Talk:Native Dancer

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Native Dancer was not considered to be the top throughbred in 1953 - the honor went to Tom Fool, who won horse of the year that year. He won and was proud

"The image of "throw away" horses which are raced and then forgotten is a myth." This statement is an opinion not a fact, and a spurious opinion at that. Take a look at what happened to Ferdinand, a Kentucky Derby winner, who was a dud in the breeding shed and ended up being slaughtered in a Japanese Slaughterhouse. Take a look at George Washington who was put back on the track because of fertility problems and was euthanized on the track at Monmouth Park when he broke a leg in the Breeder's Cup Classic as a 5 year old. Take a look at the recent stories about killing thouroughbreds that don't win in Puerto Rico because they are to expensive to care for. Take a look at the recent piece done by HBO's Real Sports about the sale of non-winning racehorses from Mountaineer Downs in West Virginia for a few hundred dollars to "meatmen" who inturn auction the horses off for a few hundred more dollars after which the horses are carted off to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. If not for organizations like the Kentucky Horse Park I wonder what would have happened to some of the great geldings like Cigar and John Henry once they could no longer race. I think the image of the "throw away" horse is very much alive if you look beyond the pageantry of the Triple Crown races. Scarletnite (talk) 18:08, 3 June 2008 (UTC)Scarletnite

Ferdinand was killed not because his days as a racehorse or stallion were over, but rather because of his advanced age in general. Furthermore, it did not occur in the U.S., but in Japan. It was met by vigorous protest in the U.S., and an effort was put in place to oppose such practices. Our cultural practice of not eating horse meat is not shared by many ofther cultures. The act of slaughtering horses of all kinds for their meat is very common in many other countries. At virtually any livestock auction there will be "meat buyers" buying horses. They view it in the same way someone else would buy a chicken or cow to butcher. Having once been involved "beyond the pageantry" of horse racing and in dealing with horses in general, the "throw away horse" is myth. Most owners and trainers have huge amounts at stake in a colt before it ever hits the ground. To throw it away is not even economically sensible. The truth is that there are large number of horses who are butchered every year. They generally were not raised for the purpose, but rather served other purposes before: family horse, work horse, race horse... Most racehorses take on other roles after their days on the track, usually in breeding...carrying on the bloodlines from which they were bred. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.144.205.172 (talk) 19:51, 5 June 2008 (UTC)