Quote:
Originally Posted by Immortal6
This is a bit morbid but what does "euthanized on track" mean? Surely they don't put the horse down right there in front of the grandstands? I've only watched live racing at a Fonner and I've been fortunate to never witness a horse break down there. Do they somehow get the injured horse loaded and back to a barn to attempt to give it any comfort before euthanizing? Do they lethally inject like they would if your family pet has to be put down?
Always thought about how heartbreaking it must be for track vets, trainers, etc to have to go through this. Doubtful I could stomach it.
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That is exactly what they mean. Horses only go back to the barn if they can walk into the van. Otherwise, it is more humane to euthanize them where they are.
Worse incident I saw was over thirty years ago at Atlantic City. An over aggressive jockey clipped heals at the furlong pole, and a trailing horse fell over his mount and broke its neck. Unfortunately, they were ill prepared for this, and ending up tying the dead horse to a rake and dragging it off the track. It was really morbid.
