Natural Horsemanship

Motivation

Written by James Cooler

pring is almost over, and the heat wave of summer is about to settle in. I hope all the Lowcountry horsemen and women got to enjoy the wonderful weather we had this spring. Despite not having as much rain as we would have liked, the mild temperatures and low level of bugs have been a plus.

This month, I would like to take a step off the horsemanship path, and talk about something almost everyone has probably heard about this year, the Kentucky Derby and the unfortunate accident that Eight Belles had. Since horses are not only my passion, but also my livelihood, I wanted to take a moment and share my feelings on the incident with others.

First off, I’d like to say that I don’t oppose horse racing or any other competitive event that involves horses. I love horses, and I love competition. I hope that down the road, as my career allows, I can shift my focus to more of a competitive nature, and apply the principles that I teach to the sports I hope to compete in. The problem that usually arises in the field of equine sports and competition is that the best interests of the horse are often forgone in order to achieve the goal that the person has set for themselves. Like anything else, there is a wrong way and a right way to do something. When the relationship and well being of the horse is neglected in pursuit of a personal goal, I believe that this is the wrong way to go about competitive equine sports, whether rodeo or horse racing. It takes a huge amount of personal responsibility and development for an individual to truly achieve the type of relationship that should be built with a horse that the person plans to compete on, and this is why it is often overlooked. Too often, we go for the prize at the pace we feel is effective, and neglect the pace that should be taken for the horse.

In the case of Eight Belles, the Kentucky Derby, and the many other horse injuries that have occurred in the horse racing industry, there is another serious, but simple problem. They need to quit racing horses at such a young age. You will here countless theories on what needs to be done to prevent these injuries; better tracks, straight tracks, different types of training, and on and on. But don’t let any of that fool you. The answer truly is simple. Horses don’t fully mature until they are 5 to 6 years old. Most race horses begin their training at 18 months. After that, they are racing full time as 2 and 3 year olds. This is like putting a 12 year old kid on a pro football training program. Give me a break. There is just no way that the horse’s bones are able to handle the stress that the beefed up muscles and tendons put on them at that age. I’ve seen barrel racing horses that were 18 years old competing at top ranked events two or three times a week, running just as hard and fast as a race horse does. What’s the difference? They didn’t begin their intense training programs until they were 5 years old. I’m telling you, the answer really is simple. Allow the horses to fully develop before we begin racing them.

If the answer is that simple, then why don’t they change the rules you might ask. Unfortunately, the answer lies in money, power, and politics. The sooner race horse owners can get the horses on the track, the sooner they can find out if the horse will produce wins or not. If they don’t, they retire them and send them off to a different career, if they weren’t injured in the process. I know this is a strong opinion, and I wouldn’t be quite so harsh if it weren’t for the fact that the horse racing industry is a billion dollar business. I know that these horse owners have the means to get the knowledge and education that is necessary to understand what would be better for the horses, both physically and mentally. Maybe I’m wrong, but from where I’m standing, it seems to me that greed and ignorance seem to be the real problem.

The last thing that I’ll say is that if race horses were allowed to fully develop and mature before their careers began, then there were be the possibility of these horses developing a longer lasting heritage and legacy behind their name. It truly would be possible for these horses to race for 5 years or longer. Imagine if Street Sense, Barbaro, and Big Brown all got to race each other in the Derby this year? How exciting would that be? Imagine if the likes of Jerry Rice and Walter Payton only got to play football for one? I know my analogy may sound like a stretch to some people, but I honestly believe this to be the truth, and I hope that some day we get to find out before more horses are injured and put down. Thanks for letting me sound off and listening to my opinions. I hope to here some of yours. For questions or comments, please email from my website at www.CoolerHorsemanship.com.