This Magic Moment
This is our very special rescue horse Magic. Magic came to us from the auction. Horrifically overworked and dumped (at age 3) when he couldn’t perform, his all too brief existence was, for the most part, spent at the hands of human cruelty. Magic was a thoroughbred who came to the Bay State Equine Rescue on August 12, 2004 and spent a magical moment in his life with us. He was underweight, poorly shod, had blown his right front tendon, had multiple fractures in his knees, and numerous strained and sprained muscles. Magic had suffered for three years in the racing industry. Magic touched all of our lives in one way or another. Numerous volunteers worked diligently to rehabilitate and restore Magic's health. Magic found love, compassion, and human kindness in his short six months with us. While we are deeply saddened by his passing, his time at the rescue brought us together in a way we never thought possible. It has strengthened our commitment, reaffirmed our mission and taught us that life is not about winning the race;
it’s about the journey.
As seen from these images from when he first arrived at the rescue, Magic's right tendon was so stretched out and was shod so poorly that the tendon could no longer support his leg and he was almost standing on his heel.
Today, the racetrack is where horses receive treatment from two different extremes and everything inbetween. One extreme is pampering and luxury, seen by the televised images of Kentucky Derby winners and great stakes winners who are cared for with absolute perfection and have their own personal attendants. While there are horses well treated with nothing but the best care there are many on the other extreme. Many thoroughbreds who make it to the track experience physical, emotional, and chemical torture daily. Some trainers think of their horses as machines and as a way to earn a living. These horses are worked almost daily, with little consideration given to injuries or illness as a horse is only worth keeping if it's earning money. These trainers will work these injured horses until the end of the season, then they are sold, left behind at the track for someone else to deal with, or shipped off to the slaughter house.
As seen by the following statistics, many thoroughbreds suffer at the hands of the racing industry. The ruthless commercial horse racing industry causes immense suffering to 15,000 foals each year. Two thirds end up slaughtered for pet food while the others are denied freedom, pushed to their limits for speed before their bodies can handle it, 375 are literally raced to death, and the remainder live only a few years suffering from terminal health problems.
Some people feel that the slaughtering of thoroughbreds is acceptable because these people think that all horses who end up in the slaughter house are severely injured, sick or otherwise useless and do not need to be overpopulating the equine world. The truth is that many of these horses are suffering from a very curable injury or are merely just too slow to make it on the racetrack. With some care and retraining, most of these horses can lead very successful careers in other disciplines, such as jumpers or pleasure horses. Some of the horses end up in the slaughter house because their racing career is over and the owners no longer want to care for them. For example, Ferdinand recently died in a slaughter house and he won the Kentucky Derby, one of the most well known and most prized races in the industry. Another example is Exceller. Exceller raced 33 times, winning 15 and earned over $1.6 million in purses, competing in stakes races in England, France, and the United States. His most memorable victory was the 1978 Jockey Club Cold Cup, where he beat both Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed. He was the sire of 19 stakes winners and 40 stakes horses. In 1997, he died in a slaughter house. If people are willing to send such a great horses to die in the slaughter house, one can only imagine the fate of horses who are not champions and who do not have the talent to win on the track.
