... is de Amerikaanse dierenarts die al jaren NH mee in de schijnwerpers plaatst, en die zelf een sterke voorstander is van 'foal imprinting'. Hij schreef onderstaand artikel naar aanleiding van een zeer publiek ongeval op de renbaan met een bekend racepaard.
Voor ons geen nieuws, maar toch leuk om te weten dat PN niet alleen staat.
And They Call Us Horse Lovers
By Robert M. Miller, DVM
The Nation was shocked when Barbaro broke down shortly after leaving the
gate at the Preakness. I saw the repaired fractures in TIME magazine. What
I think happened is that the sesamoid bone fractured, a common injury. As
a result, the fetlock collapses causing the pastern bone to explode into
multiple fragments, probably with the next stride or two.
The last time the general public was exposed to a racetrack tragedy like
this was when the great filly, Ruffian, fractured; the injury eventually
resulting in her death.
The news media focuses on great champions like these, but what most people
don't realize is that such injuries are relatively common occurrences in
horse racing.
Part of the cause is that we have bred athletic power into our racing
breeds far exceeding what nature requires for the horse to survive in its
natural environment. All wild horses need to do is outrun a big cat. We
have selectively bred for speeds that the anatomy of the horse cannot
always cope with.
In addition, we train and race them long before they are mature. The
immature are often capable of spectacular athletic performance. Every time
I watch an Olympics and I see gymnasts as young as 13, 14 or 15 years of
age, I wince at the thought of the damage I know is occurring to some of
their bodies. I started a year of gymnastics at 17 years of age, and I
wasn't very good, but I still managed to do damage that manifested itself
many years later. Fortunately, I was drafted into the Army at 18, which
ended my gymnastic career.
Half a century ago, when I was cowboying, "colts" were started at four
years of age or older. Once in a while, one might be started as a
three-year-old. Despite some very hard work, barring accidents, those
ranch horses were still sound and working into their 20's.
I'm not opposed to racing. It's a great sport and has motivated mankind to
produce truly great horse breeds. But I am opposed to any practices which
contribute to premature crippling of otherwise healthy horses.
Some years ago, the annual convention of the American Association of
Equine Practitioners (A.A.E.P.) was held in Dallas. The same week, the
national cutting horse futurities were being held in nearby Fort Worth.
Three colleagues from Sweden told me that they wanted to see the cutting
horses. So, one evening, after the day of scientific lectures had ended, I
accompanied the three Swedish vets to Fort Worth.
After watching several horses perform, the senior Swede, a professor from
the vet school in Upsula, Sweden, said, "This is incredible! It must take
many years to obtain such performance from a horse."
"But," I answered, "this is a futurity."
"I do not understand this word," he said.
"These are colts," I explained. "These are just three-year-olds."
He looked shocked, turned to his companions and explained to them
in Swedish and then said to me in English, "I have only two comments: One,
it must take great skill to be able to train a horse to do this in so
brief a time. And, two, what is happening to their poor legs?"
Today, we have all sorts of futurities - reining, cutting, barrel racing,
etc. I have tried many times to get owners to postpone arduous training to
give the colt a chance to mature. Most of the time, I was ignored. The
lure of winning something or making some money was too great to resist. My
strategy when the owner insisted on going ahead with training and/or
competition that I felt was premature was to say, "That's okay. You go
ahead. What you are doing is very good for my business."
Why is it that the protests against over-using young horses come primarily
from the people who profit from such abuse - the veterinarians? Is it
because we best understand the trauma being inflicted upon immature
skeletons, joints, ligaments and tendons?
Just as I am not opposed to racing, if properly conducted, I am not
opposed to horse shows or competitive equine events.
Horse shows, like all livestock shows, were conceived of long ago to
"improve the breed". They were designed to demonstrate and reward the
people who were doing the best job of breeding, of selecting bloodstock,
and of creating superior bloodlines.
Unfortunately, human nature, vanity and greed have corrupted the horse
show industry.
We see grotesque caricatures of the original character of each breed.
Stock horses, the working ranch breeds, are shown in Western Pleasure
classes traveling in a manner that would drive a working cowboy crazy.
With lowered heads, going in a downhill manner, these horses greatly
magnify the forces placed upon the forelimbs. Once again, good for us
vets. It produces income, but the horses suffer.
The wonderful Tennessee Walking Horse is shod and shown in distorted gaits
that can only be called "grotesque".
If it weren't for the frequent veterinary checks, which are mandatory, can
you imagine how many endurance racing horses would die because of their
riders' consuming desire to win? I remember the early endurance races.
Saddlebreds, with surgically distorted tails, and gingered anuses, are
exhibited with the pupils of their eyes dilated with atropine.
How many people who sincerely consider themselves to be "horse lovers"
wean foals at three months of age, or even earlier, which nature never
intended? How many horses, a gregarious species, spend their lives locked
in box stalls? How many horses in the U.S.A, like so much of our human
population, are damaged healthwise by excessive nutrition?
Such abuses exist in ever breed, every discipline, in every equine sport.
We need to step back and analyze what we are doing.
---Vervolg komt meteen...
Warboel
