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Fug I found your vet friend’s summary a remarkable and clear reason as to what we have been seeing. Neither of us are equine doctors however what the vet says makes sense to me.This European breeding thing begs the question of why is it still being done? My next question is how does American breeding cleanse itself of the DNA from European horse DNA? Your report also further opens my eyes as to why down under horses don’t begin racing until they are 4-6 years old. They are letting their horses to fully grow which adds more strength to absorb the pounding their legs will take. Americans need to totally rethink 2 and 3 year old racing importance if they want to improve the health and safety of a horse.
Captain I’ll ask you and everyone else my previous question. How do the down under owners and horsemen do it? They have the same challenges as Americans do correct? They just choose to bite the bullet ,I guess, for the sake of their horses and their investments. Your thoughts?
Horses in Australia race at age 2 and 3not sure which races you are watching
Before I read the report, I'd like to add this two the raging debate about catastrophic leg injuries, death and euthanasia which is increasingly widespread throughout the Tbred industry. After the spate of injuries and death at Churchill and Saratoga this year, I spoke to a very recently retired female horse and racehorse vet I have known for many years and asked her to offer her opinion and in the process hopefully provide me with an answer. I know next to nothing about Tbred breeding, so having no personal opinion of the Dr.s opinion, I offer it now.....Having done pre-sale examination on hundreds if not thousands of Tbreds for racing and post racing careers such as jumping and dressage, she says that their front leg bone structure is much smaller than it has been in the past. She is talking about the circumference of the cannon bones just below the knee where it meets the lower carpal joints. She says growing up virtually all Tbred racehorse had a circumference of about 7 inches and some even 8 and she never recommended for racing buying a 2 year old that had less than 6. she believes they need this much bone and bone density to withstand the concussive shock of racing on the foreleg which stand at around 2000 pounds psi. She says a vast majority of young Tbreds now have a circumference of 5 inches and she believes this is directly attributable to "the European influence and blood lines being virtually bred out of American Tbred racehorses" She says the horses she sees today are smaller, lighter and more springy and fragile than those she examined pre 2000 and much smaller than their European counterparts today. So there, via a vet, is my 2 cents!
