Beyer article/my new philosophy(long)

[largo1]

Andy Beyer had an article in the Washington Post the Monday after the Derby. If its already been discussed here, I apologize for bringing it up again, but I didn't see any thread about it. I don't consider myself a big Beyer fan and thought his article was kinda half-@$$ed, but he made a point that really hit home to me, in light of the Eight Belles tragedy. That point is that, once upon a time, breeders used to breed thoroughbreds so they could race them. Not so they could sell them. So the breeders actually *cared* about the quality of the horses they bred. They cared about their speed, yes, but also about their soundness. They bred for the whole package; speed, soundness, stamina, conformation, temperment. They wouldn't want to breed an unsound horse, because it wasn't in their best interest. When the unthrifty horse broke down, they would still own it, and it would be their problem and their setback. Nowadays, most breeders breed for the auctions. So they breed what will pull in the big $$$. When the horse breaks down, its not their problem. They already made their $$$, so who cares? These people don't care about the Thoroughbred breed, or improving or preserving it. I'm not a breeder, but I do care about the future of the breed. I'm tired of dealing with OTTB having no bone and horrible hoof quality. And as an example,, I present Big Brown. Fast horse, no doubt. But he has crappy feet and they have to be babied and coddled so he can even race 4 times. We all know he won't race more than another time or two. Bu when he retires, the "breeders" will be making a beeline to breed their fine mares to him in hopes of passing on his speed, without a care about the crummy feet. And so it goes. I'm SICK of it.I'm finally *OVER IT* I've decided the best way for me to deal with this is to only root for horses that are breeder-owned. This way I can be sure that these horses are owned by people who actually give a damn about the betterment of the breed, not just the betterment of their bottom line. I like Big Brown, but I will not be cheering for him again. I can't, in all conscience, root for a product owned by a conglomerate of business people. I'm not saying they(IAEH) are doing anything wrong. I'm just saying I can no longer support the things that are destroying the breed and the sport that I love.
Suzanne(that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)