Why?

[only11]

Why did horses have longer careers back then?Didnt injuries occured?Is it because of all the medication used?Breeding?
Premature retiring of superstar horses also hurt the game.
Crist voted for Ghostzapper as horse of the decade..the horse ran only 11 times..

[46zilzal]

Meds, breeding speed with speed and NO stamina (offer NO stamina contests at graded status), Meds, inbreeding and not trying to look for good out crosses, Meds, Meds, Meds Meds

[OTM Al]

There was better money relatively in the racing. Now there is not. Simple economics.

[tzipi]

Why did horses have longer careers back then?Didnt injuries occured?Is it because of all the medication used?Breeding?
Premature retiring of superstar horses also hurt the game.
Crist voted for Ghostzapper as horse of the decade..the horse ran only 11 times..

Number one reason is breeding money. It's killed the game and robbed the fans of it's superstars. Number two,they breed these horses for more and more speed every year,leading to more breakdowns. Last would probably be meds.

Also if they retired horses like they do today. There would probably be alot more undefeated horses in racing history :D

[46zilzal]

Read the good book Headless Horsemen and it will tell the tale

[only11]

Number one reason is breeding money. It's killed the game and robbed the fans of it's superstars. Number two,they breed these horses for more and more speed every year,leading to more breakdowns. Last would probably be meds.

Also if they retired horses like they do today. There would probably be alot more undefeated horses in racing history :D
why would speed lead to breakdowns every horse has some speed.

[MickJ26]

I know it's not the main point of the thread, but, Ghostzapper is the horse of the decade because there wasn't a horse alive who could beat him from the Vosburgh on. Fragile and frail? Yes. When he was on his game he was unbeatable.
Just my opinion.

[46zilzal]

why would speed lead to breakdowns every horse has some speed.
Old Physics principle Force = (mass) acceleration

Go faster and faster with LESS bone mass in between the body and the ground and POP! goes the check ligaments, splint bones, knees and sesamioids

[tzipi]

why would speed lead to breakdowns every horse has some speed.

The way they have been doing the breeding over the last few decades,its made the horses less durable in most opinions. Also back in the day the horses could run at a cruising speed for long distances. It was easier on their bodies. Now they are all asked to go all out high speed for very short distances. It's alot harder on their fragile bodies. The bone in their leg is skinnier than a humans and they can carry over a ton on them.

[Citation1947]

Most of what was said above plus, harder tracker, weaker thinner bone structure and different training methods. Many trainers today train too hard too often.

[Citation1947]

Old Physics principle Force = (mass) acceleration

Go faster and faster with LESS bone mass in between the body and the ground and POP! goes the check ligaments, splint bones, knees and sesamioids

When it comes to the splint bone, it's usually not the splint bone itself that goes POP from over-training, but rather the ligament that attaches the splint bone to the cannon that is strained/sprained. Normally when you have a fracture of the splint bone, it is due to a direct trauma, such as, a kick or rolling.

[PaceAdvantage]

Why did horses have longer careers back then?Didnt injuries occured?Is it because of all the medication used?Breeding?
Premature retiring of superstar horses also hurt the game.
Crist voted for Ghostzapper as horse of the decade..the horse ran only 11 times..How far back is "back then?"

Secretariat never raced beyond his three-year-old season, and that was 37 years ago....

[Tuffmug]

But he raced every 2-3 weeks!!!

[Dave Schwartz]

I think that the biggest issue is the breeding money and the impact it has on removing the strongest horses from the game early in their careers.

As was mentioned above, breeding a champ is more lucrative than racing them and there is no risk of tarnishing their proven record.


Dave

[castaway01]

If you're talking about why did they race longer as in more years/seasons, that's been covered well in the thread---there's more money in breeding the champion than continuing to race the horse. A lot more money.

If you're talking about why more horses were capable of racing more often as in total number of races without breaking down:

1) In the past 20 or 30 years, horses have been bred to develop sprint speed at an early age rather than win at the classic distances. Some of the sires that breed those types of horses were rather unsound or at least they commonly pass that trait on to offspring. Ignoring soundness and confirmation in favor of speed and precociousness led to a weakening of the breed. As the unsound horses breed yet more unsound horses, the problem only deepens.

2) Yearlings and two-year-olds are treated with steroids to make them more impressive in the sales ring and to put up fast 1/4 times for those sales. Some argue that this weakens their bones and affects their soundness later on, which you technically can't prove because no one admits giving the steroids, but seems logical.

3) Drug use leads to and/or covers up injuries that horses wouldn't otherwise race through, leading them to finally break down. I don't know if this just follows from #1 and #2 or is more of a cause in itself.

4) Training philosophies have changed to believe that horses run better with more rest between races. If you have more rest between races, you end up running 4 or 5 in a year instead of 8 or 10.

