America has become accustomed to viewing horse races as just another form of entertainment, yet while we embrace its glamour, the reality is that horse racing is an inhumane and exploitative industry – not only on racetracks where horses are regularly injured and killed but also through media coverage during election campaigns.
Research has identified an emerging pattern of coverage which emphasizes who’s ahead or behind in polling rather than policy issues – often known as “horse-race journalism”. This approach can have serious repercussions for voters, candidates, and the news industry as whole.
As our world grows increasingly digital, we may assume that newspaper and TV horse-race reporting is becoming a thing of the past. Yet horse racing remains deeply embedded in both culture and politics alike.
Since our nation’s early days, horses have been used as an instrument of political power and social status. When first settled upon, settlers needed sturdy horses with strong legs to carry their loads across country trails; as economies and fashion changed so did demand for speed. By 1600’s European horses began being crossed-bred with native cold-bloods in order to increase speed and stamina and thus horse races were held as part of lifestyle. Over time this led to thoroughbred racing becoming popular.
Horses taken away from their mothers at age one are “broken”, an industry term for training them to be compliant and submissive, before being isolated for 23 hours per day in small, 12-by-12-foot stalls – often leading to mental and physical ailments; in such an unnatural environment it’s common for their suffering to manifest through compulsive behaviors like biting at gates, biting other horses, kicking others or self-harm.
Racehorses go through rigorous early training to become racehorses, which involves pushing, pulling, yanking, and whipping them – something which would land you in jail if done to your dog. A whip is the main tool of trade and used for controlling horses during races on turns and uphills.
Horses don’t reach full musculoskeletal maturity until six years old, yet are thrust into intensive training as early as 18 months and racing as soon as two. Therefore, necropsies of two, three, and four year-old racehorses often reveal osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease; testament to the shocks their bodies must absorb daily.
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