How do horses perceive horse races?

All but one has a pretty similar view. A horse’s ass.

If horses were really “into” racing, then jockeys wouldn’t need whips.

It is all about food.

Some want to win more than others. just like racing dogs or racing people. Jockeys and trainers will tell you there are horses that really have their own drive to win.

“RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!”

Yes, and yes.

Riders of any horses will tell you that some horses insist on being at the front of the pack and will crowd the heels of a horse in front of them or even bite them on the rump.

Other horses are uncomfortable in the lead and will panic if forced to lead or go out alone.

Race horses are athletes and the successful ones live to run. There is no food reward – they don’t get a treat at the end when they win. It’s their job.

The retired racehorses that my aunt has adopted over the years love to run. They look forward to races as something wonderful. In fact, even though retired, her horses will race each other or even cars, running around and around the paddock.

I would suspect that running a race releases endorphins in the horse so it makes it feel good to run.

What matters is the reward.

I wouldn’t know for sure, but you can find a very interesting account of related ideas in Seabiscuit, the book or course.

They love it.

@rebbel : Very cool video.

I would imagine the running is pleasant for them, but not necessarily running as fast as they possibly can for the entire race, while being whipped in the arse. I’m sure, as @syz mentioned that some do have the drive, but how many horses have this natural athletic instinct?

“WHY IS HE HITTING ME?! AAAAAHHH”

@ubersiren I think you are right.
Usain Bolt, c.s. also like to run because they get pleasure from it.
I’m not sure if they would run as hard if they all got a jockey strapped to their backs.

Horses are broken and forced into racing. They are conditioned to do one thing, and one thing only, on command. Likely the only thing the horse thinks is “run!”.

It’s an inhumane practice to force animals to perform for our amusent.

Since I am not a horse, I can only say what I believe to be true. I’ve also purchased a couple off the track to train as BarrelHorses as I competed professionally for many years. Horses have the need to compete, they don’t like to be left behind, and can be very aggressive. They also love to run. It’s also all in the training and trainer. Yes, there are also those that don’t like to run.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic While horse racing does have its abusive side, it also treats the horses well and is well-regulated. Animals not involved with people have short, brutual lives in the wild spending all their time struggling to survive. I am not sure if given the choice that is what they would pick.

Usually horses that move that fast LOVE to move that fast. And horses LOVE people (in most cases) and enjoy the partnership of racing.

I heard that retired race horses are so hard to sell to people interested in any casual riding because those horses are dead set to whip around in a circuit once they feel a person on their back… so I suspect, unfortunately, a lot if it is unrelenting training from the riders who care so much about winning they overlook the utility and life of the horse. Poor horses.

I knew one horse, named Salty, who not only didn’t like to run, he barely wanted to move any farther than it would take to reach food and water. Yet I kept ending up assigned to ride him, because like people, horses don’t stay healthy unless they move.

OTOH, I also was assigned to ride Tagalong, who did not want to tag along behind anyone. He always had to be first, and he hated walking. He always wanted to at least trot and loved challenging cars on the nearby road to a race. And he was never a racehorse, and both horses came from the same stable and trainer.

Some horses simply love to run. Watch wild mustangs sometimes if you have a chance.

@Darwin One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen is a band of wild mustangs running across the plain!

I have recently asked myself and some fellow horse minded people how I/they feel about horse racing. A few years ago I came into contact with some racehorses who, although weren’t treated with cruelty as such, were treated as objects. There was absolutely no compassion for these animals and they were happy to have the horse destroyed if it didn’t show signs of being a winner. This upset me.

My boy LOVES to run although he’s not a racehorse by any stretch of the imagination and when I am riding him I love belting across a field at top speed (although I usually let him control exactly how fast we go unless I need him to slow down for some reason).

It’s fairly obvious that it is natural for horses to run but like some others on here have said, there is a difference between galloping at leisure across a field and being whipped constantly to go faster and so being FORCED to run. I’m not a horse though so I can’t say how they feel about it but I do know that I didn’t think it was right that the racehorses I knew where treated like machines rather than living beings (I remember thinking at the time that people are more loving towards their cars than those animals). I just hope that what I experienced was an exception rather than a rule.

