His stud fees will be a fraction of what they would have been if he’d won the Triple Crown, and if he’d been able to move on and win the Breeder’s Cup. It is partially about the money–he certainly is worth enough that it makes retiring him easier than rehabbing him and getting him ready for a fall campaign–but not all. There are other trainers with more nefarious reputations who would have pulled out their dirty bag of tricks and made him run, and there are owners that would be livid and make it clear to the trainer that They Want Him To Run So Make Him Run. Not everyone is a selfish jerk about their horses. (Now, had this been Rick Dutrow/Ian Biancone/D. Wayne Lukas, I would assume there was some selfish reason behind the decision, because it sure as heck wouldn’t be about the horse’s welfare.)
Regarding the injury: injured tendons are a bitch to heal. Horses have no muscle below the knees and hocks, so tendons absorb all the stresses of movement. When a tendon is injured, the cannon bone (large bone between the knee and ankle) begins taking a disproportionate amount of stress, and can and has resulted in horses breaking down. They caught IHA’s injury before it became significant, before he was even lame on it. Even so, he’s going to need 3+ months of recovery before he’s sound again just to have unrestricted movement. When my mare tore a tendon sheath–just the lining around the tendon–she was confined to her stall for a month, and was unrideable for two. Even then, it was walking only for another month.
For those who write off racing as cruel, well, certainly, with some human connections. But what I have learned from the horse world is this: there are monsters in every equestrian sport who are willing to do unspeakable horrors to their breed of choice in the name of money, winning, fame, and success. World champion saddlebreds feet overinjected with cobra venom to exaggerate movement the night before a major show, resulting in the euthanasia of four of the five. An entire team of world class polo ponies collapsing and dying as they came off the plane from illegally (and improperly) mixed supplements. World champion Tennessee walker horses being “sored” and beaten when they show any sign of pain, so as not to suggest to the preshow inspector that they are in agony. Quarter horses having the nerve in their tail severed so they remain still in the show ring, or galloped on a lungeline for 45+min until they are dripping sweat so they are dead quiet in the show ring. Arabians having ginger inserted into their rectum to exaggerate their famed high-tailed action, or undergoing plastic surgery to mask conformation faults.
What I have learned is there are legitimate horseman in every sport who are able to succeed while loving and caring for their animals, and those who just plain SUCK and need to have done to them what is done to their horses under their “care.”
If anything, racing is working at being cleaner now than 34 years ago when the last Triple Crown winner passed under the Belmont Park wire. But it’s also working at being much more transparent–which certainly makes things look damn ugly.
O’Neill is no saint, but he has apologized for his mistakes and is publically voicing his desire to change and educate himself–as opposed to the Dutrows of the racing world, who deny, deny, DENY and shove blame on their assistants, grooms, veterinarians…anyone and everyone else. O’Neill has also gained tremendous respect for the horse community, both racing and pleasure, for this choice. He and the rest of the connections put the horse first when they honestly could have attempted to run with wraps and such, hoping that tendon doesn’t tear further and the horse manages to improve their value with either a win or decent showing. Then they could claim afterward the horse sustained an injury in the race and retire him, and then begin rehabbing that tendon. But with that comes tremendous risk–to the horse. They opted not to take it and do right by the horse, not just gamble for the financial and personal fame super jackpot.