Horse Racetrack
By Andrew (06/10/13 19:30:01)
Related animal: Horse

Interspecies Collaboration Week 1

The other day I went to a horse racetrack called Hollywood Park. When I was little, I went to one at least once per week. My dad used to be a professional jockey so my mom, brother, and I would always go watch his races after school. Then, win or lose, he would take us all out to a nice dinner. I know many people don’t approve of how horses are treated with horseracing, but I honestly think it’s kind of magical the way a jockey and horse interact with each other when they’re going 65 mph with other horses just inches away going the same speed. Since my dad was a jockey I always got to go in the paddock before races to greet all the horses with a carrot or a pet on the nose. Surprisingly, I was never scared of these giant animals. I felt like when I walked up to a horse and made my presence known by whistling or saying the horse’s name the horse would look at me and we would make an agreement to be cool with one another. Out of my immediate family, I probably rode horses the least but that does not mean I didn’t interact with them less. I always enjoyed walking them and feeding them tons of carrots. One memorable moment I had with a horse was at the Hollywood racetrack and my most current visit reminded me of it. When I was about six I went to watch one of my dads races. Before the race I was petting one of the horses who was tied to a fence with no one around. It looked so uncomfortable but when I tried to pet its nose it stepped away. I became frustrated with the horse so I just sat next to him. After a few minutes of playing in the dirt the horse turned to me and stuck it’s nose in my face. I waved the horse to come close and instead of coming to stand next to me, the horse walked over and laid down right next to me with it’s next nearest me. The horses name was biscuit and he was just a two year old wanting some attention. I sat there petting the horse for a long time until my mom walked over to the stables and saw me sitting with Biscuit. She then came over and made me get up to leave and the horse stood up right when I did like he wanted to come with me. I’ll never forget that horses reaction. It was so humanlike and sad. Biscuit seemed like he just wanted a friend no matter what species it was. I think horses are the most majestic animals on the planet. Horses have always been my family’s choice of favorite animal. My mom used to play polo back in England when she was younger and my brother took riding lessons for many years. We even had a pet horse named Nemo for a few years. He became too dangerous for my brother and I to ride so my parents sold him to a mayor of some small town in Calgary where he was able to quit his racing days and be lazy eating grass and run around in open fields.


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