient beings. 0:08:51.680,0:08:55.410 And this is the true face of the so-called[br]“Sport of Kings.” 0:08:55.410,0:08:59.260 Thank you for watching and please share this[br]video around to spread the message. Give it 0:08:59.260,0:09:03.080 a thumbs up if you found it effective and[br]to support messages like this one, click on 0:09:03.080,0:09:08.510 the Nugget Army icon and join our community[br]on Patreon to keep Bite Size Vegan educating. 0:09:08.510,0:09:12.220 If you’re new here, be sure to hit the big[br]red subscribe button down there for more awesome 0:09:12.220,0:09:16.570 vegan content every Monday, Wednesday and[br]some Fridays. And be sure to check out the 0:09:16.570,0:09:21.150 first and second video in the horse ethics[br]series. Now go live vegan and I’ll see you 0:09:21.150,0:09:21.400 soon!