Equine sports medicine must move forward

Years ago, a good friend of mine was a college baseball pitcher.

During the off-season, he suffered an ACL tear, and for the next several months endured painful surgery, followed by rehab, and could barely get around the house as he was required to use crutches and huge heavy braces. When it was all said and done and he returned to the mound, he sported a long scar that reminds him of his injury to this day.

In modern times, an ACL tear is still a significant injury. But the repair and rehabilitation has improved by leaps and bounds. According to WebMD, ‘the length of time until you can return to normal activities or sports is different for every person; it may range from 6 to 12 weeks.’

The point is, it’s very fortunate that for today’s athletes, treatment for injuries has evolved with the times.

Of course, that’s for human athletes. If you’re a horse, it’s often a different story.

The tragedy of Eight Belles’ death at last week’s Kentucky Derby came on many fronts.

Here was a filly, just the fourth in history running among the stallions at the Derby, and she was holding her own. In fact, the only horse she was unable to leave in her dust was the one who was favored to ‘ and did ‘ win.

But after completing the race, the stress of the speeds she achieved, as well as the breeding which places thousands of pounds of muscle atop the lightest bone structure imaginable, was too much. Both Eight Belles’ front ankles snapped, and she was in so much pain, she had to be killed where she lay on the track.

‘Euthanized’ is the word they used on the TV broadcast and in other media; they used the phrase ‘immediately euthanized’ in an attempt, I suppose, to show the severity of her injuries and how quick they were to put her out of her misery. But while that euphemism isn’t quite as brash, it still means that they killed her right then and there.

Now, I’m not going to rail against the sport of horse racing. I may not agree with it, but it’s not the same as bullfighting, or Michael Vick’s dog ring, or cockfights in some backwoods barn.

A horse’s instinct is to run, after all. They don’t have to shock them to get them out of the gate, or prod them with barbed sticks. They’ll run with minimal encouragement, and if they choose not to, they’ll stop and flip those little jockeys right out onto their keesters. We’ve all seen it happen.

But what I am against is the science of the sport not progressing with equal speed on every level.

According to ‘idausa.org,’ an animal rights Website, around 800 horses die each year from fatal injuries suffered on U.S. tracks, and over four times that number are injured so badly they can’t finish their races.

Among the causes for those tragic numbers are racing horses so young their bones aren’t fully developed, and selective breeding which fails to avoid genetic defects in joints and bones which can lead to injuries such as those suffered by Eight Belles.

Of course, last week’s injury could have a simple explanation. She might have simply got crossed up and tripped over her own legs, which can cause quite a fall when it happens at 20-30 miles per hour.

But regardless of the reason ‘ natural, accidental, human or otherwise ‘ for Eight Belles’ injury, the ironic fact remains that the most humane course of treatment was instant death.

That is where the sport of kings needs to concentrate its efforts ‘ on making the potential for recovery grow with the times. Because as long as things like last week’s tragedy continue to occur, the popularity of their sport will continue to decline.

And maybe, come to think of it, that’s not such a bad thing.