The Grand National..National Treasure or National Disgrace?
Discussion
i'm joking ladies
)LukeSi said:
Use materials which will break if something hits them.
They do break when hit.LukeSi said:
And a limit to the number of horses on track at any one time should be quite low (or if there is one lowered). Many incidents are caused by one horse falling and then others falling over it.
Agree with this, so easy to get nudged, pushed or barged on landing, lose balance and fall.Very torn on this one, its a great spectacle but the price that is paid by the animals seems far to high, they are getting slaughtered on that run for our amusement basically. I think its time they toned it down a little in terms of difficulty. Like the idea of a reduced field as this does seem to be a large part of the problem.
Good article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/1... sorry its a broadsheet and not the Daily Mail....
FWIW I think that the sport is out-dated and needs to implement dramatic changes to increase animal welfare but its one small step from banning horse racing because its cruel to banning motorsport because someone considers its a waste of a petrol and oil is a limited resource. So to mis-quote someone far more eloquent than me, I dont like what they are doing bu I will defend their right to do it.... I can see jump racing being banned or a maximum height implemented soon, that height being much smaller than beechers brook et al...
FWIW I think that the sport is out-dated and needs to implement dramatic changes to increase animal welfare but its one small step from banning horse racing because its cruel to banning motorsport because someone considers its a waste of a petrol and oil is a limited resource. So to mis-quote someone far more eloquent than me, I dont like what they are doing bu I will defend their right to do it.... I can see jump racing being banned or a maximum height implemented soon, that height being much smaller than beechers brook et al...
Nedzilla said:
Horse racing is f
king ste! The only people who find it interesting are smelly old men who have nothing better to do than hang around the bookies gambling away their dole cheque to try and make themselves a few extra guid to go and spend on booze and fags!!
Its fking wk...and im not a horse lover,I couldn't give a monkeys bare arsed uncle for them either!!
Thanks for the label. king ste! The only people who find it interesting are smelly old men who have nothing better to do than hang around the bookies gambling away their dole cheque to try and make themselves a few extra guid to go and spend on booze and fags!!Its f
king wk...and im not a horse lover,I couldn't give a monkeys bare arsed uncle for them either!!
pablo said:
Good article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/1... sorry its a broadsheet and not the Daily Mail....
FWIW I think that the sport is out-dated and needs to implement dramatic changes to increase animal welfare but its one small step from banning horse racing because its cruel to banning motorsport because someone considers its a waste of a petrol and oil is a limited resource. So to mis-quote someone far more eloquent than me, I dont like what they are doing bu I will defend their right to do it.... I can see jump racing being banned or a maximum height implemented soon, that height being much smaller than beechers brook et al...
Same old excuses in that article. "they wouldn't do it if they didn't live it" is the same thing dog fighters would say. And to compare to a tired Paula Radcliffe is to ignore that if people died clearing jumps in a marathon, the rules would change!FWIW I think that the sport is out-dated and needs to implement dramatic changes to increase animal welfare but its one small step from banning horse racing because its cruel to banning motorsport because someone considers its a waste of a petrol and oil is a limited resource. So to mis-quote someone far more eloquent than me, I dont like what they are doing bu I will defend their right to do it.... I can see jump racing being banned or a maximum height implemented soon, that height being much smaller than beechers brook et al...
The horses rarely die as a direct result of a fall - most are euthanised due to the prospects of recovery. Both horses yesterday were running around moments after their falls. The problem is more the treatment and recuperation - horses don't like being immobile for long periods.
The treatment of the horses becomes more of a business decision - treatment is long, costly and the horse will never race again. There are also no guarantees that the treatment will actually be successful. Thus the decision about the horses becomes more of a business one than anything else. I'm sure it's never a decision taken lightly though.
Having said the above, horse racing has funded a lot of research into the treatment of leg breaks in horses over the last few years - treatment certainly wouldn't be as advanced as it is now were it not for the industry.
The treatment of the horses becomes more of a business decision - treatment is long, costly and the horse will never race again. There are also no guarantees that the treatment will actually be successful. Thus the decision about the horses becomes more of a business one than anything else. I'm sure it's never a decision taken lightly though.
Having said the above, horse racing has funded a lot of research into the treatment of leg breaks in horses over the last few years - treatment certainly wouldn't be as advanced as it is now were it not for the industry.
I'm a huge fan of Horse Racing and watch it on a daily basis. There is a "dark side" to it however - there are many trainers/owners out there that would prefer their horses to be put down on the course soley for insurance reasons. Insurers will pay out 100% of the time for a horse put down on the course vets decision whereas when the horse is taken back to it's stable it's far more difficult to get your local vet to put it down.
The horses love the grand national, they basically enter the grand national by themselves, those dead horses completely understood all the implications and risks associated with that particular race.
The horses getting put down has nothing to do with the trainers or jockeys or race organisers making money at all. It's the horses fault, they know exactly what they're doing.
The horse racing industry is great for horses as they fund some work into keeping their horses running fast in races. The fact that they make money by entering horses into a race where some die each year and put them down when they're no use to them anymore is neither here nor there. They really love those horses. It can't be helped.
Anyone who disagrees is a lefty lesbian hand wringer. Support the grand national or "they" will definitely ban your hobby next! People definitely fought and died in the war tostop fascism support the grand national.
The horses getting put down has nothing to do with the trainers or jockeys or race organisers making money at all. It's the horses fault, they know exactly what they're doing.
The horse racing industry is great for horses as they fund some work into keeping their horses running fast in races. The fact that they make money by entering horses into a race where some die each year and put them down when they're no use to them anymore is neither here nor there. They really love those horses. It can't be helped.
Anyone who disagrees is a lefty lesbian hand wringer. Support the grand national or "they" will definitely ban your hobby next! People definitely fought and died in the war to
zetec said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but Sychronised was running freely with no jockey when he fell for a second time? If he didn't want to jump then he wouldn't?
Looks like that's what happened - I'd only seen the fall at Bechers. Some of the loose horses continue for a fair old while still jumping merrily away. Horses are pretty intelligent animals, I'm fairly sure they wouldn't do something they didn't want to do, and many don't!
I do wonder if more could be done to treat the horses though. The insurance point is certainly a valid one - there is not shortage of money in horse racing among the owners, but money talks.
Rollcage said:
Looks like that's what happened - I'd only seen the fall at Bechers.
Some of the loose horses continue for a fair old while still jumping merrily away.
No one is saying they dont want to jump (though whether that's because they are so used to it they know no other way to run round a field or they really "enjoy" it is debatable) - the issue is that jumping over sSome of the loose horses continue for a fair old while still jumping merrily away.
t can kill them.One of the horses yesterday chucked its rider and carried on (merrily, no doubt) until it jumped over a fence, broke its leg and was killed.
Dogs will "merrily" go about trying to kill each other without input from humans if they are breed to do so....shall we have some of that on the BBC?
I don't really have too much of an opinion on the whole thing really - I can certainly see both sides of the argument.
Most sports are really business these days, and Horse Racing is no different. These horses are bred for racing and generally incredibly well looked after until a point when it is not economically viable to do so.
It's not so different from farming cattle from that perspective - view them as an asset, not an animal.
Most sports are really business these days, and Horse Racing is no different. These horses are bred for racing and generally incredibly well looked after until a point when it is not economically viable to do so.
It's not so different from farming cattle from that perspective - view them as an asset, not an animal.
Rollcage said:
I don't really have too much of an opinion on the whole thing really - I can certainly see both sides of the argument.
Most sports are really business these days, and Horse Racing is no different. These horses are bred for racing and generally incredibly well looked after until a point when it is not economically viable to do so.
It's not so different from farming cattle from that perspective - view them as an asset, not an animal.
Yes, but if cows were killed for burgers by breaking their legs 20 mins before a bolt to the head....people would say "not on"Most sports are really business these days, and Horse Racing is no different. These horses are bred for racing and generally incredibly well looked after until a point when it is not economically viable to do so.
It's not so different from farming cattle from that perspective - view them as an asset, not an animal.
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