09-23-2015, 01:02 PM
Mr. Kerr,
That is the sculpture I was thinking of. Thanks for finding a picture of it. And I agree with you. Today races are a lot shorter and horses are bred more for conformation and speed. Back then I think they would have been bred more for stamina, endurance, durability and speed would have taken a back seat. I think the racing industry today should breed some of those old qualities back into the thoroughbreds, because I find the breed is getting fragile. The horses structural build can't keep up with the speed and demands being put on them. This is why you see so many with injuries and other problems. Back when we raced horses some of them raced till they were 13 years old and started 114 or more times! Now days this almost unheard of and if a horse starts 40 times in his career they think he's run a lot. I also think the racing industry needs to have more route races instead of sprints. I believe it would be easier on the horse. I also believe that back then that some horses had to be multi purpose - travel, war, hunting, etc.- where as today a lot of horses are specialized and are single purpose.
Cheers,
Thomas
That is the sculpture I was thinking of. Thanks for finding a picture of it. And I agree with you. Today races are a lot shorter and horses are bred more for conformation and speed. Back then I think they would have been bred more for stamina, endurance, durability and speed would have taken a back seat. I think the racing industry today should breed some of those old qualities back into the thoroughbreds, because I find the breed is getting fragile. The horses structural build can't keep up with the speed and demands being put on them. This is why you see so many with injuries and other problems. Back when we raced horses some of them raced till they were 13 years old and started 114 or more times! Now days this almost unheard of and if a horse starts 40 times in his career they think he's run a lot. I also think the racing industry needs to have more route races instead of sprints. I believe it would be easier on the horse. I also believe that back then that some horses had to be multi purpose - travel, war, hunting, etc.- where as today a lot of horses are specialized and are single purpose.
Cheers,
Thomas
Thomas Guenther
