Four more horses die in the name of ‘sport’

Sorry Oreo but banning boxing is just a way of justifying your views Two grown adults CHOOSING to box in very closely monitored conditions is nothing like a comparison
Occasionally a boxer dies but very, very rarely not four at one match night

Race horse stables are luxurious, they are pampered, best veterinarian treatment, high quality food, along with stable lads and lassies who adore them of course they do and then they are whipped, to go faster until they make a mistake and fall, or their heart gives out. I bet they’d rather be chomping the grass with their mates under less luxurious and completely alien conditions

If they weren’t bred there wouldn’t be any to put out to pasture

Horses shouldn’t be made to run to their death by rich pampered people. Nor should bulls be tortured, nor bears made to dance…
Circus animals have been banned, so must race horses

I love horses - keeping ,riding and these days just drawing and painting them .
I'd feel physically sick if I passed a chevaline in France.
I used to enjoy horse racing ,but after several had to be destroyed after a Grand National - my enthusiasm waned.
And now,I feel really anxious and upset each time a horse has to be put down after other races.
I wish that the jumps were far lower and the horses weren't ridden as hard.

It's all about the money...always was and always will be.

BlueBelle the use of a whip on race horses is restricted nowadays.

No more than 6 strikes for encouragement according to the racing rules.

I am against cruelty to any animals trainers and owners are governed by strict rules and regulations.

keepingquiet

It's all about the money...always was and always will be.

Everything in the world is about money, we all need it to survive…

As I said right at the beginning I’m not in favour of the over breeding that produces race horses.

Neither am in favour of condemning existing ones to a miserable existence because people think they would be happier turned out into a field by people who think that would just be a bit “less luxurious” for them.

Or who think hundreds of race horses could be accommodated by “true animal lovers”

If this is a serious proposal please take some time to research what it would mean in practical terms rather than campaign for something that would make you feel comfortable and satisfied but that would lead to death and suffering for hundreds of horses.

And then come up with some really practical measures that could be put into practice.

Otherwise it’s just virtue signalling.

Jaxjacky

There was an Act passed in 2024 MayBee banning movement of live animals for slaughter or fattening, not for entertainment or breeding.

Yes, I meant for slaughter. It’s something that should have happened a long time ago. I don’t understand why there wasn’t more publicity about it though.

It’s a dilemma isn’t it. We don’t want to see race horses dying in races but if there are no races they will become unaffordable and have to be culled. Some races could be banned for starters such as the Grand National that puts horses under immense pressure, less strenuous races could be developed, but it all comes down to money as well as so called sport. Then I am told the horses love racing as it’s what they are bred to do so how do we phase it out? Most of the privileged class don’t want to.

It's not just the 'privileged class' who don't want to see an end to racing - it's probably more driven by the betting industry and the billions which are (literally) at stake.
You just had to see some of the comments on social media after those four horses died at Cheltenham - instead of expressing concern for the animals' welfare, punters were saying how they should be turned into dog food or glue!
And incidentally, I've ridden retired race horses in the past - and I do contribute to equine welfare charities.

Most people at a race event aren’t the “privileged classes”.

It’s another of those “ideas” that are nothing to do with the reality. But that produce a rallying call.

Like the picture of happy horses in the meadow just living the dream or the waves of philanthropic animal lovers who will gladly support a horse for its life time.

It’s the realists who’ll have to clean up the mess after the idealists have gone on their way to the next crusade🙄

Good post BlueBelle.

Of course, the betting angle. Where vast amounts of money is made and lost.

I would ban all whips, cruel and unnecessary IMO.

Do it gradually. As Aveline suggests, begin by getting rid of the dangerous races.
Give the breeders time to reduce stock naturally.

BlueBelle

Sorry Oreo but banning boxing is just a way of justifying your views Two grown adults CHOOSING to box in very closely monitored conditions is nothing like a comparison
Occasionally a boxer dies but very, very rarely not four at one match night

Race horse stables are luxurious, they are pampered, best veterinarian treatment, high quality food, along with stable lads and lassies who adore them of course they do and then they are whipped, to go faster until they make a mistake and fall, or their heart gives out. I bet they’d rather be chomping the grass with their mates under less luxurious and completely alien conditions

If they weren’t bred there wouldn’t be any to put out to pasture

Horses shouldn’t be made to run to their death by rich pampered people. Nor should bulls be tortured, nor bears made to dance…
Circus animals have been banned, so must race horses

What are you on about? My dislike of boxing has nothing to do with horse racing, it was just my thought processes when posters are talking of bans.
Boxing is barbaric, two adults intentionally fighting in that way leads to brain damage quite often, death now and then.
As another poster said, we have no need of horses now so the ones we do have need to have a purpose.Horse riding and racing are about the only thing we keep them for.Most have a very good life, unlike horses in the past.
I wouldn’t ban racing and you would, fair enough.Don’t justify your views with comparisons to bull rings or bear ‘dancing’ .

