Mentor Cane euthanized

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Stickhorse

Can somebody please refer me to some literature that talks about how horses often are healthy when they race regularly as 2YO's. Already I have seen comments that, "racing places unreasonable demands on young horses, they are still developing physically and the sport pushes on them too much to race and causes breakdowns."

I love this sport and it hurts when any creature has to depart so far before their time! Mentor Cane DID NOT even run as a 2YO. The trainer John Shirreffs is one of those most careful about bringing his horses up their races. Mentor Cane was one of my favorites primarily because he is trained by a man that puts the horses welfare always first as evidenced by his handling of Zenyatta. Very sad day...

There is nothing anyone can do when a horse takes a bad step. Their legs are small in comparison to their body weight and sometimes they step in a way where the bones in their leg snap. It can happen on the racetrack or in a pen (Saint Liam). It is mother nature and there is absolutely nothing human beings can do about it other than trying to keep the surfaces as even as possible.

I really liked this horse and thought he had a big career ahead of him. An unfortunate sad day.