Racing....Yay or nay?!

Perfect_Pirouette

Perfect_Pirouette

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 February 2009
Messages
4,437
Visit site
I have virtually been brought up with racing as nearly all my family love it. From the age of 7-8 I was going to point to points and different race meets.

I am confused on the matter really though. I love a good day/night at the races and do watch racing on TV sometimes, however two of my friends work in the racing industry- one for a large racing stud and one at a very well known trainer's yard in Newmarket. Both say that working in racing has put them off it for life.

It can be fun and enjoyable, but equally, there are a lot of aspects of racing that I don't agree with. I think they are raced far too young to start with!

I find watching races like the grand national weird, as part of me enjoys it and enjoys the adrenalin rush you get from cheering them on and watching the race, but then at the same time my heart is in my mouth for most of it and I can't watch!!

I came in today and my dad was watching a race on the t.v, it was a flat race and unfortunately a horse slipped and had to be destroyed. I felt so upset, which I guess has prompted me to write this.

I can remember when at the yard I used to keep my pony at, a big group of us would regularly have a night out at the races and I can always remember the yard owner, who usually was involved in everything and very up for social events etc saying she would never go as she didn't agree with it.

IS racing cruel? Do you like racing? Do you think racing is anymore cruel or dangerous to a horse than eventing, showjumping or even dressage? Isn't there risk in all disciplines?

Just interested to hear people's views...especially horsey peoples.
 
I dont have a problem with racing except for the racing of 2 year olds which I think is unacceptable. And would like better tracking of outcomes after racing life is over.
 
I know about some of the horrible things that go on behind the scenes in racing and therefore despise the industry. That's all I will say before I get on my soapbox!
 
It depends. I work at a yard where we don't race (point to point) the horses until they are 5 years old. They also do a lot of hunting, dressage and eventing and so if they do go out on loan (they are never sold on) they are already established in other areas. They don't get broken in until 3 and then turned away for a year. They get treated like kings and even have all day turnout (not in single paddocks). So not all yards are the same and it has given me hope that there are lost of other nice yards. However there are also too many horrible yards :(
 
SummerxStarsx said:
IS racing cruel? Do you like racing? Do you think racing is anymore cruel or dangerous to a horse than eventing, showjumping or even dressage? Isn't there risk in all disciplines?
Click to expand...

No.
Without consulting figures, no I don't see it as more dangerous/cruel. Statistically it may be. And yes.

I enjoy jump racing but can't watch flat racing as I find it sinfully boring!
 
I don't like racing - far too many fatalities just for people (mainly the general public) to try to make money out of objects. Horses aren't just objects IMHO and can't bear it when they break legs/necks etc when they fall/are brought down. I know there are fatalities in eventing but I think there is more responsibilty on the shoulders of the riders and organisers. The owners/trainers/jockeys don't seem (again IMHO) to put the horse first - it's the money that counts.
 
I honestly think that in 100 years time racing will have been baned, and people will be saying how barberic and cruel it was and they cant belive it was still done in the year 2010!
 
I love racing and watch it whenever I can. Jumps anyway, flat just too boring!
Is it wany worse than show horses being strapped down in their stables for hours on end? Wearing loads of rugs and sweating and itching so they have a nice coat? Roll kur? Rapping?
Look what we did to them in the wars. We, as a race, do lots of horrible things to horses but they are well looked after on the whole.
 
All forms of equestrianism can have an element of cruelty if done badly including hacking. Most horses enjoy the job they do but there will always be the odd one that doesn't. These horses just refuse to do it if they don't want too. I am less comfortable with horses kept in poor grazing and ridden with ignorance than horses competing and doing something they enjoy and horses DO enjoy racing.
 
I have several girl come to our stud as visitors that were to slow for racing, and gelding go out as projects horse.
 
Horses die in racing, they also die in the fields, in their stables, in the wild, dressage, showing, eventing, showjumping, on the roads, ridden or escaped...

The thing with racing is that the injuries are often more dramatic at the time, so the horse is PTS immediately on injury so the general public (and anti-racing activists) are more aware of it and can keep statistics!

A horse which is overfed through mistaken kindness, gets laminitis, and eventually is pts when the owner is talked into it by the vet due to severe rotation/founder suffers a lot more than a racehorse which breaks its leg mid race, probably doesn't suffer much pain due to the nerves being severed, and is dead within 3-5 minutes of the injury... Or the horse which is cantering across its field at 9am, breaks a leg and isn't checked by its owner until lunchtime, or damages itself after last checks and isn't checked until the following morning. Again, they suffer more.

Anything we do with horses, can harm them, and the life of wild horses isn't exactly a bed of roses. All owners can do is do their best by the horses - racing actually has far stricter rules about veterinary presence and training than even eventing - even at point to points, you have to have at least 2 vets available on the course, a vet in the box park treating a horse injured from a previous race doesn't count, so the next race will be delayed. Most p2ps have a vet in each field to limit the time taken to get to an injured horse. BE events require at least one vet to be on site if there's any jumping going on (no idea about FEI rules). With most XC courses being spread across several fields, with 2-3 horses on course at once, the vet will be much further away than at a point to point, where the vets are spread out around the course, and in the final circuit, will follow the horses round. Unaff events tend to let a local vet practice know that they have an event on, but no-one on site, same goes for SJ and dressage afaik.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top