Christine Orman, PhD, is the Resource Development Director for ReRun, a non-profit Thoroughbred adoption program.

As 2010 came to a close, so did the racing career of a highly celebrated Thoroughbred racehorse named Zenyatta. She is retired now, and after more than three years and 20 races, she walked away from the track completely sound. This fact alone should garner as much fanfare as her stunning performances.

Simply too many horses come off the racetrack for the last time because of some injury they sustained during racing. Those of us who work in the racehorse adoption field see this all too frequently. A horse comes to us with an irreversible injury that even after rehabilitation leaves its riding capacity forever limited to "trail riding" (if that) and reduces its chances of finding an adoptive home to practically nil.

This year at least 80% of the horses needing ReRun's adoption services had such injuries. A case in point is "Misty," a 7-year-old Thoroughbred mare with 37 starts and career earnings of more than $185,000 behind her. We were told she had a suspensory injury, but what she had was an ankle of bone-on-bone. No cartilage or fluid remained in the joint. This typically happens when a horse has been repeatedly injected with cortisone, which allows her to run with no pain. In ReRun's experience, this kind of treatment is the most common cause of irreversible injuries, and it is what turns potential show horses into pasture pals, like Misty