Dreamer Boycott

[Midge]

oh please! What movie portrays anything as accurate? Let's face it. Most cops never draw their guns, most pilots never have engine failure and most Americans are overwieght.

[Sannois]

Its hollywood, its all fake. International Velvet was good, but not realistic. Becoming an olympic eventer at 16?? after riding for maybe 3 years?? I will rent Dreamer, It looks fun.
Good point Midge!

[imissvixen]

I don't object to its inaccuracy. I object to its exploitation of the horses for profit -- none of which will benefit the horses.

But every time I think about the racing industry I think about the TB mare I rescued this summer who is standing in a pasture in Southern Pines, barely 5 years old with a pin fired hock, bowed tendon, ankle chips, a hunters bump, and a sad look still in her eye. And I recall the first day we put tack on her and she ws so anxious that saliva poured out of her mouth in buckets. And I wonder about the person who named her after himself and then sold her to a backside buyer who was sending her to the slaughterhouse when I got her.

I like Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn and frankly I would think they would be better informed and less willing to promote this industry. Russell Crowe refused to play in the movie Bastard out of Carolina because he didn't want anything to do with making money on a movie about pedophilia. He is a great actor and maybe that's why.

As far as what difference it makes? Well, it damn sure makes a difference to me and then maybe a few of my friends and then a few of their friends and then who knows? How do you think change happens? Don't be so cynical.

[CuriosoJorge]

Um, if you're mad at the racing industry, why don't you boycott that, rather than the movie?

[JAGold]

Do you object to shows about kids, on the grounds that they exploit kids for profit? It's a story. It's good publicity for the industry and for the horses.

What do you propose as an alternative? That no one should make movies about horses? That any actor who mentions horses (or kids, or dogs, or geraniums) is obligated to make donation to an organization that supports horses (kids/dogs/geraniums)? That we should give up the whole idea of a free market economy? --Jess

[Xctrygirl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by imissvixen:
I plan to boycott the movie Dreamer for a number of reasons the biggest one being that it really sickens me to see these people make alot of money glamorizing the racing industry which is so exploitative of horses. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

And exactly what is your position in the racing industry? Because surely you must be a backside worker (Like me) to be that familiar to recognize the exploitation. Oh and while we're at it..... why don't you tell me why a horse getting injured racing and then being rehabbed back is so "innacurate."

This year alone, not mentioning any horses in our own strings, but I know of at least 2 dozen horses personally who have rehabbed from anything from slight strains to fractures who are back and racing...and the horses enjoy it.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning make their millions in a movie that is an inaccurate portrayal while hundreds if not thousands of exploited or broken down TBs are abandoned, neglected or sent to slaughter and the jockeys that ride them are hurt, starved, and denied health care coverage. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

First off, I agree with an earlier poster, Kurt and Goldie Hawn have donated a ton to various charities. Second, the jockeys have health care coverage, they are fighting to get better coverage. Thats a bit different from being denied coverage. Many tracks require jockeys to either carry health care of their own (as in steeplechasing) or have atrack workman's comp program. Just imagine the liabilities if they didn't mandate health care of some kind. Oh and just FYI, other discipline horses are sent to slaughter. Maybe you don't know, but some people from the *SHOCK* H/J world also do it. It's not just the race horses.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Movies like this will lead the general public to think it is all wine and roses for racehorses and their jockeys. For once I would like to see a movie that shows the true underside of the industry and inspires much needed reform. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ok lets re-read this. Movies like this draw people's attention to the horse world and this is a bad thing? Oh thats right b/c its the "Wine and Roses" view, we surely won't entice any new people to come and learn and embrace equestrianism in a time where more horse people would be a good thing. No no, instead we'll get the kind of folks that will buy a horse and (let me guess) send it to slaughter because it didn't give them "wine and roses." OK remind me...again. How well do you know the race industry. what is your level of direct participation? Are you a backsider or do you just watch the triple crown once a year and consider it 'cruel'? Tell us where your hatred of racing comes from, only then can we appreciate it, or appropriately react. If you are embroiled in a situation that puts you smack dab in the race world and you're surrounded by break downs and corruption, ok I'll give you that THAT area needs fixing, but as many tracks, as many riders, trainers, jockeys, stewards and so on exist out there.... not everywhere, not everyone is the same.

