Question:

Am I missing something here about horse racing?

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I've just read that over a hundred horses have died in the last year during horse racing.

Am I missing something here? Surely if we took another animal, dogs for example, and started involving them in some sport where some end up dying, I can't see anyone accepting this.

Just seems to me that depsite the fact that this many horses perish in the name of sport, generally it's seen as just a bit of fun.

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  1. The person who says that horses don't enjoy running hasn't spent enough time around them. Especially if they have a lot of open space, groups of horses will run around for no other obvious reason than enjoyment.


  2. take a look at horsedeathwatch.com for every racecourse fatlity since last years cheltenham festival,thats not including the ones that are sent to slaughter or killed in training, you dont hear of those ones.

  3. Actually there is dog racing and I believe that there is more cruelty involved in it than in horse racing.

    Second, we absolutely involve other animals in "sports" that cause the animals death.  People go hunting all the time so that they can stuff the animals and put them on their wall.  If you like to look at the animals, you should catch them and keep them in your house and feed them and care for them, not kill them and put them on your walls.

    At least the horses are well cared for and the trainers and grooms and jockeys who work with them every day do care about the horses.  And when the horses do get hurt, we get veterinarians to deal with them and if they must be put down, then we do it humanely.  When people go hunting, they go out into the wild (they don't care for the animals and promote to their existence... they don't feed and house them... they just go to where the animals live) and then shoot them (the point is to kill them... and we don't care about how they feel... we use guns instead of finding a less painful means).

    The horse industry is absolutely looking for more ways to protect the horses.  Synthetic tracks are more common than ever before and horses suffer fewer fatal injuries running on them.  If we could eliminate casualties from racing, we absolutely would.  We are trying all we can to do that.  If your solution is to stop the sport altogether, I'm sorry, but that's not an option.

    Horses don't love running?  Have you ever turned out a horse?  Whenever I turn out our horses into the field, they always spend about the first 10 minutes running around madly in circles.  Also, if you've ever seen a horse bobble at the start and throw his jockey, you'll notice that about 99% of the time, those horses will pick themselves back up and then continue running.  One New York bred named Gander threw his jockey at the start, continued running, made the lead in the backstretch and led all the way to the finish and finished first... he then galloped out another eighth before walking over to the outrider and trying to lead him to the winners circle.  That horse absolutely loved what he was doing.  They know it's a game and they want to win just as much as we do.

  4. sadly, dog breeding can involve a lot of cruelty and there are plenty of dogs that die per year. a sad fact. as is the fact that some horses die but you must bear in mind there are 1000's and 1000's of horses in training in the UK - and as with any top athlete pushing themselves to the limit an un-noticed heart problem can cause the sad demise or a fall can break a leg, others can simply become unwell and not recover.

    look at your example of dog's again, how about grey hound racing? - the majority of greyhound owners have their dog put to sleep when they are not any good or get too old - say 5! or just leave them to fend for themselves....

    old race horses are more often than not found loving homes for their dotage ...

    i am not saying its aceptable for any animal to suffer in the name of sport - but just would like to show another perspective.

  5. It is a very cruel "sport" horses have to earn there keep, when it becomes obvious that a horse is not up to the standards required then it is destined for the dog food factory..Unpleasant but true

  6. Horse racing is quite amusing. Knowing most of them die only makes it even more fun. Now we can wager on which ones will die because of the race.Some enterprising entrepreneur should invent a box that you can pull horses out of, rather like tissues. Our ancient and noble anscestors used to eat horse during the Ice Age. Think how many servants a dead horse could feed. How far could a catapult fling a dead horse? I'm sure other uses for dead horses could be contrived. And we can make it look like Responsible Recycling.

  7. horse racing don't last long enough they die pretty mush young

  8. You aren't missing anything- welcome to horse racing's dark side. The horses which have died have done so because they usually suffer catastrophic injuries of some type- broken bones are the number one cause of death for most race horses. Greyhound dogs which race often die from injuries too, so you aren't missing anything there, either. The reason this is tolerated and accepted is because of economics- there is just too much money involved in racing, and there are too many people who depend on it for a living, for anyone to outlaw or ban it, the way they tried to do with foxhunting in the UK a few years ago. Greed is a strong force- and if you put enough money into any activity of this sort, you can make it acceptable to just about everyone. That's sad, but it's true.

