Poll - Is racing cruel?

[Lucy_Ally]

So looking at the videos of accidents and falls on racecourses,do you consider racing cruel? What do you think can be done to improve the safety of racing or should it be banned all together?

Answers on a postcard!

 

[Tia]

Get rid of yearling and 2 year old races. Make a minimum age for racing.

 

[gemz666]

i dont think it is cruel

 

[teapot]

I don't think it's cruel at all.

Accidents happen in whatever equestrian sport you do. Eventing, Polo are only 2 examples

 

[Skhosu]

PErsonally I'd get rid of racing anything under 3 and I would take away the whip.
Howevere, not sure it's particularly cruel.

 

[vicijp]

The root of the problems in the racing industry are the breeders. Until a grading system comes into place where you cant breed from any old crap the Irish will keep churning out yaks and flogging them to dense Englishmen. Mares and stallion alike need grading - just look at the Coolmore stallions. Heavy topped, no bone donkeys - and I know for a fact 2 of them are hobdayed.
This of course needs sorting by the HRA. Until they grow some backbone and tackle the problems at the root of the sport, the happenings in the public eye are irrelevant. They need a thorough kick up the a55, lately they may as well have handed out trainers licenses in bags of walkers crisps.
Since the BHB went bankrupt it has been a downhill slide. The HRA need the money and licences are being brought by incompetents.
I dont know how that can be sorted out.

 

[beh]

[ QUOTE ]
Get rid of yearling and 2 year old races. Make a minimum age for racing.

[/ QUOTE ]

i think that is the way to go, it is wrong to race such young horses, there should also be a selection of Fitness and health test a horse must take before it is allowed to race, (these shoyld be taken every year or something) if they dont alreaddy exist lol

 

[Josh_craney]

nope racing isnt cruel imo. if racing is cruel so is every other equine sport, someone mentions a whip they are true in some repects the whip sometimes is used far too often but then again it is in show jumping and dressage. the only thing that i would change is the height of some of those fences.

 

[Irishcobs]

Nope don't think its cruel but like others have said, an age limit should be brought in so nothing under 3 races.
And fewer horses in a race. Lots of horses get brought down by lacking in room, and loose horses crossing them at jumps.

 

[jayvee]

[ QUOTE ]
The root of the problems in the racing industry are the breeders. Until a grading system comes into place where you cant breed from any old crap the Irish will keep churning out yaks and flogging them to dense Englishmen. Mares and stallion alike need grading .

[/ QUOTE ]

Intresting that. I agree on the grading system. I would like to see under 3yo stopped. I don't feel happy with that. Otherwise racing is a fasinating sport and should stay.

 

[Theresa_F]

No racing under 3, limit to number of horses in a race.

I love going racing and if racing were banned, it would be the start of a slippery slope - ending in no equine sport whatsoever.

 

[Bounty]

I clicked 'only flat racing' purely because of the ages at which they race them, and the frequency.

I also clicked that it could be made better by more research - although i think alot more research should be focused onto the affects of training/racing so young. The race industry gives no thought about what happens to the burnt out flat horses, we all know that the majority of people won't touch them with a barge pole for reschooling because of the strains they've been put under both physically and mentally in the past.
Poor things.

 

[helenandshadow]

No i don't think it's cruel, accidents happen in eventing and showjumping etc. it's just less publicised. However, i think it would be better if there was a minimum age of 3 or 4 and fewer horses in a race.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

No i dont think racing is cruel at all however i agree with tia that there should be a minimum age of racing

 

[rrose]

IMHO i hate it and would love it to be banned. but as this will not happen i would be happy for them to use less horses in each race, shorter distances, there should be a min age and a max age. i would also take away the whip as well

 

[RunToEarth]

Like Vici's response, very similar to what somebody told me just yesturday.
In general I dont think racing is cruel at all, I think the bad points of the sport are highlighted far too often, and those bad points are minute and infrequent. But as Tia says, yearling races? Little harsh IMO

 

[The Virgin Dubble]

I answered no, not cruel, and that I would like to see more injury research and better breeding.