And forgive me, but until you are the one who has been working daily with a horse, training it with a goal in mind and then watch it fall from graceful rhythymn to the ground and lie there, don't tell us we have 'exploited' our horses in an effort to see them succeed. And if we choose to save our horses to keep them here and then later want to help them find a purpose beyond a four legged lawnmower, well that's any horse owner's right, no matter the discipline.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I googled to see if any of those actors were donating any money to TRF or Exceller or if any of the films proceeds were being directed to a rescue effort. I found nothing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow. Amazing that MUST mean that they just do not care a whim. And since you can't google me, I'll tell you. I don't donate to them either. *GASP* BUT I do care and I spend my (far less than millions) on my ottb and what little bit I can donate, bi-yearly to a local horse rescue. But quick....condemn everyone who doesn't donate. And btw, I care about the Katrina and other hurricane victims too, but I haven't donated there either. Quick, hang me now. I must not give a damn for anyone but myself.

Vent over.

~Emily

[Susan P]

Let's not forget the classic Black Beauty, though not a racehorse movie it does reveal the beauty while exposing how humans are so cruel to horses. As awful and sad as much of Black Beauty is the movie is loved and was repeatedly a huge box office success.

I think people can handle the dark side in a movie about horses if it done right.

[Susan P]

I never understood why after the Free Willy movies that they needed money to save Keiko the whale who starred in the films. Why didn't some of the millions of dollars made off of those movies and all the following merchandising and cartoons provide more than adequately for this poor Orca? Why should there he be in any need ever again?

Think about how much Michael Jackson made on the song. Why didn't he give the money needed to help him, or build a Sea World in Never Land?


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't object to its inaccuracy. I object to its exploitation of the horses for profit -- none of which will benefit the horses. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Xctrygirl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by imissvixen:
But every time I think about the racing industry I think about the TB mare I rescued this summer who is standing in a pasture in Southern Pines, barely 5 years old with a pin fired hock, bowed tendon, ankle chips, a hunters bump, and a sad look still in her eye. And I recall the first day we put tack on her and she ws so anxious that saliva poured out of her mouth in buckets. And I wonder about the person who named her after himself and then sold her to a backside buyer who was sending her to the slaughterhouse when I got her.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey how about this, lets all wonder aloud.

I wonder if she was ridden badly, which might explain the saliva. Thats not the owner's issue directly, unless he was the rider. You haven't said so, so I am guessing not. Second, she has a bowed tendon, how bad? What grade? She has ankle chips, how many? Opperable or no? She has a pin fired hock. Umm ok the big deal here is that she had an issue before and someone tried to help it? Whats the problem there&gt;? I admit pin firing is going out a bit but some vets still consider it useful. And since she only has one, it was cleraly done in an attempt to fix a problem. Oh but wait, thats cruel.

The hunter's bump is a varying issue. Some horses are more predisposed (usually by poorer conformation) to have one. My horse has one and he has had a luxury life. Or did we secretly 'abuse' him to cause him to develop one?.

End point: You saved a horse who has a lot of issues. Good for you. There are others here who do that everyday. And they still can appreciate a 2 hour bit of entertainment that includes horses. Don't blame an entire industry for your mare. She may have been handled well or badly, you don't know the whole story. She got hurt and was passed on to lesser hands. Thats unfortunate and people like me, who work on the backside, try very hard to prevent it with our own horses who will no longer race.

OOOOOoo this thread has me so mad. This would be like me condemning a movie about barrel racing based off 1 retired injured racer. Ugh.

Better idea... I personally invite you to come spend a day or two on the backside with me, whenever and wherever, you can see what its really like and how hard we (backside workers) work to keep our horses healthy and happy. Name a time and place.

~Emily

[blueboo]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Susan P:
I never understood why after the Free Willy movies that they needed money to save Keiko the whale who starred in the films. Why didn't some of the millions of dollars made off of those movies and all the following merchandising and cartoons provide more than adequately for this poor Orca? Why should there he be in any need ever again?

