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Cortez

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I think saying baby horses is pathetic and demeaning to the horse, unless it is a foal. And then just call it a foal.
The fatalities are really sad but no one is ever going to agree on whether or not racing should exist so I will just say I feel so very sorry for the connections of those who lost horses this week.

I'm rather more sorry for the horses, actually.
 

tristar

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personally i think NOT calling a four year old a baby horse is pathetic and tosh. [whatever tosh means?]

as a breeder and trainer i am only too aware of how young 4 years is in terms of maturity and life span, it is demeaning to fail to acknowledge the gravity of the tragedy of a four year old horse losing its life in a devastating way,`` really sad`` just does`nt cover it for me, so we may well say we will never agree, and leave it at that.
 
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There have been some tremendous highs this week and some real fairytale stories. Paisley Park and Klassical Dream being just 2!

The highlight of day one was that fantastic little horse winning the Champion Hurdle - Espoir D'Allen. He really put them to the sword. It would have been more intersting if Buveur D'air had stayed on his feet as, ok he had no weight to carry and didnt jump any more hurdles but he had a lot of ground to make up once he got up and he still won by a nose on the line! And then of course you have Big River who was so badly outpaced down the back, completely out of camera shot and then all of a sudden there he is on the line poking his nose out for 4th place! A domestic National is on the cards now I think depending on where has the softest ground.

Day two saw Altior and Tiger Roll doing what they do best - jumping and galloping! I have to say I can't see Tiger Roll being beaten in the National again this year. He is such a gritty, tough, terrier of a horse who wont back down from a fight!

Day 3 we had the wonderful Paisley Park whose story - along with that of his owners is what really brings people into racing. Its not a big trainer, its not a big owner, its not a big name and yet he defied all odds and made a name for himself! And with his owners absolute sheer delight at winning - thats why we love what we do! Our lad, Voix D'eau ran a good race. He finished back in the pack and I didnt expect anything more given that he is a true good ground horse so the softer ground will have blunted him a bit. But he is home safe and sound and goes onto Aintree in a few weeks.

The final day started with a great sadness and finished on a high for that same stable and owner combination. But the highlight of the day has to go to the Gold Cup! It can't not! They went off at a blistering pace! This made it a truly run race in which the winner made it look relatively easy! Al Boum Photo could possibly be the horse that comes back to win again. He is young enough, gutsy enough and clearly more than good enough! And the Master Of Cheltenham finally got the crowning jewel of jumps racing! Willie Mullins can retire happy! And on the plus side it wasnt a Rich Ricci, Gigginstown or McManus horse that won! Though Annibale Fly was cannoning home yet again. His day will come in another big race.

Onward bound to Aintree now!
 

Clodagh

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There have been some tremendous highs this week and some real fairytale stories. Paisley Park and Klassical Dream being just 2!

The highlight of day one was that fantastic little horse winning the Champion Hurdle - Espoir D'Allen. He really put them to the sword. It would have been more intersting if Buveur D'air had stayed on his feet as, ok he had no weight to carry and didnt jump any more hurdles but he had a lot of ground to make up once he got up and he still won by a nose on the line! And then of course you have Big River who was so badly outpaced down the back, completely out of camera shot and then all of a sudden there he is on the line poking his nose out for 4th place! A domestic National is on the cards now I think depending on where has the softest ground.

Day two saw Altior and Tiger Roll doing what they do best - jumping and galloping! I have to say I can't see Tiger Roll being beaten in the National again this year. He is such a gritty, tough, terrier of a horse who wont back down from a fight!

Day 3 we had the wonderful Paisley Park whose story - along with that of his owners is what really brings people into racing. Its not a big trainer, its not a big owner, its not a big name and yet he defied all odds and made a name for himself! And with his owners absolute sheer delight at winning - thats why we love what we do! Our lad, Voix D'eau ran a good race. He finished back in the pack and I didnt expect anything more given that he is a true good ground horse so the softer ground will have blunted him a bit. But he is home safe and sound and goes onto Aintree in a few weeks.

The final day started with a great sadness and finished on a high for that same stable and owner combination. But the highlight of the day has to go to the Gold Cup! It can't not! They went off at a blistering pace! This made it a truly run race in which the winner made it look relatively easy! Al Boum Photo could possibly be the horse that comes back to win again. He is young enough, gutsy enough and clearly more than good enough! And the Master Of Cheltenham finally got the crowning jewel of jumps racing! Willie Mullins can retire happy! And on the plus side it wasnt a Rich Ricci, Gigginstown or McManus horse that won! Though Annibale Fly was cannoning home yet again. His day will come in another big race.

Onward bound to Aintree now!

Brilliantly put. :)
 

blodwyn1

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I have very mixed emotions after this cheltenham festival. The brilliant altior, tiger roll, frodon and paisley park and then the worst end to a horse I have seen racing in poor sir erec. I am no longer looking forward to the national.
 

Mariposa

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Days of highs and lows. My hightlights were Paisley Park, Frodon and Ch'tibello in the County Hurdle. Altior - watched through my fingers, was amazing - and Tiger Roll made it look easy!

My lows, Lost in Translation being beaten by Defi - I really wanted him to win, I love that horse, and of course Sir Erec. Like so many others I felt sick to my stomach and left the room in tears.

I love racing so much, but I felt numb watching the rest of the day's racing.
 

