video of Cooldanz on The Sunshine tour in Spain

[Elaine]

I realize this has nothing what-so-ever to do with dogs... but I just got this email from Cilla, the woman in England you purchased Cooldanz (one of our Pinto Stallions). see attached photos

Cilla just sent this email which includes a link to video of Cooldanz on the Sunshine Tour in Spain


Hi,

I now have the video from the sunshine tour so I will send that along with Utah's DVD. Commander is now with Jo and she loves him ,says he is a quick learner and very athletic I think she is quietly excited about him.

Hope you are well
Kind Regards
Cilla

Here is the link for the Cooldanz video. You have to put the cursor over the black box and the control buttons appear.
http://www.equinemedia.co.uk//cilla/cd_add_nc_april08.htm

[Elaine2]

Wow, beautiful. You and Arthur must be so excited to see him doing so well.
Impressive to say the least.
Elaine2

[Elaine]

Arthur was sad to see Cooldanz go... he was actually in Iraq in 06 when Cilla purchased Cooldanz, so he never really got to say goodbye. (attached photo of Arthur working Cooldaz when he was a baby). But Cilla has been a fantastic owner. we couldn't be more pleased with what she's donw ith Cooldanz. And she purchased Commander in 07. He is already with Jo Pay.

My plan, (i.e. Elaine's Evil Plan #13,246) is that we get Lord Baltimore, Sandro D and True Ruler to England by June. :D


And E2, "no, that is not the house you can't come to."

btw, Lil Claire has her bag packed... she's ready to go.:p

[Jan]

Love that horse!!! I do think England is the place to be!
Jan

[Elaine]

yeah I know... it's a stall thing:)

[Elaine]

About racing related deaths, here’s the data we’ve read, and this is all either quoted or paraphrased. According to the NY Racing Board there are roughly 1.5 catastrophic (fatal) injuries per 1000 starts on dirt tracks. On tracks where they have installed synthetic surfaces, the injuries are dramatically reduced. According to reports by veterinarians at 34 tracks across the country between June 2007 and early this year showed synthetic tracks averaged 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared with 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for horses that ran on dirt. So the synthetic tracks are avoiding about 25% of fatalities per 1000 starts when compared to dirt tracks.

There were 421,340 total starts in the US in 2007 (420,003 on the flat and 1,337 over fences). So, there are roughly 800 deaths for that number of starts, or between 2 and 3 per day.

But that (presumably) does not include deaths in the morning. Horses also sustain life-ending, catastrophic injuries in morning works and evening gallops. Those injuries are not included in these numbers of deaths.

Here is a link to a site on this topic http://scrollsequus.blogspot.com/

[Athy]

I think the point is that horses are for many people more than pets - they are athletes. There are many, many sporthorses out there. It's what the horse industry is all about. Rarely do we purchase a horse, then let him stand in the pastures and do nothing (except for me - all my equines are essentially lawn ornaments!) In any case, as with ANY sport, there are fatalities and in the case of equestrian sports, fatalities on both sides of the species. One of my niece's best girlfriends died in a jumping accident just a month ago - a freak accident, she broke her neck when she fell off and hit her head straight on. Wearing a top quality helmet, a body vest, she was a good rider. But bad things happen.

I think that we try to make any sport as safe as possible through technology and equestrian sports are the same. Better riding helmets, better surfaces, breakaway irons, leg supports. But at the end of the day, as with any activity, bad things can and do happen. While I don't agree with many of the Thoroughbred horse racing industry practices, I think we should remember that every equestrian sport has dangers for both riders and horses.

[Reni Margar]

Every sport has risks...I'm not talking about that...as I stated..so therefore, I'm off this "thread"....I don't think most people are aware about the dark side of the racing industry and I'm sure it would shock most.
And for the record.. some do look at their horses as "pets" and they are not just commodities.
R.

[Elaine]

I'm aware of the statistics. Though it does not address the whole thoroughbred industry...breeding practices...... It's not pretty. I stand on what I said previously....most racers don't have a good life. I know people that have owned racers. Very few end up grazing happily ever after till they die... hence, ALL the rescues that have popped up for them.
Odd to me that I was praising yours, with only one sentence to how you might be feeling about the death of a horse,{ since you have them} and you come out with statistics about synthetic tracks verses turf. :confused:
Forget it...I was just commenting on your horses.
R.

