The Dangers of Horse Race Injuries
Horse racing, which has evolved from a primitive contest of speed and endurance into a multibillion-dollar public-entertainment business, is a spectacle that involves huge fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, enormous sums of money and fervent betting. But behind the romanticized facade is a world of injuries, drug abuse and gruesome breakdowns. Some animal welfare activists think the sport should be banned entirely, while others believe that increased regulation and self-regulation can help it improve.
Horses have massive torsos and spindly legs, making them prone to injury. They also don’t reach full maturity — that is, when their bones stop growing and the growth plates in their vertebrae fuse together — until they are 6, yet the typical racehorse is rushed into intensive training at age 2 and then raced in four-mile heats. This makes them prone to stress, illness and breakdowns.
The most common injury is a fracture of the sesamoids, two small bones on each side of the front of the knee or hock. These can be small chips or involve the entire bone, and they are often accompanied by an inflammatory condition known as sesamoiditis. Other common injuries include bucked shins, strained hamstrings, shin sores and fetlock spavins.
Trainers have been accused of masking painkillers and performance-enhancing drugs under the guise of medical treatment, thereby helping the horses to compete more effectively and power through a race without feeling any soreness. The controversial drug furosemide, commonly sold under the brand name Lasix, is one such product. It helps the horse lose water weight, thus allowing it to run faster. But it’s also been linked to the deaths of several racehorses.
Adding to the risk of injury is the fact that many races are run on dirt surfaces, which are harder and more difficult for horses to navigate than hard-surfaced tracks. The resulting injuries can include fractures, colic and laminitis, the latter of which causes painful and often fatal conditions such as laminitis and founder.
The emergence of regulatory bodies within the industry, stricter safety rules and new pushes for better breeding practices could help horse racing recover from its current crisis. But a complete ban seems unlikely, given the huge economic interest in the sport and the huge number of horses that are bred for it. Subscribe to get unlimited website access and our weekly Good News Newsletter! You can cancel or pause your subscription at any time.