Even More on Integrity in the Arabian Horse Industry
Lest I forget, the Horse Lover's Blog Carnival is today at GirlsHorseClub
I've been writing about integrity and also areas that lack it in the horse industry. Before I get off the subject I wanted to share some of the posts I've come across that are also addressing this aspect of the horse world.
Defrost Indoors posted on the Bridlepath blog about the case of pony doping in the UK. How a mother can think she's helping her child by doping the ponies of other children so her daughter can win is beyond me but it is an example of the kind on nonsense that happens in the industry.
I am aware of instances in the past where horses at the Arabian US Nationals have had guards posted at their stalls because of the fear of this kind of attack. It's truly idiotic the methods some will resort to to win.
Since I was inspired to start this whole "integrity kick" by the information I learned about Calvin Burel during the preshow for the Preakness Stakes, I thought it was only fitting that I should address the other side of the coin from the Preakmess as well.
On the blog, EquineMine, photogchic posts that
the trainer of Curlin, winner of the Preakness Stakes, has been know to drug his horses in the past.
Was Curlin drugged to make him perform better or is he really a great horse. I guess we will never know for sure because the shadow of doubt is out there due to the prior conduct of the trainer. But it's a reminder that what you see is not always what you get in the horse industry.
It's unfortunate that In blogging about integrity it was much easier to find information and "know" about the bad stuff (lack of integrity) that is was the good stuff (true integrity). After all of this I want to end on another positive story and I will do that in tomorrow's post.
In the meantime, check out the Horse Lover's Blog Carnival
The sad part about integrity is that most people will work hard to achieve success and never cheat - after all, that's normal ethics. However, regardless of the sport or the place, someone will always be tempted enough to cheat. ruining it for all the hard workers, unless the cheater is caught.
ReplyDeleteI'm in weird position in Niger, where the rich cheat openly. At training, my horses are among the very best, but whenever it comes down to real racing, the other horses perform extraordinarily well. Only to appearh exhausted and depressed the following days. My vet is probably the best in town. He used to work with race horses but vowed never to do it again after seeing what the owners were doing to their horses. According to him, there is a doping preperate from Nigeria that is called a one-timer. You give it to your horse and he runs like nother before - the horse wins the race but never recovers. Yes, you got it right, the horse never recovers but for the really rich, that doens't matter, because they're not personally attached to their race horses anyway, it's just a question of status.
Somehow, the honest people in the world will always fall short to the cheaters in some way or another, but in the end, doing things the right way will give you so much more. I will probably never win one of the great races of West Africa despite the quality of my horses - however, I will have my integrity intact for as long as I live.
Cheers!
Ishtar
So true MiKael.
ReplyDeleteI have just looked in on Marestare and she looks very ansy tonight, swishing her tail a lot and holding it up, I think she is VERY close, she just has a really restless and irritable disposition.
Will read on.
Lori
xx
Thanks for linking to my post. I just want to see the race industry change. It truly could be the sport of kings if they would change some rules, like barring 2 year olds from running, make all tracks poly-surfaced, allow jockeys to weigh a bit more, and really make trainers and owners responsible for the well being of these animals.
ReplyDelete