Endurance horse is put down
An 11 year old horse has died as a result of competition in an endurance event. The horse was euthanized after becoming ill at the start of the race. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon event and should cause us to re-consider the value of endurance races.
I am not fond of such events for I believe the horse is by birth more of a sprinter than a distance runner. It’s thus asking the horse to perform outside of its normal range of activities, merely for the sport and entertainment of humans. Despite being popularized (and maybe mythologized) by the movie “Hidalgo”, it is a brutal sport for both human and horse.