Cruelty in the Standardbred Racing Industry

Standardbred or harness racing does not get the attention that Thoroughbred racing does. While high-profile deaths of such horses like Eight Belles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby has brought the issue of Thoroughbred racing cruelties to light, the Standardbreds are ignored. But harness racing, more popular in Australia than in North America, rakes in millions for people and spends comparatively little on the well-being of the horses.

This writer worked as a groom at a small Standardbred racing stable in 1991 - 1992. I never went to the track, but stayed behind the scenes at the barn. I was staggered by the neglect and beatings that I witnessed. Although harness racing has a better reputation for animal welfare then Thoroughbred racing, the horses I saw were treated like garbage. In order to keep the sport alive, more has to be done to ensure the welfare of the horses throughout their lives. Some positive steps have already been taken since 1992.

Performance Enhancing Drugs

The harness racing industry has made great improvements in detecting performance enhancing drugs, including caffeine. Steroids still are used, which can produce some spectacular results. The horse becomes aggressive, bite and shows an incredible drive to breed mares in heat - whether male or female. In mares, the ovaries seem to shut down.

Fortunately, many states have banned steroids and require all winning horses to have their testosterone levels checked for the presence of steroids. This has lead to revealing that some mares are actually hermaphrodites or intersex males. Whether this is a genetic defect of Standardbreds or is a result of the horse being exposed to steroids is unknown. But it does appear in other breeds of horses.

Standing When Hot

Anyone familiar with horses is familiar with the term "cooling out." After vigorous exercise, a horse is hot, covered in sweat and breathing like a dragon. If a horse is given cold water to drink and left to stand in a stall, the horse will develop colic and muscle stiffness in the legs. So, hot horses are given three sips of tepid water, bathed and slowly walked until their body temperature drops back to normal. Their coats often dry in the process. Sometimes they are blanketed and sometimes not.

However, this process is skipped in the harness racing industry. Horses are still given sips of water and bathed, but then they are put under a heavy blanket and left to stand in their stalls. They are not fed until their body temperature cools down. This is a traditional way of training harness horses. This was not questioned in the 1990s. But it is being questioned today. Some harness racing websites define "cooling out" as walking a horse until the body temperature drops to normal.

Neglect

One big problem difficult to regulate in any industry is the surprising amount of human stupidity that the industry encounters. Some people working in harness racing have no idea how horses or horse anatomy functions. At the stable I worked at, I was the only employee that could recognize a horse with colic.

Owners of horses checked in only once or twice a year at the stable and they mostly talked about races to enter and when to sell their horses. They never asked about how the horses were doing. Owners of racing horses or breeding horses are given tax breaks. But retired horses or horses recovering from an injury are not. They are not making money, so they are either sold for slaughter or euthanized. Even horses retired in good health are sold for slaughter. Very few wind up in horse welfare programs, although the actual percentage is unknown.

Horses live an average of 30 years and many racers end their careers when they are six years old or even younger. Although trainers and breeders argue that they take the best of care of the horses while they have them, there are very little provisions made for retired Standardbreds, despite an industry that generates about $3 billion per year, according to the US Trotting Association (USTA).

Abandonment

Horses are also abandoned at the owner's whim. One stallion was abandoned by an owner at my stable. One day the owner just disappeared. The trainer I worked for decided it was better to sell the stallion to a butcher rather than try to track the owner down.

Some owners decide to leave not just one but an entire stable full of horses. Such as incident occurred in New Zealand in 2008, when 31 Standardbreds were abandoned. 24 had to be euthanized because of their injuries and illnesses that could have easily been prevented.

The USTA, harness racing's governing body in America, announced in May of 2010 that they would be donating $100,000 to any animal organization that had to impound a Standardbred because of abuse or neglect. Although a good first step, more needs to be done to help training Standardbreds and those off the track.

References:

Standardbred Canada. "Researchers, Intersex Horses a Hot Topic." April 28, 2010. http://standardbredcanada.ca/news/4-28-10/u-g-researchers-intersex-horses-hot-topic.html

Regarding Horses. "Backside at a Standardbred Horse Training & Horse Racing Farm." http://www.regardinghorses.com/2010/01/06/backside-at-a-standardbred-horse-training-harness-racing-farm/

The Horse.com. "US Trotting Association Supports Standardbreds in Peril." May 12, 2010. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=16335

USTA Home Page. "What is Harness Racing?" http://www.ustrotting.com/index.cfm

Pet Abuse.com. "Horse Neglect - 31 Surrendered." http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/13533/AU/NZ/

Personal experience.