Think about how much Michael Jackson made on the song. Why didn't he give the money needed to help him, or build a Sea World in Never Land?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll give you all of that, but at least after the movies, enough people KNEW and CARED enough to enable the money to be raised, If the movie had never been made at all, he would have died right where he was - unknown, and unmourned except by the very few who 'knew' him, So, while yes, the producers, actors, moguls, whatever definitely 'should' have stepped in, at the very least, they enabled those who did know and care to act.

[JoZ]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Russell Crowe refused to play in the movie Bastard out of Carolina because he didn't want anything to do with making money on a movie about pedophilia. He is a great actor and maybe that's why. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh I know I shouldn't go here. But did you actually READ Bastard out of Carolina? It isn't about pedophilia, it's about a strong, suffering young girl and the tragic life she had to endure and prevail over. It is largely autobiographical. I bet Russell Crowe didn't read it either. He could have starred in it and given all the proceeds to women's and children's shelters. Argh, this makes me crazy.

[SimplySarah]

There was a story about the movie and the horse it was loosely based on in my local paper (I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas, home of the Oaklawn Racetrack where Smarty, Afleet Alex, ect made their first moves these past couple of years), Mariah's Storm. We know the underbelly around here. Heck, the horse racing industry and the tourism that it encourages are the cornerstone of our economy. We know the underbelly. I know the underbelly- I've helped get them off of the backside and into good homes. I also know that a lot of these horses are treated like royalty (my cousin lived next door to a big training track facility where we'd watch the horses be exercised every morning, and on the other side of their house was another extremely large race barn). Some of them DO slip through the cracks- heck, we haven't even been able to figure out how to keep human CHILDREN from slipping through the cracks, much less the animals that we love.

I haven't seen the movie Dreamer yet, but from what I've read and the trailers and previews I've seen, it is a story about not letting the horse slip through the cracks. In fact, it's about caulking those cracks at great loss (the father's job). It's about NOT giving up on a horse because it was injured and would have just been destroyed. It's about taking that horse that was disposable to one person, and showing that the horse is NOT a disposable commodity. It dispells the myth that a horse with a broken leg just ought to be immediately shot (Disclaimer: Yes, I know that there are many cases in which quickly putting a horse to death is the most humane option available, what I'm talking about are those that, given proper care and time and effort can heal)because horses with broken legs are useless and will never be good for anything again. You can put any injury or flaw or fault in place of a broken leg and it is still applicable. Dreamer puts an emphasis on the fact that horses shouldn't be disposable commodities. That with the proper knowledge you can caulk the crack and get a second chance. That even if you can't personally caulk the cracks because you don't know how, that there ARE people out there who DO caulk the cracks. The movie may not just come out and pinpoint the issue with perfect precision, but it DOES broach the issue in a way that is a lot easier for most people to swallow.

To get people interested in the underbelly, you need a story that shows a glimpse of how things are done-- like in Dreamer where she flips and is about to just be destroyed-- which in turn makes people think. You have to draw them in before dump the sludge on them.

And just one more thing that just really got me-- so you googled Kurt and Goldie and Dakota, and found no donations to any organizations. Who the hell made you the donation nazi? How in the world do you know that none of them made PRIVATE donations to organizations? Funny enough, there ARE people who don't have to and don't want to laud the fact that they did a good deed.

It's an uplifting story in a period of time when we need to be uplifted. Think of all the people-- specifically little girls-- will fall in love with horses because of this movie. Think of all of the parents who will then be pressured by said horse loving children to become part of the horse world. Think of those children growing up, caring deeply about horses and being the next generation of people who will ultimately be making the decisions in the horse world. The kids that will see this movie will be adults someday and, God Willing, will be able to improve the conditions of horses in all disciplines. They are the future of the rescues and the advocates and activists.

But by all means, vixen-- Chase them off while they're still young. We don't need 'em. /sarcasm

[doublete]

I'm not going to read the rest of the post, but wanted to say that while the movie is inaccurate and not at all what racing is actually (good or bad), it is inspiring interest in racing again (like Seabiscuit did a bit).

This is very important to the industry, we need more people coming to the races, more owners, more people that want to learn about the race world. That's the only way the industry's bad rep will change- if we get more people watching it and caring what happens. Right now its limited to the few people that do need money in it.

So movies like this are actually GOOD for the industry and can have many positive repercussions.

[Mega Rock]

XCTRYGIRl..............coming from another backside worker I could not have said everything you said better myself. Kudos!!!

