Is The Grand National Cruel to Horses?

Question

Is The Grand National Cruel to Horses?

Answer 1

The race in itself is not cruel. Horses naturally run and jump fences,the thing that is not natural is to have a little ball of muscle (or monkey) on its back urging it on.

If a horse is not confident of a fence it will dig its hooves in and not jump, or run down the fence.

The National itself is far far easier now than in the past as the result of complaints about their severity by a certain set of people.  In reality, the biggest mayhem was caused back in the mid sixties at the Easiest fence on the course when Foinavon went on to win at 100-1.

So No the Grand National is Not Cruel to Horses !!!!

Maybe "horsemanspal" with his wealth of experience ought to join in our tipping cometition on Saturdays!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

I ask myself this, but then I think the horses are prize winners so they get the very best care etc, but when I watch it I have to cover my eyes, especially for the big race when a lot of them fall, I sit there with my fingers crossed praying that they get up again.  I always remember last year when one horse fell and had to be put to sleep, i felt so bad about it all day.  I have been the national though and they do have emergency vets following the horses around the track.

Answer 3

no..they don't break down anymore than they do in any other race....

Answer 4

A lot of horses, over the years have been hurt at Breacher's Brook and the Chair.

I do not think that it is cruel though, gruelling would be a better word, after all if the horse didnt want to jump, it wont and no rider can make it.

The horses love it as much as the people who watch, run and organise the event.

Answer 5

In my opinion, yes.  There are always fatalities and the horses don't get a choice.

Answer 6

Its not the race that's cruel.Its the fences that do the damage.

Answer 7

my thought is no because if the horses didn't want to run then is wont

Answer 8

first of all the answer given by Tina K is incorrect.the race in the chek republic is called the Pardebiche(spelling could be wrong there),and it is certainly not run on ice,it is run on grass.I know because i have had runners in the race.To answer your question,the grand national is no more cruel to horses than any other sport involving horses.They are bred and trained to race,and believe me ,if they dont want to jump they wont and no amount of persuasion will make them.

Answer 9

All extreme sports are cruel to the horses involved. Most years one or more horses are killed at Aintree. Heart attacks in horses aren't uncommon in racing and eventing either. This year 11 horses failed to finish. Most of these will have pulled a tendon or suffered trauma from falling at a fence. For some it's up to a year recovering; for others it's the end of the road. This figures don't take account of the horses who break down in training and never get to Aintree. Racing is a particularly cruel sport - horses are started far too young, and many of them are finished by the age of five. A horse kept for leisure riding can in contrast be expected to work well into its twenties.

Answer 10

horses are born to run,and besides there are harder races than the grand national,for example there is a horse race in czech republic where the horses run for six miles and jump fences and all this is done on ice