Is thoroughbred racing cruel?
Forgive me for sounding like a goddamn hippie, but how is it not unethical to place animals in physically brutalizing and potentially fatal physical situations for our own amusement?
I’m conflicted on this. On one hand, a lot of horses have career or life ending injuries in races. On the other hand, the horses have been bred for years to race. As much as anything can be, it’s in their blood. A lot of the most drastic injuries happen when the horses don’t stop running even if they’ve broken bones because running is what they do. The thoroughbreds are amazing and beautiful animals. Mostly, they are very well taken care of—and sometimes they die doing what they love. Keeping them away from their purpose may be more cruel than letting them do what they do.
Of course, there are other places to find horrible abuse in the horse industry. I would start with the horse slaughter industry. Next look at what they do to the Tennessee walking horses to get them to step as high as they do.