Lathyrus3

As I said right at the beginning I’m not in favour of the over breeding that produces race horses.

Neither am in favour of condemning existing ones to a miserable existence because people think they would be happier turned out into a field by people who think that would just be a bit “less luxurious” for them.

Or who think hundreds of race horses could be accommodated by “true animal lovers”

If this is a serious proposal please take some time to research what it would mean in practical terms rather than campaign for something that would make you feel comfortable and satisfied but that would lead to death and suffering for hundreds of horses.

And then come up with some really practical measures that could be put into practice.

Otherwise it’s just virtue signalling.

Excellent post Lathyrus

Yes it is 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Heading a football and playing rugby leads to more injuries than boxing which is between two consenting adults which has no bearing with whipping a horse to go as fast as it’s heart will allow in the name of sport mainly ( not wholly) for rich people

Why should I not compare all types of animal cruelty it’s my right to my opinion and it’s my right to express it oreo
It was you who brought boxing as a comparison into the thread not me

They have a much better life than a dairy cow or a sow in a horrid pig factory. If you drink milk or eat pork ( I don’t) maybe think about that.

I've owned and ridden horses for several decades and know quite a few people involved in racing. Racing yards have an extremely high level of welfare, much higher than most private yards. I've owned a couple of ex racehorses that had been retrained for riding but they are far from a novice ride as they are generally quite sensitive and can be quite a handful. I watched the Gold Cup on the TV and it was a fair test of a horse trained to that level. The horses in the field yesterday had come up through the various stages of National Hunt racing, they had demonstrated their ability to jump and their capacity to stay the course. They were amongst the elite of jumpers and frankly if they didn't want to jump round a course they would not have been there. I've seen a horse drop dead under a rider at a low key pony club event. It's horrible and dangerous for the rider but I'm afraid it happens, even when the horse is not working hard.
Both ex racehorses that I have owned had proved unwilling to race, both had gone on to event, one quite successfully reaching advanced but he just decided he didn't want to do it anymore so he got sold to me do do dressage and the other had an injury which meant his jumping days were over and he was given to me as a sensible smart hack (which he was). Two horses I've owned have died following field accidents, one broke a leg and was pts immediately. The other blew a tendon careering round in the wind. I spent thousands trying to rehab him (during which time he was pretty bonkers due to being stabled ) and he kept breaking down. Anyone who thinks owners don't care about their horses should spend time with them and their owners because it's just not true.
I've got mixed feelings about flat racing because the horses are being ridden too early IMO ie before their bones have matured, National Hunt horses often come up the Pointer route or out of flat but they will have proved their suitability for the job and to some extent their toughness for the job. There's so much tosh written about racing by people who really don't know much about the sport ie they don't realise that modern racing whips make a noise but actually don't hurt the horse like the old fashioned ones used to. It is incredibly expensive to have a horse in training, to suggest the owners and trainers don't care about them is frankly ridiculous. I'm all for improving horse welfare as much as we can but I'm not sure many people who haven't owned horses actually understand what that would involve.

Because BlueBelle the animal cruelty you conflate horse racing with is deliberate cruelty.Horses sometimes do die or have to be pts but it isn’t done expressly to hurt them.
Boxing is nothing like rugby or other sports, injuries incurred there are accidents, boxing is deliberate harm.

Pleasebenice

They have a much better life than a dairy cow or a sow in a horrid pig factory. If you drink milk or eat pork ( I don’t) maybe think about that.

That’s very true, I don’t eat pork or drink dairymilk either.

foxie48 an excellent post, I agree wholeheartedly.

There are far too many horses being bred both in racing and in general, and far too many people owning horses who don’t have a clue how to look after them. There’s a huge welfare issue across the whole of the horse world. But the racing industry is a problem all of its own and is purely about money. And I don’t believe the way the horses are kept - in high pressure environments - is at all conducive to their welfare. I have known many ex racehorses and love thoroughbreds, but they are sensitive creatures who deserve better. All the ones I’ve known have had issues as a result of their training and previous lives. It hasn’t endeared me to racing.

Good post, foxie48