More Trouble For Racing?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wondermonkey/2011/11/bred-to-destruction.shtml

Earlier this year I noted Sir Henry Cecil saying that he felt that the breed wasn't progressing, and probably regressing.

Although it's difficult to prove that a specific fracture event is due to inbreeding, there's no doubt that breeding racehorses involves selection for an improved power/weight ratio.

This leads to bigger muscles and lighter bones. It's a bit like a F1 racing car which has a huge engine and an ultra-light body. Or if you selectively bred cyclists capable of winning the TDF, you'd end up with a breed of light boned ectomorphs like Contador or the Schlecks.

Obviously there comes a point in the selective breeding process at which the bones of certain individuals become so light and fragile that an unexpected stress event causes catastrophic fracture.

That's why I get concerned when I see racy flat-bred types put over hurdles, or worse still, fences.

Breeding good jumpers takes a long time and requires an enormous amount of patience, because by and large, you can't start racing them until they are at least four or five years old. And even if they do turn out to be winners, you don't have the prospect of a lucrative breeding career, except of course in the case of a good mare.

Matt