That's what I'd give as the top 4 reasons. I'd argue that these changes have slowly taken place over the last 30 years, maybe longer, and will be hard to reverse overnight (if someone wanted to do so, which it doesn't appear they do).

[onefast99]

Last month was the first time I have ever heard a bloodstock agent refer to the word "soft boned" on a horse he had for sale.

[skate]

tracks are built for speed, not endurance. speed kills.

If you're a horse, go to the FG.

[SmartyLane]

Perfect example is Unbrilded's Song horses.....everyone knows these horses have soundness issues (i.e. Dunkirk the latest) yet he is continually siring a large number of horses...............

Why? So they can run 3-5 races and win them, then off to the shed...............

Zensational another one of his. Screaming fast horse, no stamina, and is gone before you know it.

Dunkirk as mentioned above, off to stud after showing brilliance. Has the stamina, but the soundness? and now he will be siring babies very soon :((

Old Fashioned. Another Unbridled's Song with soundness problems.

Yet people still pay 100k for him and will continue to do so. He sires great runners if they can take the rigors of the racing.

Double edged sword, but regardless if horses breakdown if they were great runners or sire great runners they will have plenty of breeding opportunities.

[castaway01]

Thanks for the examples SmartyLane...Unbridled's Song is a great example of what I wrote about.

[Steve R]

Perfect example is Unbrilded's Song horses.....everyone knows these horses have soundness issues (i.e. Dunkirk the latest) yet he is continually siring a large number of horses...............

Why? So they can run 3-5 races and win them, then off to the shed...............

Zensational another one of his. Screaming fast horse, no stamina, and is gone before you know it.

Dunkirk as mentioned above, off to stud after showing brilliance. Has the stamina, but the soundness? and now he will be siring babies very soon :((

Old Fashioned. Another Unbridled's Song with soundness problems.

Yet people still pay 100k for him and will continue to do so. He sires great runners if they can take the rigors of the racing.

Double edged sword, but regardless if horses breakdown if they were great runners or sire great runners they will have plenty of breeding opportunities.
Sometimes our perceptions are inconsistent with the facts and often we generalize based on a few high profile examples. I'm not suggesting Unbridled's Song represents the height of soundness, but as a sire he is better in that regard than some and worse than others. Current BRIS data show Unbridled's Song's runners race for an average of 2.26 years with an average of 10.7 lifetime starts. A.P. Indy's figures are 2.47 years and 12.3 lifetime starts. OTOH, Giant's Causeway's figures are 2.17 years and 9.4 lifetime starts. Maybe none of these are sound sires, but I guarantee there are plenty with poorer stats. For example, Street Cry's figures are 1.95 years and just 9.1 lifetime starts. Among elite sires, I would say Unbridled's Song's runners are about average with regard to longevity.

[46zilzal]

When it comes to the splint bone, it's usually not the splint bone itself that goes POP from over-training, but rather the ligament that attaches the splint bone to the cannon that is strained/sprained.
I am well aware of interosseous membranes and their pathophsiology.

The common horseman's term is "pops a splint" and it is used by the doctors of veterinary medicine I talk with and I use the same vernacular

[Citation1947]

I am well aware of interosseous membranes and their pathophsiology.

The common horseman's term is "pops a splint" and it is used by the doctors of veterinary medicine I talk with and I use the same vernacular

I am well aware of the term, "pops a splint"...my disagreement was when you stated, "POP! goes the....splint bones, knees and sesamioids" when horses "Go faster and faster with LESS bone mass in between the body and the ground"

My arguement was that the splint bone itself usually is not what goes POP from racing/training or from going faster and faster!

There are two types of "splint" injuries. First there is the more uncommon type caused by direct trauma. Here the splint bone itself is actually injured from a hard blow of some type whether from a kick or rolling and hitting the leg, etc. Fractures of the splint bone are more common from direct trauma.


Then there is the more common version that we see and treat 95% of the time called a "True Splint" or in horseman's terminology, "popped a splint"... and the only reason "splint" is even mentioned or grouped is because of the inflamation and swelling that surrounds the splint bone. A True Splint is caused by straining or spraining of the ligament that binds the splint bone to the cannon and this is normally from racing/training or horses who "Go faster and faster with LESS bone mass in between the body and the ground" /wink

You see, when a horse "pops a splint", it is the ligament and not the "splint bone" itself that is injured. Dont believe me? look it up. Stop believing everything your vet says. Vets are like mechanics, some are good and some are not so good.

[joanied]

How far back is "back then?"

Secretariat never raced beyond his three-year-old season, and that was 37 years ago....

He did have an excuse...Penny had to save the farm:faint: ...too bad for every race fan ever...and the colt too...if there was ever a horse that should have raced as a 4 yr. old, he was it.

[only11]

He did have an excuse...Penny had to save the farm:faint: ...too bad for every race fan ever...and the colt too...if there was ever a horse that should have raced as a 4 yr. old, he was it.
you think he could have been better