Sorry if I didn't put the statistics in a context... I had a phone call and must have pressed submit before I finished my thought... :rolleyes:. Sorry, the mind slips from time to time... and after you hit 50 it's all down hill.:o Btw, I posted the data because I thought some of the readers here might like a general sense of what goes on in racing.

We don't have racing TB's, but we've had friends who are in to racing (on the flat and steeplechasers). Can't say racing appeals to us in any way. For that matter, we’re a bit gun shy about Eventing, though I respect that it reflects tremendous discipline and conditioning of both horse and rider.

About our horses, thank you for the compliment. We approach the horses about the way we approach the dogs... we are cautious and look for forever homes (in contrast to the European approach to breeding horses as a crop). Absolutely yes, there is a dark side to the horse industry, both here and around the world. And yes, without question organizations like Canter have been a god send to the TB's. But for those of us here who are in to horses, I am preaching to the choir. You also know that the US equine market is flat, expenses are higher than ever and training a horse properly is prohibitively expensive. We hear about people dumping horses all over this country. Very sad :( We have not bred for a few years... and we take responsibility for what we have bred. Btw, I do not know any equine breeder who actually makes a profit when all is said and done. Most are lucky to break even.


Like many who saw the Derby (or the re-runs of the race) we were very saddened by the death of that beautiful filly. Having watched every Triple Crown race going back to 1968, I used to be a fan... but after Ruffian, and more recently Barbaro, I must say I’ve lost interest. :(

[Athy]

And for the record.. some do look at their horses as "pets" and they are not just commodities.
R.

Wait a minute, Reni, I never said "commodities" - I said athletes! There is a difference! My horses are absolutely pets. I do ride but we do not compete, we mostly noodle around and the two ponies I adopted from the shelter do nothing but keep my Thoroughbred company.

Athy

[Reni Margar]

Sorry if you think I was ramming you...I know you are a horse person...so I was a bit taken aback when you started about racing surfaces.:confused: I know that horses live a long time and finding a forever home is almost impossible.
I don't know you or Arthur. I appreciate your response. Thanks.
I also was affected by Ruffian and Barbaro.
I find it interesting that horse people are into Dobermans !... The elegance of the two species is almost parallel.
R.

[Elaine]

Sorry if you think I was ramming you...I know you are a horse person...so I was a bit taken aback when you started about racing surfaces.:confused: R.

Oh I see... the data I quoted came directly from a discussion of the incident on an Racing forum... reflecting where I was at in the dialogue. I agree that it was out of context here on DSNN. :)

From what I hear, racing folks care about the differences in injury rates on the different track surfaces... their feeling seems to be that ONE way to minimize these kinds of tragedies is to improve the surface of the track itself. Obviously others are concerned about the conformation of TBs being bred these days... and the cumulative impact on the breed from allowing the use of formally banned substances, which allow otherwise unsound horses to race and be successful, which snowballs into them being sought out by breeders... to pass along traits that would otherwise be eliminated.

As for "ramming me"... Not to worry, I'm tough...:D

I am guessing that your concerns are grounded in a breeding strategy which says, “breed 100,000 in the hopes of getting the one great one, and screw what happens to those who fall short." I think we all know that life for an unwanted horse is not good. That gets back to something relevant to DSNN... there is a balance between breeding enough to see what your bloodlines will produce (i.e. breeding enough to understand what the best combinations will be for your particular dog[s], so that the dog will pass on the very best it is capable of), and breeding at levels which are inhumane... or, in the context of dogs, breeding simply to sell puppies. Breeding is a HUGE commitment of time energy and resources.

Rambling along with this thought, we believe that breeders should breed their good dogs... if only to put back in the gene pool the positive attributes of the good quality specimens. If mediocre specimens are the only ones being bred, the breed overall will suffer. But I entirely understand people saying it is too much work, too much commitment and too much to deal with overall. I think that’s why I favor an ongoing open dialogue about the topic (and the challenges we face) rather than some harsh judgment or edict. Breeding is such a labor of love... emphasis on "labor.” we should be supportive of each other. And a good dog is a good dog, regardless of who owns it or who bred it. I rising tide floats all boats... and speaking of floating... my coffee has just kicked in.:eek: