Two horses put down at the Grand National

[finbarcorky]

I'm not a fan of jump racing especially when it injures horses. It's all very well saying "It's the kindest thing to do" but the fact is if they didn't race they wouldn't have got injured.
Horses hardly ever fall jumping unless they have a jockey onboard to unsettle them.

Who cares about the jockeys, they can be fixed and it's their choice.

I'm not even sure about flat racing but I know a lot of work riders and head lads and they do care about the horses welfare.

Anyway. Just wanted to vent.

[finbarcorky]

Horses cannot be subdued like small animals can and they don't respond in the same way as dogs and cats do when anaesthetised.
They also are at risk of hypothermia if sedated, partly because they've just run like fk and their body doesn't respond well to just lying down. They also need to "warm down" which is why they trot after a race, much like you humans do, and they get coverered up and watered down.

Also, once a horse has had a serious injury like that it's racing career is over and if it's not used to stud it's a drain on resources. Especially now hypobaric chambers future use in in question.

[finbarcorky]

Simpo Two said:

OK, so we ban all horse racing because 38 horses have died in 12 years (3 a year from a total of how many?)

38 in the Grand National since 2000.

There's about 160 horse deaths a year in racing.
http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/ (nice web address!)

I'm pretty sure compared to other animal sports, greyhound, polo, that's abnormally high.

[finbarcorky]

R300will said:

Jasandjules said:

The horses want to run. That's not to say that there is any reason why the fences can not be much lower so they don't actually get badly injured!!

I think its more to do with volume of horses on the course. Added to the fact that its not even a fair start and there are a few reasons to argue its not a fair race.

It's true the horses love running/racing and you can see them getting excited before a race or just riding out (training).
That's why they keep going with the pack even after the rider has fallen off and is rubbing his arse 1 mile back up the track!

The reason why they fall over is the jockeys unbalance them when they stumble where as normally they'd regain their footing. Also, lowering a fence won't make any difference as when a horse falls it's feet are usually on the ground first off.

[finbarcorky]

I think there's a tiny percentage of owners who actually make money in the grand scheme of things.

Take Godolphin, owned by king of Dubai The Emir Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, that operation costs millions to run each year and they've never even made a profit and indeed never intend to.
It's a hobby.

The only people that make money in racing are, bookies (there's 12 in Newmarket!), trainers, and top jockeys.

It really is the king of sports. .