Gamebird
Well-Known Member
Thought it was worth sharing as there's always a lot of interest on here in pre-race checks
www.britishhorseracing.com
Grand National Welfare
- Thread starter Gamebird
- Start date
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
That’s good news but I would still like fewer runners in the National , I think that would stop quite so many fallers
AmyMay
Situation normal
That is the one thing I’ve been saying for years.
Elf On A Shelf
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I'm not sure number of runners would make a huge difference. What would is jockeys not going down to the first like it's a 2furlong sprint. They have 4 miles to go. No need to go haring off.
Crazy_cat_lady
Well-Known Member
It's bad they've gone back on trying to implement the new whip rules if I've got it right
Do away with it entirely, and just allow for safety, e.g a potential swerve/run out. If it's used,the stewards check to see if suitable
Re the National, I think they've made the jumps too small, once the fluff goes they look like hurdles, can they not bulk them up more to make them slow down? So they need to be treated with respect and not just hurdled over but properly jumped?
Do away with it entirely, and just allow for safety, e.g a potential swerve/run out. If it's used,the stewards check to see if suitable
Re the National, I think they've made the jumps too small, once the fluff goes they look like hurdles, can they not bulk them up more to make them slow down? So they need to be treated with respect and not just hurdled over but properly jumped?
bonny
Well-Known Member
Just do away with the whip and the jumps and then no one would complain.
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
they have never tried fewer runners and maybe they go hell for leather to get to the fence first so they can get to see it properly, do you know how wide , as in across the width of the track , is the fence and could 40 horses all jump it at the same time without going in front of another horse.
Elf On A Shelf
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You could probably fit 25 upsides going over the first. Not every horse is a front runner and there 4.25miles to go so no need to be in front over the first. Arthur won from being out in the clouds barely mentioned 95% of the race.
I personally, not that I would ever jump those fences
would go 5 wide 3-4 lengths back from front rank over the first 4 or 5 fences til the pace settles down and evens out.
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
Thanks Elf, I know not all are front runners but there is always a lot of jostling over the national fences and I still feel it’s too many for the first few fences, once a load have fallen or unseated there are fewer to squash in
bonny
Well-Known Member
Over the last two runnings three horses have unseated at the first, all the horses jumped the second so that’s not really the case anymore.
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
I still think 40 is too many however many fall at the first few fences
Clodagh
Playing chess with pigeons
I think it is a farcical over hyped staying chase. No one gets excited about the Eider and apart from slightly higher handicaps there’s really no difference nowadays.
Elf On A Shelf
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And Newcastle's fences take a hell of a lot more jumping than the National fences these days! You won't find less forgiving fences in the north!
rabatsa
Confuddled
I have become disappointed in the National nowadays. It used to be THE RACE, now it is just another horse race with a lot more runners.
RachelFerd
Well-Known Member
Thought it was worth sharing as there's always a lot of interest on here in pre-race checks
Enhanced veterinary protocols for 2023 Grand National | British Horseracing Authority
Fair play to the BHA, that does sound like significant steps forward in ensuring that the horses who do come forward are sound and healthy enough to participate.
tristar
Well-Known Member
poor movers and asymmetrical gaits, covers a lot of not quite right, good move
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
The problem as I see it is two-fold:
Horses being entered who simply don't have the fitness OR the experience to deal with what is expected; coupled with too many horses at the starting tape which means that any fallers at the earlier fences in particular are putting everyone else at risk.
Horses being entered who simply don't have the fitness OR the experience to deal with what is expected; coupled with too many horses at the starting tape which means that any fallers at the earlier fences in particular are putting everyone else at risk.
bonny
Well-Known Member
That’s just not the case, all the horses are experienced, decent chasers and the argument about reducing numbers just isn’t backed up by the statistics. It’s become as safe as any other race.
Elf On A Shelf
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If you watch every horse in a racing yard trot up you would be surprised at just how many move badly. This covers plaiting, dishing, asymmetry through previous pelvic injury or just badly built horses etc. We have one lad here who, at first glance, looks like a lovely strapping big horse. You take a second look and you will realise just how upright his shoulders and hind limbs are. This horse moves like a jackhammer purely because he is not built to move any other way. Some horses have had previous injuries or are just built badly enough to have a mechanical lameness.
Crazy_cat_lady
Well-Known Member
I think the jumps are now too low, so it encourages them to go faster and flatter, surely having to go a bit slower and set up for the fences would be better? Now at the back they look like glorified hurdles once the fluff is knocked off - surely going faster and flatter will cause more falls?
Also maybe reduce the field to 30?
Also maybe reduce the field to 30?
reynold
Well-Known Member
The number of runners is not the total problem and a reduction to 30 probably wouldn't make much difference. The fences are very wide.
The real problem is the jockeys, who are briefed before the race about it, going flat out like lunatics to the first fence. They have moved the start closer to the first fence a few years ago but it doesn't seem to have made much improvement.
The jockeys need to stop and think. They've got 4+ miles to go so starting 10 foot further back than the next horse isn't going to make much difference.
The real problem is the jockeys, who are briefed before the race about it, going flat out like lunatics to the first fence. They have moved the start closer to the first fence a few years ago but it doesn't seem to have made much improvement.
The jockeys need to stop and think. They've got 4+ miles to go so starting 10 foot further back than the next horse isn't going to make much difference.
Elf On A Shelf
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tristar
Well-Known Member
what a wonderful case you make for changing the system.
in fact its not much different in most equestrian sports, soundness wise.
if the animal rights people read that!
we had a horse many years ago, very upright/straight in a lot of joints, he was a wonderful mover, and beautiful to ride, and won many dressage comps, its not always the way.
its really about should a sub clinically lame horse be competing in arguably the toughest sport, where sub optimal performance can result in potentially serious harm.
not allowing for the myriad of other factors, poor farriery etc