AmyMay

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As Cheltenham Festival claims its first victim of 2019, a leading animal welfare charity is asking “Would you watch football if injured players were killed after a match? So why support horse racing?”

How is that even an argument?

I can absolutely appreciate that there are arguments against the racing industry, and Lord know it has its failings. But the paragraph above from the LACS is just ridiculous.
 

tristar

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its not ridiculous it shows the different value we put on the life of an animal compared to a human, the difference is the horse is an innocent victim who is not aware of the risks and is not in a position to make a choice, but the people who expose the horse to the risks know very well what may happen in a bad fall .
 

Meowy Catkin

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The other difference is a practical one - it's much easier to fix a human broken leg than it is an equine one. Think of the times where money and veterinary expertise has been desperately thrown at trying to fix a horse's leg (Barbaro comes to mind) by the end of it, you can't help but wonder if the treatment was far crueler than just euthanizing straight after the accident. When it goes wrong for people however, amputating is a real option.
 

AdorableAlice

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its not ridiculous it shows the different value we put on the life of an animal compared to a human, the difference is the horse is an innocent victim who is not aware of the risks and is not in a position to make a choice, but the people who expose the horse to the risks know very well what may happen in a bad fall .

As we all knew when we tacked our horses up this morning to do whatever we did with them.
 

minesadouble

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its not ridiculous it shows the different value we put on the life of an animal compared to a human, the difference is the horse is an innocent victim who is not aware of the risks and is not in a position to make a choice, but the people who expose the horse to the risks know very well what may happen in a bad fall .

But we already know there is a different value placed on the life of an animal to that of human, that is why we use animals as a food source but not fellow humans.
 

splashgirl45

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my friends horse broke a hind leg when he cantered over to see her. it happens to the most well looked after horses even if they are never ridden. there is no way to change that and although a racehorse being put down is horrible he/she is not suffering for long as opposed to the horses and ponies who are left to starve or dumped when they are dying so the scum who own them can get rid. i dont now watch the grand national live, i would rather watch the replay later, i wish they would have fewer runners in it and not let so many lower ability horses run ...
 

bonny

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my friends horse broke a hind leg when he cantered over to see her. it happens to the most well looked after horses even if they are never ridden. there is no way to change that and although a racehorse being put down is horrible he/she is not suffering for long as opposed to the horses and ponies who are left to starve or dumped when they are dying so the scum who own them can get rid. i dont now watch the grand national live, i would rather watch the replay later, i wish they would have fewer runners in it and not let so many lower ability horses run ...
They don’t let horses with lower ability run, those days have long gone.
 

HashRouge

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How is that even an argument?

I can absolutely appreciate that there are arguments against the racing industry, and Lord know it has its failings. But the paragraph above from the LACS is just ridiculous.
I think some of the animals rights campaigners, who don't have much to do with horses on a daily basis, don't understand the impracticalities of a horse recovering from a broken leg. I couldn't help wading into a Facebook post by a friend last year (maybe after Cheltenham actually) where he was complaining about horse racing and horses being put down after breaking a leg - I basically said, look, complain about racing all you like (and I did agree with quite a lot of what he was saying), but the part where they put horses to sleep when they break their legs is actually the only humane option. He was actually really interested when I explained a bit about horse biology and behaviour and why it makes recovering from an injury like a broken leg so difficult.

For me, the biggest issue with racing has always been how early they back them. The thought of horses being sat on at 18 months old, as I believe many racehorses are, just does not sit right with me at all. And I've never really understood why the need to race them so early - are they faster as 2 year olds? But surely no-one would notice the difference if it was a group of 5 year olds racing on the flat? I would like there to be a minimum age limit in place, but I doubt that will happen.
 

tristar

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when you tack up your horse to ride it in the morning the chances of it having a fatal accident during work are somewhat different to a young not fully mature horse galloping at full speed over fences in a gang of other horses all trying beat it in an environment the horse is not used to.

and jockey inexperience, jack kennedy`s horse coming into the last hurdle was ridden in such a disgusting and unprofessional way it pecked on landing and he fell off.

life is life whether human or animal, is it a matter of value? yes we have dominance but how we chose to use that says a lot about how much respect we have for animals and the choices we make for them.

we have have had horses in a sling for up to five weeks,but is insurance another factor/ if i a horse has a fatal accident racing surely they can claim from the insurance
 

bonny

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when you tack up your horse to ride it in the morning the chances of it having a fatal accident during work are somewhat different to a young not fully mature horse galloping at full speed over fences in a gang of other horses all trying beat it in an environment the horse is not used to.

and jockey inexperience, jack kennedy`s horse coming into the last hurdle was ridden in such a disgusting and unprofessional way it pecked on landing and he fell off.

life is life whether human or animal, is it a matter of value? yes we have dominance but how we chose to use that says a lot about how much respect we have for animals and the choices we make for them.

we have have had horses in a sling for up to five weeks,but is insurance another factor/ if i a horse has a fatal accident racing surely they can claim from the insurance
Are you sure you know what you are writing about ?
 

tristar

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it is`nt a case of so many horses die racing but so many more horses die from neglect , heap the two lots together , its the whole total of deaths that concerns me.
 

splashgirl45

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They don’t let horses with lower ability run, those days have long gone.

i know that the qualification rules are there, but what i meant was, have less runners by excluding the ones with less experience and keeping the more experienced horses in a smaller field...
 
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