  9. Yes, im NOT fond of horse racing. Just go out & show jump six feet high at a canter. No need to do it at one million miles an hour. Lets see a person do that. Ohh yahh they CANT they would probably DIE. Now you racers say you love your horses but really, if you did you would not race them? Animals are here to help & be treated like people. NOT to be killed by making them race as a 2 year old!.Its terrible. Any animal counts on YOU 100% to feed, water, exercise & all that stuff. They almost always try their hardest to please you. Why put them through misery? They are not ment to go that speen over things.

  10. boo yah if a horse didnt want to jump or run it wouldnt a horse is a lot bigger and a lot stronger than a little jockey so its not going to run just because a 7 stone jockey says so they are bred to run

  11. Horseracing is a sport with just as many risks as any other sport involving animals or humans.

  12. dogs have been known to die at dog show from heat

    you should watch the racing more carefully from the royal box

  13. You don't give your source or the ratio of the horses that have died during actual races,or what kind of races.

    I bet on horses and was gutted that my main horse in the English Grand National Died yesterday.

    However i do believe the majority of horses are very well looked after and do seem to enjoy what they do.

    I think you have to take into account that the phrase 'breaking'

    a horse even exists.

    Also take into account the fact that they may just be dumb animals that keep doing what they are trained to do,and  also if handicaps vary by a couple of pounds then of course if the jockey falls off it will be quicker.

    You just cannot know hat an animal is thinking.

    Also I've seen a good few horses die on the flat too, notably George Washington last year.

    Would you ban all horse riding?

    If I see my horses ears pricked coming to the last few fences whilst still in contention I'm usually on a winner.Watch a few races,horses that have to be strongly 'ridden along' rarely win.

  14. First of all it is truly sad when any animal dies in a sport.  That said, horses are for the most part well taken care of.  There are rules to prevent abuse, racing associations and retirement foundations and laws preventing slaughter of horses for food.

    If you want a truly cruel sport to rant about try **** fighting or dog fighting which are legal in some countries.  See the outcry reagarding Michael Vick and Pedro Martinez.

    And to kmimiamisax, Gander was one of my favorite horses and I loved your example.

  15. ur probably thinking about jump racing. flat racing isnt as bad. injuries in flat racing are (i guess you could say) pretty rare. i dont like jump racing just for the fact that in like every race a horse dies. FLAT RACING IS NOT BAD!!!!!

  16. I didnt know any of them died, let alone 100!

    omg, that is cruel. tbh, I think horse racing should be stopped.

  17. Yes my good man - But without this amount of fatalities the French would surely starve.

  18. It never ceases to amaze me now many people say "Oh the horses love it." and "Horses love to jump."  Small experiment, go into a field of horses and shout "Shoo". Then time how long it takes them to stop after you stop shouting. Not long I think you'll find. Also see how many of them jump merrily over the hedge just for the fun of it. Same answer I'll be bound.

    Here's an idea which might appeal to you though. I'll bet not half as many horses would be injured racing if we shot the jockey as well.

  19. Indeed...................

    why not try unemployed racing as we do on my estate, the thrill of using ones riding crop on them does give one a sense of excitement, ( and reinforces the moral highground on them )

    Although its a little tricky, getting to jump the fences, eventually they get the hang of it.......

    You are more than welcome to try, having a race this weekend ?

  20. Put in in perspective though, 100 horses dead out of how many thousands racing?

    And dogs do die in sport - what about dog sled racing?

    I know it is sad when an animal dies, but try to keep it in perspective.  For the number of animals used in these sports, the number of accidents its actually tiny.

    And, having ridden race horses, I can tell you they love actually love racing, and especially in this day and age, the animal welfare standards are very high, and with the occasional exception they are very well cared for.

  21. I wonder whether animals of any sort would choose to live with us, run our races, perform in our entertainments or work for us in any manner if they were given a choice. Human bondage, I have to admit, bothers me more, but your example makes it clear that we don't use other species kindly either.

  22. Money talks

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