Do you think that horse racing is cruel. Why or why not?

Question

Do you think that horse racing is cruel. Why or why not?

Answer 1

Yep how would you like to carry a person on your back an be wipped so you run faster

Answer 2

Depends...if the horses are well maintained and not abused.

Answer 3

No way is it cruel!!

These horses are breed to run!!Its in their blood!!

Horses are naturally competive animals who love to race!!

You'll see this if you watch a group of horses turned out together!!

I'm getting so sick of having to justify our great sport!!

Answer 4

race horses are bred to be just that, RACEHORSES! if there was no horse racing there would be no need to breed them, for this reason i do'nt think it is cruel, they have a much better life than work horses.likewise if everybody was vegetarian there would be no need to breed cattle,pigs poultry etc. which ,with force feeding and high intensity farming methods is without doubt very cruel. p.s. i've just won a good few bob on the gee gees.

Answer 5

This question comes up every so often on here. The horses are bred for this sport and really do love to run. If they did not like to run or were in too much pain or unsound they will do poorly and their racing career will end. The sport is carefully monitored and anything approaching cruelty is penalized heavily. The horses are very valuable, often worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars and get the best care by people who want to protect their investment.

Is it a perfect industry? No. I do agree that horses are raced too young. I think two year old racing should be eliminated. In every other equestrian sport you don't put weight on a horse's back until they are three and you don't start serious schooling under saddle until age 4. But in racing they begin competition in their two year old year. Many horses do break down and need euthanized. In any sport you will have serious injuries but I do think Thoroughbred breeders should stop emphasizing breeding for speed at the expense of strong bones.

Answer 6

i have seen some horses treated better, than people.....

so go over to the poor side of town...then tell me how bad

the race horses have it.......

Answer 7

all animal competions are cruel including the kenel club shows

Answer 8

Horse racing is not cruel.

What happens to them when their racing careers are over and they are not about to breed is cruel.

you think M Vick was mean to dogs.  Research what happens to the horses and dogs from dog races

Answer 9

I think it is cruel.  I worked on a race track and watched many young horses get their legs ruined because they are too young to be running as hard and fast as they are.  They used to stick long.. long needles into their legs to numb them so they could run in the next race.  Needless to say, I didn't work for the race track long.

Answer 10

Because they do all sorts of unnatural things to the horses. Like shaving their hoofs super thin. And as someone else said, they are too young and it is not good for their legs.

I own an OTTB, and he had HUGE issues. As did my Trainers. It takes awhile to get their trust back after racing.

Also for a already high strung horse, racing can make them super nervous horses, with LOTS of bad habits.

Answer 11

no i dont think so if a horse didnt want to run it wouldn't there seem to have fun i no alot get hurt but i could happen anywhere so i think that its ok

Answer 12

I don't think it is.

Yes, they use a whip. But they do in jumping, dressage, barrel racing (in a different form though), ect...

Yes they do get hurt but they also get hurt in all other types of riding also

The horses are bred to run

Racehorses are bred to race just like the horses in the showjumping, dressage, cutting, reining, ect...

So don't believe all the things you hear about the horse racing cruel thing because not all of it is true and those people are taking things that not ALL of the people in the industry do and taking it out on the WHOLE industry!

Answer 13

No, it's not cruel. The horses are bred to run, and they enjoy running.  Race horses are very high spirited, and not letting them run would be even crueler.  Also, most race horses are treated very well, and they don't run for very long.

Answer 14

many years ago i would saythat it was a cruel sport,and the people involved were ignorant of the needs of the horse.modern day- from 1945 onwards the sport has become acceptable in that sense that the welfare of the horse is paramount.you wil always get individuals with no sense of what is cruel/not cruel but overall if you want an animal to try its best then you better know how to train and treat them correctly.present day training methods,vetinary standards,horsemanship and the fact that t.v. closely watches the sport ensures that the sport of kings is inded a fair and just sport,with very very litle cruelty found,and where it is found the penalties are severe.forget the bleeding hearts the basic fact is that if an animal is badly treated it will not perform the best it can,and in todays money society that is not the name of the game.

Answer 15

horse are breed to run . we shouldn't had a calvery?

Answer 16

i think races jump races over a distance of 3m+ are cruel, however those horses (usually) are bred for those races, but sometimes owners + trainers put horses in those types of races to find out what they're made of and that is where the cruelty comes in, but then if we didn't have these races there would be no gold cup or grand national to look forward to every year.

Answer 17

Life is cruel get over it, the horses have been around a long time. yes horses fall and get hurt and have to be destroyed its all part of the game. your employer is like horse racing they use you and then fire you the next day look at it that way.