I have recently become aware of horse rescue organizations. Since horse races mostly use two or three year old horses, they have a lot of living to do after the racing careers are over.

While my horses don’t particularly like running at high speeds, there are many horses that absolutely love to run just as fast as they can. Horses also all have distinct personalities, and some are very competitive with other horses. All horses naturally have social behavior, play games with each other, and when in herds, have a leader, a few that step in as leader from time to time, and many followers. Race horses come from the thoroughbred line of horses, known for having tremendous energy and for being highly competitive. They do love to race, and often get very excited at the gate when they know they are going to get out there. The whips the jockey’s have are not used to actually whip the animal. Horse riders use many methods to communicate with a horse… their knees, the reins, their seat (how they are positioned in the saddle, or in the case of racing, not in the saddle at all but only in the stirrups), etc. One of the most valuable tools for communicating with a horse is sound. The whip is used to make a sound behind the horse, cluing the horse into the fact that their are others behind him or her that he or she needs to keep in front of. It helps the horse remain competitive throughout the race as the horse sees other horses in front of it that it wants to pass, and hears cues that there are others behind it to stay in front of. Basically… the whip is just a kind motivational tool… and by the way… it is actually a crop, not a whip. Most race horses, when done racing, are retired… this means a life of luxery on pastures where they can run at will, eat and drink as they please, and hang out with friends. The only time I think horse racing is cruel is when horses are doped to run when injured, or when a horse without the competitive nature and natural desire to run as fast as possible are used for racing even though it isn’t part of their natural character… it is like forcing someone with a great athletic build who hates sports to play football… all the work it takes to be successful just isn’t worth it if your heart isn’t in it… same for horses.

@juwhite1 Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking. Unfortunately the picture you painted of retired racehorses living a peaceful life of luxery isn’t often the case in my experience :(

@Leanne1986 – The race horses that retired to my aunt’s place did indeed have a peaceful life that was pretty luxurious, if you are a horse. Somehow box stalls and oats don’t do a huge amount for me.

I’m from the Midwest. We have lots of people here who both buy and take in retired race horses, and lots of horse rescues as well. The same is true in Oklahoma and Kentucky. The old days of selling a race horse to slaughter are over. It is illegal, and the only way to do it now (since there are no buyers) is to transport your horse to Canada to sell at auction (which by the way, would cost more than you’d get for a horse in that case). Many adrenaline junkie riders like riding retired race horses (although I strongly prefer leisurely rides and horses with passive personalities). Since there is now profit incentive for race horse owners to sell the horse to someone who wants it once they are no longer profitable racers, that’s what they typically do. If for some reason, the horse isn’t suitable for that, an owner can give the horse to a rescue or to many, many private individuals who want to give these horses good homes free of charge. Keeping the horse and mistreating it costs money, so they don’t do that. To euthanize the horse and pay to have it’s body disposed of costs money, too, so there is no incentive to do that anymore, either. I think the old perceptions of treatment of retired race horses has far outlived the reality. There are many people who want them and will give them a good life, either by purchasing the horse or by making themselves available to take in retired horses when the owners no longer race them.

@Darwin I know of individual people who take on ex racehorses and I have so much respect for those people. Unjfortunately, in my neck of the woods, there jst aren’t enough of those wonderful people to go round :(

@juwhite1 I want to live there!

I played a horse racing game, and there was this aspect of the horses that you needed to consider as playing the jockey. The horses’s personality was pretty big, ‘cause some of them wanted to lead so you had to keep them at the front of the group for most of the race (pretty taxing!), and others preferred to be on the side or the middle (and you would save a burst of speed for towards the end). Not sure if this can be applied to real life, but Syz’s comment makes me wonder if there was a grain of truth to it after all.

@Darwin – Where do you live?

Texas. My aunt also lived in Texas for a while and now lives in Virginia. Why do you ask?

I’m originally from Texas… East Texas. We had plently of rescues in that area, but it is a very big state. Too bad they don’t have access to people who adopt retired race horses in your area.

My aunt had her horses in Houston. I am currently in Corpus Christi, which is not a huge horse area.

Our big racing-related rescue down here is with greyhounds. It is soooo tempting but I already have too many dogs.