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All’s well that ends well. Hendon said he always would pay the vet bill for SS. He has had the procedure and will be returning home tomorrow and reported to be well
VF x
Hi Marlingford – I take your points and I am sure whoever took him on did so for the right reasons.
I just think there is a tendency for people to underestimate the cost of keeping a horse – even one who lives a quiet life grazing in a field is an expensive item and when something goes wrong with them, as is frequently the case, veterinary care for a large animal is extremely expensive.
cormack15
It is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if the decision for many horses without Sprinter Sacre’s star appeal would be to sadly put them to sleep.
I think we all know the answer to that. Whilst active racehorses and certainly some retired ones are indeed looked after extremely well, one of the elephants in racing’s room has always been what happens to the ones that don’t make the grade and to many of them after retirement.
It depends on the owner. There are many people who have taken on ex-racehorses (some of whom were so useless they never even raced) who love them and pay for their treatment when they get sick or injured, even if they can never be ridden again. I think the main danger for racehorses is between retirement and final adoption. Often many new owners and dealers are involved in this process and not all necessarily have the horse’s best interest at heart.
On a similar theme after the Sir Gino injury on Saturday. I thought what happens to the 11 year 80 rated chaser running at a gaff track during the week if they picked up a similar injury? Would the horse be transported to the nearest equine clinic?
Agree with Richard. Let’s be realistic. Not every racehorse in training ends up having a nice, happy retirement when its racing days are over. It is the same with greyhounds.
After the death of Ian Balding earlier this month, I was reminded that Mill Reef suffered a dreadful leg injury as a four year old. His life was eventually saved after a huge amount of vet treatment.
Does anyone think a 60 rated gelding would have had the same amount of time and money spent on him to save his life?
I guess it will depend on the owner , friends of my Dad had a young horse with E Whillans years ago , wasn’t an expensive horse but won a bumper then got an injury , it spent time at Glasgow Vet school ( not cheap ) and came back after a long layoff , it hadnt shown much on return then won at 100-1 against a N Richards odds on job …. They cleaned one bookie oncourse out …
I know of one cat owner whose pet cost him £15,000 in vet fees. Cannot imagine the costs for a horse.
I think we all know that the fates of retired racehorses are sadly a lottery, but this reiterates my point that in general we should be thankful there are people out there willing to take them on, even if they are not particularly wealthy.
I agree with cormack15 that care of even a healthy horse is very costly, and also that some people will underestimate the amounts involved.
However, if someone is able to give an ex-racehorse a few years of contented retirement before mounting vet bills means that the horse has to be put down, that seems a better fate than the likely alternative.
When we had a pony we found that, pound for pound we got much better value for her treatment compared to when our cats and dogs were ill. Having said that, vets fees have gone through the roof for all animals as has pet insurance and I assume you can’t get insurance for existing injuries. Horses spend a long time retired if they live out their possible lifespan of thirty years.
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