Another horse fatality?

T_K said:
When will they ever stop this evil? :(
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hmmm .....and horses don't EVER die eventing, hunting, in the field? To stop the 'evil' we would have to stop riding horses, when we stop riding horses then they will merely become another animal in the food chain, or an exhibit in a zoo.

I feel that there are plenty of other evils to worry about before banning horse racing even comes anywhere near halfway up the list.

Sure, it is unfortunate when a horse gets injured or killed racing, but then it is equally as sad when you read of them being put down because of laminitis issues etc, and THAT is purely to blame on the way horses are kept (not getting at ANYONE) confined in 'small' fields rather than roaming over thousands of acres as they were designed to do.
 
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Sadly as Enfys says horses sometimes die in all horse sports, they also die in the field. A friends 3 year odl took it upon herself to jump out of her field into the next one, she broke her neck and had to be pts. No one coudl have foreseen this happening, the only way to avoid it would be to never let horses in fields, and they would then just find another way to injure themselves.
 
T_K said:
When will they ever stop this evil? :(
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So I should stop having horses should I as I've lost two from field accidents when they were doing nothing but play with their friends?
Put it into perspective please; racehorses have the very best of lives and thoroughly enjoy their jobs.
How many races are there in the whole year and how many horses race in them and how many fatalities are there compared to how many field accidents let alone those from normal riding accidents. I know if I was a horse where I would want to be and that would be running at courses like Cheltenham and Aintree with all the care and attention I could ever need; I would be doing the job I loved.
 
enfys said:
hmmm .....and horses don't EVER die eventing, hunting, in the field? To stop the 'evil' we would have to stop riding horses, when we stop riding horses then they will merely become another animal in the food chain, or an exhibit in a zoo.

I feel that there are plenty of other evils to worry about before banning horse racing even comes anywhere near halfway up the list.

Sure, it is unfortunate when a horse gets injured or killed racing, but then it is equally as sad when you read of them being put down because of laminitis issues etc, and THAT is purely to blame on the way horses are kept (not getting at ANYONE) confined in 'small' fields rather than roaming over thousands of acres as they were designed to do.
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Well said!!
 
enfys said:
hmmm .....and horses don't EVER die eventing, hunting, in the field? To stop the 'evil' we would have to stop riding horses, when we stop riding horses then they will merely become another animal in the food chain, or an exhibit in a zoo.

I feel that there are plenty of other evils to worry about before banning horse racing even comes anywhere near halfway up the list.

Sure, it is unfortunate when a horse gets injured or killed racing, but then it is equally as sad when you read of them being put down because of laminitis issues etc, and THAT is purely to blame on the way horses are kept (not getting at ANYONE) confined in 'small' fields rather than roaming over thousands of acres as they were designed to do.
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Here Here!
 
Well said Enrfys. I lost a loved cob with a heart attack in October and he had an easy life and these race horses have a superb life style and are far better looked after than most horses and this year I think not many fatalities. And if you don't want to see death, don't own animals and don't criticise those that do and enjoy racing eventing hunting and so on as accidents happen.
 
In the handicap hurdle race?
Or is this another race? the one in the above race was still down a while after as i caught a glimpse of its bum when the horses raced away from it. They mention it was being checked by the vet but nothing further. Think it was the 2nd/3rd from last...?
 
If jump racing is banned then we will have to ban racing as horses die there too as they do in any sport where the horse is pushed to its maximum, and then we have no thoroughbreds because why breed them, investment into vetinary research and develpments wil be virtualy zilch and all the current thoroughbreds around will be culled in very large numbers as there will be no job availble for them todo.

Yes good idea lets ban racing!!
 
T_K said:
When will they ever stop this evil? :(
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If horse racing were banned - it would create a welfare problem of enormus magnitude. TBH I think just as many horses die from field accidents, eventing and even just hacking out as they do in the racing industry.
 
If jump racing were to be banned you'd then have to look at banning eventing, showjumping etc etc. Horse do die. It's a sad fact but it happens. Nobody wants to see it at all but it happens. You should see the amount of horse death claims we get in all the time. the vast majority are form horses doing themselves injuries on their own fields and stables and not when they are competing. Sure it happens but put it in to perspective.

