Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I also wonder whether the injury wasn't misdiagnosed.

Perhaps it was just a pulled suspensory, and not a

"ruptured" suspensory like the documentary said.

They talked alot about this in that _Come On, Seabiscuit!_

book I mentioned. As I recall, the author said that

Red Pollard explained it by saying that Seabiscuit felt

very different to ride after the injury. Pollard's

explanation was that Seabiscuit had found a "whole

new way to run" that spared his bad leg, but

still allowed him to move fast.

Who's to say. If there are decent before/after movies,

one should be able to single-frame it to detect

any significant gait difference.

What makes me sad is seeing those tracks full to

the brim with fans, and then seeing the TV cameras

scan the stands at Belmont Park on Belmont day

and see the stands half-empty. I've always

thought racing put far too much emphasis on the

betting, and none at all on cultivating people's

love of the horse. Actually, I was astounded that

Hillenbrand's book was such a smash best-seller.

It seems to have appealed to far more than just

the horse crowd.

Linda B. Merims

Massachusetts, USA