Is racing cruel? What about dressage?

[cptrayes]

. I'm just sick of the shortsightedness of the racing bashers who refuse to see that pretty much all sports have unpleasant as well as positive aspects to them, they just differ.

And I'm sick of racing people who cannot just accept that the death rate in National Hunt racing in deaths per 1000 horses competing is far higher than in any other equestrian activity.

The NH Racing argument is not a simple one when you take into consideration revenues, taxes, employment, horse welfare, horses' will to be alive etc etc etc.

I don't understand why you cannot accept that it is not a case of NH racing "just differing" a bit from other sports; and accept that the high death rates are a concern to many people, horse people and not. My OH has been to two meets. A horse died at each and he is now bitterly opposed to NH racing in a way that I certainly am not. He is not a horseman, just a businessman.

I will listen with respect to any opinion as to why the higher death rate is acceptable. I find the one that the horses would prefer to be alive for a while and die quickly from a race injury than never to have lived at all - the alternative - particularly convincing. I use it myself to justify being a meat-eater.

But I will not listen with the same respect to repeated denial that it is any different from any other horse sport, when it so clearly is.

 

[Caledonia]

*sighs*

You'll find the answer to your last post on the previous thread.

I think as you are now resorting to insults, the time to put you on UI has arrived. But before I do that, perhaps your horses that do dressage all by themselves in the field might like to meet the ones in my fields that have wings, blue eyes, golden hooves and can tell someone with an honours degree in bull**** a mile off??