[Lori B]

RR --

I love this -- 'the gaseous reality of horses'

It is SO true! Every time I pick out one of Topper's rear feet, HE FARTS! EVERY TIME!

Sigh. Too funny.

[Alagirl]

OK, how about taking a pro-active stance?!

One catches more flys with honey...When the very first 101 Dalmatian movie cam out everybody wanted one, with all the bad results...when the first life action movie came out the *Are you tough enough* slogans went flying, really hurt the breed. When the second one came out breeders and friends finaly wised up and placed info desks and knowledgable owners near important movie theaters, spreading the word.

If you think that your five bucks or so you will not be spending on the movie is gonna impress Hollywood, think again. If you want to do something for the horses falling through the cracks (which BTW are soooo much smaller than previously believed, check the anti slaughter threads!) arrange for you to have a table at the movies, I am sure you can find some friends to help you, and hand out information about exracers or racehorses in general. But remember the honey thing: the carpetshredding countersurfing papereating T-shirts where a hit among the sworn Dal-owned crowd, but it really hurt the breed as a whole...so consider what you spread!

[teal tea]

Too late. I just came back from it. I loved it. Yeah it was a bit fanciful. But I didn't care b/c I felt good watching it.

[Iluvgoldies]

Dreamer is supposed to be a mare right? Its kinda funny then that on all the movie posters and ads the horse with Dakota Fanning is most obviously a gelding

[KateB]

imissvixen I have to respond to your comments about the racing industry. I own several thoroughbreds in various stages of racing; training, racing and retired. I for one am personally offended by your blanket statements about the horse racing industry and the people in it. While no doubt there is both good and bad in EVERY sport you seem to only want to focus on the bad.
I spend tremendous amounts of money every month on the health and welfare of my horses. Beyond their daily care and training there are massuses, acupuncturists, and the guy that comes to give them reikki three times a week when they racing.
When they are done with their racing every single one of them comes home and learns a new job or becomes a Mom. Every one of them will die at my home hopefully of old age.
Yes there are risks involved in racing and I panic every time one of mine walks into a starting gate until he/she crosses the finish line safely but aren't there also risks involved in show jumping, barrel racing, eventing or just about any other horse dicsipline we can think of?
As for the jockeys hmmmmm - let's see now I'm trying really hard to remember the last time I heard one say I HAVE to do this for a living I have no choice! lol! Becoming a jockey is a highly competitive career to choose and it takes tremendous talant and hard work to get there - you don't get there without a HUGE desire to be there. Jockeys are jockeys because they truely love what they do.
As for no health insurance - better check your facts there dear. For one thing as an owner in NY not one of my horses little hooves is allowed to touch the sand on a NY racetrack until my Workman's Comp is paid up every year.
In closing not only do I love and care for evey horse I own and race I have also placed more "retiring" racehorses in new homes than I can even count.
Not only that the racing industry is taking a very aggressive stand in taking care of their retirees futures hence groups like Blue Horse Charities, New Vocations, The Exceller Fund, Our Mims Retirement Fund, Old Friends, C.A.N.T.E.R., The Thoroughbred Retirement Fund and on and on. There are more organizations in place to secure good futures for these retirees in horse racing than I could possibly list here! Most started and run by people involved in the racing industry.
I'm sorry because of your experience with one horse out the the tens of thousands that race you have such a very negative view of horse racing but I don't think you know enough about it or the people involved in it to make such blanket judgements - you know that old saying: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"?

[saratoga]

As a person who was a major racing fan since the age of 10, and having worked at tracks on and off for quite a few years, I find myself disillusioned. Not to say that everyone is cold and uncaring, but the bottom line is that it is a business, way too many horses are simply commodities and have no safety nets out there. I've seen too many tragic, horrible things over the years and the bad has outweighed the thrill and excitement of it (for me). Yes, bad things happen to horses in all sports and in everyday life, but not nearly as often and as vivid as in racing.

The funny thing is, I think the majority of people *do* have negative opinions of racing- when people find out that I was involved in it,
I always hear the jokes about the glue factory, the drugs, the old gambling bums at the tracks and OTBs, races being "fixed", all sorts of stuff from people who know nothing about racing. So I find it kind of interesting how these sweet sentimental movies about racing are being made.