Better they die doing something they love than being slaughtered en mass for meat as is what happens with thousands of farm animals every single day and that is done intentionally!

We can't wrap everything up in cotton wool. Accidents happen.
 
Speaking personally - I watched the last few races - felt very uncomfortable after. The first TB that fell, it was fairly obvious that it had taken a hard fall, the race galloped on.... the winning female jockey very happy with her win, as was the trainer and owner, all celebrating. No mention as to what had happened to the fallen horse. I wonder how the stable boy/girl feel, returning home with one less horse, oh well, hard lines I spose.......

I rationalised to myself that I could get knocked down walking down the road etc etc.

Then the second fallen TB - again the race continued and ended - tbh the crowd appeared to me, similar to football hooligans, all whooping and shouting for the victorious horse.

After watching these races - I felt sympathy for the animals - they are bred by humans for sport - to make money/gambling. The racing industry to me, is very hard. Very different to the domestic world, that the average/ordinary horse/pony is born in to. If a "domestic" equine has an accident then hopefully the quality of it's life will be superior to that of a TB. That's my opinion and I have had experience with TBs. It's a great shame that some TB owners are now culling their yearlings as they cannot afford the training fees.

Finally I understand that Cheltenham does carry rather a bad history of equine fatalities, perhaps it's time for the fences to be reviewed after all they did lower B Brook a few years ago.... I am not trying to offend any other forum posters but some TBs have a great life... but not all...
 
Celtic Gal,

I did say that it was sad when a horse doesn't come home from the track, or comes home injured, I am not totally unfeeling just because I don't rate horse racing high on my list of evils.

Actually, I have been one of those 'lads' that comes home without their horse, more than once, and I tell you this, it bloody well stinks, it really flaming sucks, but it has never put me off racing. I've bought home crippled horses too and that isn't a lot of fun either. I know from personal experience that a horse has a mind of its' own and if they truly don't want to race then NOTHING will make them jump off, or even go down to the line sometimes.


Each to their own though it's a free world.
 
Just remember that it is standard procedure on racecourses these days to put the screens around nearly every fallen horse that doesn't get up immediately.

It gives the horse some peace and calm and allows the vets etc to make a good assessment of the horse's condition without thousands and thousands of eyes watching their every move.

The green screens do not necessarily mean that a horse has had to be euthanased. And sometimes they will remove them in the horse ambulance to allow full assessment of their injuries in better facilities.

Sure, racing has its fatalities, but as the others have already said, so does polo, eventing, showjumping, hunting and even hacking and pleasure rides and out in the field. A friend has had an apparently healthy horse die underneath her as they went for a little canter.
 
The quality of lives that these racehorses have is extremely high. People seem to have it in their heads that they live horrible, dark lives spending 23 hours a day in a box and only being taken out to run their hearts out up a hill. In fact, this is far from the truth - you also have to remember that they were indeed bred to run, it is what they want to do, they are not forced to do it unwillingly. If you have ever been to see first lot on a racing yard you will see what I mean.

I can direct interested parties to the websites of many trainers, both large and small, so you can see for yourself the facilities and team that they have, and how well the horses are treated. I suggest you all read the funny, informative blog of Kim Bailey - he posts pictures almost everyday of his horses enjoying life in his Cotswold yard.

If I were an injured horse, I'd like to be an injured racehorse. I either meet a swift, pain free end or I am given the very best of vet care (and they do recieve the VERY best) - I know of many leisure horse owners who have horses who have either an illness or injury and are living in pain because their owners can't bear to put them to sleep or are following cheap, misinformed information to try and treat their darling.
 
I see it this way... If there wasn't racing I would have never met my boy and he's (touch wood) fit as a fiddle.

'nuff said.

BTW I saw a program on H&C where these racehorses were put in plastercasts for injuries I would have ordinarily thought fatal. "oh he'll bee training again in 2 months" - with a spiral fracture Cannon bone. Wow.

Now that's 'nuff said :)
 
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