Cheltnam

I have worked in a mix of National hunt yards and flat yards for over 8 years. At least with the racehorses if they have to be put down at the racecourse or at home training the horses are so high on adrenaline they dont feel anything. It is always a quick decision to keep the horse alive or call it a day. I do agree it is a sad side of the sport to see or hear of horses being put down but as mentioned earlier in the thread horses are put down everyday for lots of other reasons. Look at how excited majority of the horses are and how desperate to run they are.
I think it is one of those things we should all agree to disagree on!!!
 
It is something we should probably agree to disagree on.

TB's wouldn't even exist if they hadn't been bred for centuries to race, & without them it would leave a tremendous gap in the horse world, especially in breeding. What about all the TB crosses? Also if I trace my Sec B's pedigree right back it goes to the Darley Arabian, just like my TB NH bred horse. There's a little bit of TB in many breeds.

Horses can break their necks & die in other disciplines - eventing, hunting etc. Would you deny those horses a career that they love? Obviously they can't choose their own path in life, but if they didn't want to do it they wouldn't - I'm thinking of nappy or non-starting horses here. They get the best of everything in training & are looked after by experts, a much better existence than many others get.

The industry is now attempting to address the issue of retired racehorses by supporting rehoming centres etc. I think the Cheltenham single out now is one such attempt. I've had three TB's, two flat bred & one NH. My life has been all the better for having them & they've gone on from racing to be succesful with previous owners in other disciplines before semi-retiring with me.
 
Mollymillymoo said:
Is anyone watching the Cheltnam Festival at the moment? We have it on tv at work cos everyone's been betting on it and everytime I turn around there's a horse on the floor... :s I just looked and one fell and it's leg was twitching. It made me feel sick.

Is it just me or is this an incredibly barbaric sport? Does anyone else dislike watching it? Why do they keep falling?
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There are risks in every equestrian discipline and cruelty exists in every sphere... Remember that Parelli video? I had a crashing fall out showjumping. PF broke her jaw, but could just as easily have broken a leg. Is showjumping barbaric? By your criteria, perhaps. What about Eventing then? I think AT's riding on Le Samurai WAS barbaric. What about polo? I've seen plenty of horses break a leg or just drop dead. What about all the rumblings about the unsavoury activities going on behind the scenes (and not so behind the scenes- we've seen THOSE vids as well) at dressage yards, showing yards, SJing yards and what about the day to day horrors we read about on HHO? Negligence and ignorance are rife. Comparatively I think racehorses have it pretty good. Agree with Kerilli that the really shocking aspect of racing is the lack of care that sometimes goes into rehoming them once their racing careers are over
 
Allsorts55 said:
Hi JessPickle,

I would say that if there wasn't a racing industry then there wouldn't be the amount of horses being bred to fill the hooves of the horses that are no longer "commercially viable". It is a vicious circle and it seems that the horses are the only one's who suffer.
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If there were no LEGAL racing industry, there would be an ILLEGAL racing industry and horses would continue to be bred and raced but without the welfare measures currently in place
 
PF - perhaps barbaric was not the word I was looking for... I posted out of shock and sadness that such a healthy, talented and beautiful horse should have such a sudden, public and undignified death. I have very little experiance of racing, I occasionally go to Point to Points(not quite the same I know) and have seen a disproportionate number of animals being destroyed/dying at those events than when I go and watch say a show jumping comp or watch eventing(at which I have never personally seen an animal die). My Aunt's boyfriend owns 5 race horses and I know how well they are kept - undeniably better than many, many general riding horses I know.

But the fact remains that they are used as a business and are a disposable commodity. There are huge numbers of young animals that do and will die, doing what they love, but undeniably at too young an age. And it makes me feel sick. As you all say, they can make really fantastic riding horses and I have seen loaddds of them. I personally would rather see them being enjoyed as pets and given the chances of a longer life doing something other than racing - never to happen I know, but in a more perfect world it would be nice to see. There are also lots of problems that come out of racing and I've seen a few of those too - wasn't there a thread on here about an advert for an 11 year old ex racer than noone wanted and was to be shot yesterday afternoon if noone would take it for free?

I don't know - I'm just commenting on what I see, highly likely most people see me as being sentimental and naieve about the subject. But watching that yesterday left a horrible taste in my mouth.
 
Wild Horses: 10-20 years life expectancy.
People Own Horses, life expectancy increases to 20-35 years.
People Push Horses to do more, life expectancy decreases to 3-10 years in those cases.

700,000 tonnes of horse meat has to come from somewhere, alright some are bed purely for that purpose, and the majority of meat doesn't come from the UK.

They do seem to be treated like Commodities...like an stereo, will be thrown out when it's battery dies, no one keeps them to look at do they.

Not everyone is like this though, and to those of you who keep their horses even when their riding days are over, I commend you.
 
Ok U569UK where do those figures come from?

I compete all my horses, I have a horse eventing, have SJ to a high standard and been on yards, we have lost horses from week old foals to 30+ years olds. On average I would say a good age for a horse is still 20. My 20 SJ, Grade A jumped for GB, had everything he ever wanted in life died from a heart attack at 20, a friends WB backed as 5 yo, tripped in the field and broke his leg 6 months later.

Horses are animals, they get themselves into trouble, they are poorly designed, they have the heart and guts, to tackly life with such zest and eagerness, love the feel of galloping, running as herd.

A yard I was at lost a 2 yo cantering down the field bucked and landed badly and shattered her fetlock, do we keep them in stables for all their lives, look at them and say how pretty they are?

10 years wild horse expectancy that is no age at all, look at Kauto Star and Denman running in the Gold Cup at 10, both horses loving it, ears pricked attacking fences, doing what they were born to do (and a lot of us forget that) horse are born to run.

The huge steps in equine medicine are down to these TBs that run so full of life, without our riding horse life expectancy would be no where near what it is.

As for commodities, all mine have been kept to old age, I have been given ex racers from a trainer and still am, where the owners DO care where they go and what happens, native ponies are suffering starving, riding horses are being dumped as no market what do you suggest we do?
 
Mollymillymoo -

I understand completely where you are coming from - generally I do not watch the racing but unfortunately caught it last week, and saw 2 horses fall and get fatally hurt, in a short space of time! I wonder what the feeling would be if jockeys were hurt or badly injuried to the same amount statistically?

It was interesting to read the replies to your initial thread as the replies on another thread "Another fatality" were not quite so supportive (my interpretation) regarding the Cheltenham topic. It's a shame the world for horses is quite hard really. Racing is all about the winners/trainers/cups. Unfortunately I adore horses, their spirit, grace/personality/power/challenges but not the rosettes. It was nice to read your initial post and find an empathetic point of view. Thanks
 
A racehorse that breaks its leg in a race will be dead before it even realises it's in pain. A companion horse than breaks its leg in the field in the middle of the night will be in pain for several hours until someone sees it... I know which I'd prefer. A vet will be with a racehorse which is injured on the track within about a minute of the first signs of trouble - there are several vets there for just that reason - at least one per field even at the smallest point to point! All vets at racecourses have to be at least 5 years qualified and have to do racecourse specific training before they can officiate!
 
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