There are far too many sub-standard horses raced by dreamers.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

In most equine sports, except showing, you can't do anything with a horse until he reaches 4 years of age. Then he's deemed to be strong enough, skeleton formed enough to be competed in a variety of disciplines.......why is horse racing out of sinc with this. Surely the stresses & strains of racing on a young immature horse is the main reason for many of the injuries incurred.

Surely their racing debut should be deferred until 3 years of age at the earliest.

 

[darksided]

Some people have suggested taking away the whip.
Isn't there a restriction on whip-usage anyway?
So overuse would result in sanction?
I hope I'm not talking out my arse here, cos I don't really know much about it

But yearling races? Eurgh... that really SHOULD be stopped

 

[seabiscuit]

I am all in favour of banning racing for horses under 4 years of age.
Why oh why do they do it it is impossible for them not to be severely affected permantly by racing at such a young age.
Ive just had a 5 year old ex flat racer put down (he was raced at 2) and he was physically a write off in every single respect from his stomach and his digestion system, to his neck and spinal cord, to his back legs, and to his muscles.My other 7 year old flat racer had kissing spine and hock spavin.They are such young and beautifull horses it makes me deeply upset when I think about it and also how many other horses out there also youngsters suffering in pain.It has cost me thousands and many years to try and sort my horses out.

As for jump racing- IMO limiting the number of horses running is not going to particularly reduce the severity of accidents as it only takes 2 horses to crash.It is unfortunate that these crashes,somersaults and pile ups do happen from time to time, but an equal number of horrific accidents happen to people with cars,pile ups, somersaults, etc etc with equally traumatic consequences. Life is dramatic and horrific at times for all animals and humans no matter what we do, no jump racing, or jump racing.A life or no life. If we all wanted to live wrapped up in cotton wool the world would be a boring place.

Also as Vicijp says racehorse breeders should stop breeding such crap. I have been absolutely disgusted at the quality and poor conformation of numerous horses at the sales with supposedly top breeding. I wouldnt even rely on them to stand up to a gentle eventing career let alone be a racehorse. They have got to stop breeding rubbish!

 

[vicijp]

There is no such thing as yearling races. The youngest they can race is as a 2yo, at the start of the season - many are 2 and 3 months.
I dont necessarily think racing at 2yo is a bad thing, for some horses. We tend not to race 2yo, however all do a bit in training as a 2yo - if only a couple of canters. Most NH horses are now broken in at 2 - it is the trainer you buy off which will determine how knackered the horse is.
A trainer local to us, has plenty of winners. Hammers everything up a steep hill from day 1. He has loads of early 2yo winners, but when the big boys come out he is hopeless. He has those early winners because they are fitter than the rest, but none train on as a 3yo. I know because I see them all go through Leominster sales.
If you brought one off him it would need 3 years to recover, however if you go and buy off someone who doesnt have a lot of 2yo you are in with a better chance. We buy numerous horses as unraced back end 2yos, give them 9 months in the field. Most stay sound for years to come, 3 such types have been sold as riding horses this summer - all passed 5* vettings. One such horse was in training at Paul Coles as a yearling 2yo, PC never raced him because he knew he wasnt strong enough - vet passed horse saying he hd 'the elasticity of a warmblood'. A good trainer waits with his horses, a bad trainer hammers them to get them fitter than the rest. Hence goes back to the HRA being lax about licensing.
As for jump racing, everyone falls over at sometime in their life. 9 times out of 10 you would be ok, there is always a chance you can break your neck.
Generally there are 2 types of horses that fall. Unfit and badly schooled. Look through the races and see how many of the fallers are trained by nobodies - they are nobodies because they cant get a horse fit and teach it how to jump. Hence they shouldnt have a license.
Some falls are just unlucky, and some horses even need to fall once to teach them how to jump. Some of the falls are from bad horses that shouldnt be on a racetrack - going back to the breeding industry problem.
As for research, a percentage of every single bit of prizemoney goes into it - which is a damn site more than any other sport. If you wish to read the research then subscribe to 'Trainer' magazine.

 

[Olliedog]

Haven't read all the posts, but agree totally with banning 2 year olds from racing, and sorting out cr***y breeders! The trend seems to be that breeders are giving no thought to temperament, conformation or soundness, and are only breeding for speed.

Edited because I can't spell

 

[seabiscuit]

Really interesting and informative Vicijp- thank you very much for that- that was an eye opener!