The "race that stops the nation", or should it really be the "race that ends a horses life"? According to the Coalition for the protection of racehorses - from the period of 31 August 2018 to 31 July 2019, there were 122 horse deaths via racing. That equates to 1 horse death every 3 days.
While our society views horse racing as a time where they can enjoy a day out or win a lot of money by betting on these horses, it's a sobering fact that one horse dies every 3 days for human entertainment. Think on that for a moment.
While we acknowledge that there are some horse owners that treat their horses as if they are one of their children, there are many that do not. For example, in the racing industry - Victorian horse trainer Darren Weir reportedly 'subjected his horses to psychological conditioning which included torture, abuse, being over worked & terrified'. That is no way to get a horse to do anything.
Esme - Video 7News Toowoomba
Esme is an ex racehorse who ended up at the Laidley Sale Yards, like so many other racehorses that are no longer of use to their previous owners. We were contacted about her horrible condition. She was seizing on the floor, was extremely ill with colic and very very close to her death bed. We had a team go in and collect her and she was brought to us where she was given round the clock vet care. Once she was in our care Esme had a lot of difficultly with colic. Thankfully with the help from the vets we have been able to put her on a feed that her body was able to tolerate and enjoy. Below are some photos of Esme’s life on the track, at the sale yards, then in our care.