Honey, a Thoroughbred, was trained to be a racehorse. She had a short career
as a jumper before she found herself in a situation where she couldn't be cared for properly.
She has severe arthritis in one knee that heavily impedes
her mobility. The baseball-sized lump in her knee is a poignant example of the Thoroughbred racing industry’s insistence
upon using two- and three-year-old horses on the track. Such young horses’ growth plates in their legs are not able
to fully mature before being raced, eventually resulting in severe problems like Honey’s.
When she was younger and less arthritic, Honey was a school
horse and she was excellent for beginning riders. We continued to use her even as her arthritis developed and worsened, as
the exercise and movement, though painful, was good for the joint. Finally it became so bad that she was retired, but she
is still showered with love and attention.
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