[Buffymommy]

Horses of any profession have to have their diets monitored-- horses will happily eat themselves to death if given the chance. They aren't stupid; they evolved into plains-roaming animals that subsisted on a diet of very few calories, so they had to eat all day long. Just because they now have high-calorie, commercially produced feed doesn't break all those millenia of conditioning to eat as much as they can whenever they can (actually, I think people have some of the same issues-- I don't think the urge to overeat is as much emotional as it is evolutionary, which makes it much harder to overcome!). And whips can be punishment, yes, but judiciously used, they are encouragement-- a reminder to keep focused and now it's time to go go go! They also can get a horse to steer rapidly away from a bad situation. I'm purely a pleasure rider and I NEVER go out without a crop, even if I don't use it. And I'm sure not racing anybody, especially on poky old Bach (long story-- my morning ride today...).

Obviously you (EURO not Genuine) didn't see the photos and videos of Barbaro after the derby in his paddock eating grass. They let him be a horse.

To your question, would I love horses if there was no racing? abso-fukking-lutely! My love of horses got me into the sport. As I have stated in the past, I don't watch racing to bet, I watch for the love of watching a horse do what it was born to do RUN.

As for the crop issue, I (LIKE GENUINE) carry a crop EVERY time I ride. Most of the time all I do is wave it around for Buck to see. Just kinda reminds him to pay attention to me and not the hay truck moving back at the barn. MOST riders carry one. I even use to wear spurs when I rode Freddy. OH BAD GIRL I AM. Honestly, anyone at the barn where I am at can tell you they would let me ride, take care of, etc... anyone of their horses. When Freddy's owner found out I wasn't going to be riding him anymore they said "But she's family". Yes, whips can be bad, but anything can be bad in the wrong hands.