For The First Time Ever Caught On Camera: Horse Racing Exposed – Drugs, Deception & Death
“Imagine being pushed beyond the point of exhaustion: the bones in your legs straining to hold up the weight of your body, your bleeding lungs incapable of taking in enough air, and you’re forced to keep running despite it all.” (1) For the first time ever, PETA has captured the cruel standard industry practices of horse racing on camera during an undercover investigation (one of many that they do) of leading thoroughbred trainer Steve Asmussen. Over a 26-year career, he has earned more than $214 million in purses. He has built one of the largest and most successful operations. Why should we force horses to spend their lives racing against each other for our personal amusement? It’s hard to believe this is something we’ve bought into, we have no right to do this.
The way we treat animals on this planet is heart breaking, and they don’t have a voice. It’s of no use to sit back and say nothing, we send our thank you out to PETA for the various investigations they do to bring awareness to and help stop the abuse of animals worldwide. What if another race from another planet came here and did this to us? It’s no different. How we can do this to living, breathing, loving, empathetic, intelligent beings is beyond words. What does this say about the human race? We have a lot of growing up to do, many things to learn and a long way to go. We share this planet with others, we have no right to control them and use them as slaves for our amusement. Eventually, everybody on the planet will feel this way and these atrocities will stop, we are the key. What’s interesting about this investigation is that the undercover investigators worked for Asmussen. This is a great example of how we need to be the change we want to see. All of what we see happening here on Earth, and the way we treat animals is a result of our behavior. Those that work directly within these industries are having a shift in consciousness and ultimately that is the key to change. Our participation must be taken out of the equation. These horses are constantly pushed beyond their limits. An average of 24 horses suffer fatal breakdowns at tracks across the country every single week. 10,000 broken down horses are sent to slaughter every single year. Some horses are even reportedly electro-shocked.
They are forced to race and train on chronically painful hooves with holes in them, some of which are even held together with super glue. Horses are also routinely doped up, and their bodies are progressively destroyed as a result.
The investigator documented some of the most commonly over used drugs and treatments: – Although it’s approved only as a prescription medication for horses with hypothyroidism, the drug thyroxine was being administered to many, if not all, horses in Asmussen’s New York stable, without any apparent testing or evidence of any thyroid condition. This drug was recklessly administered seemingly just to speed up metabolism—not for any therapeutic purpose – Lasix—a controversial drug banned in Europe on race days—was injected into “basically all” of Asmussen’s horses who were being raced or timed in New York. A powerful drug meant to prevent pulmonary bleeding in the lungs during extreme exercise, Lasix is a diuretic that can serve as a masking agent for other drugs and also dehydrates horses to make them lose weight and run faster. One of New York State’s top horse-racing veterinarians admitted on camera to PETA’s investigator that Lasix is a performance-enhancing medication. – Horses’ legs showed multiple scars from being burned with liquid nitrogen―a process called freeze-firing―and burned with other irritating “blistering” chemicals, purportedly to stimulate blood flow to their sore legs. – Horses were also given muscle relaxants, sedatives, and other potent pharmaceuticals to be used for treating ailments such as ulcers, lameness, and inflammation, at times even when the animals had no apparent symptoms “We witnessed a horse so sore it hurt him even to stand, thyroid medication dumped into horses daily feed, and horses who had been blistered with chemical paint in a bizarre attempt to stimulate healing. Even at this top level of racing, the syringe is the top training aid, and if the horses get out alive, they’re broken.” (1) I know this information is heart breaking, but it’s necessary so please share. This incident is currently under investigation, and hopefully other trainers will soon be facing the same investigation. I’m glad this is getting wide spread attention in the mainstream, you can read the New York times article here. This information can save lives and help stop similar occurrences, so spread it far and wide. Source: (1) https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=displaypage=UserActionid=5345 .
Read the full article at the original website
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