warning...Jump racing rant!!

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Dreamer515

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:mad: so im sat at work on a night shift bored out of my head and i think i know ill watch my boys big race on youtube. all good but then i decide to read some of the comments put on (i dont know why as it always seems to up set me what some people put on there.)

one of the comments really bugs me which is "dont believe a word of what these people say, they dont love these horses, they dont care what happens to them aslong as they win and they get their money"

can i just say, after working in a jump race yard for 6 years and a point to point yard for 2 years previously that i have never bet a penny on any horse and also the only money i get from my work is my wage! (which is peanuts but its a way of life and we never complained) sure i have been given money by some owners for looking after the horse but then i always appreciated it more when they presented me with photos of the horse, and one owner even had a painting done of one i looked after and enscripted it for me. the horse never won a race but he was still treated like a king and i loved him dearly. 4 years on i still have this painting proudly displayed on my bedroom wall.
when a horse dies on the racecourse it effects everyone involved with the horse, i have unfortuantly seen this many times and even the most hard faced men when they lose their horse are brought to tears. we see and care for these horses all day every day and sometimes staying with them over night if they have an illness or for security reasons. you form such close bonds with the horses in our care and it breaks are hearts whenever we lose one, whether through death or sales. they never want for anything. they have turnout, feed 3x a day, groomed within an inch of their life, exercised on a daily basis, their beds look more comftable to sleep in then some of us stable staff had. i loved all of my horses very much and i still look back at all the photos (i have loads and loads!) and can remember each individuals personalities and likes/dislikes.

Another comment that really bugs me is " its cruel to make a horse do something they clearly dont enjoy doing" if you can make a 550k of pure muscle do something it doesnt want to do then fair play to you but for us regular folk i can assure you that it is pretty much impossible. if they dont want to do it then they soon let you know. ive seen many riding school ponies/pony club ponies/hackers not wanting to do their job yet they are pushed and pulled and they have their spirit broken and give up. how is that fair? my horse that i now own i used to look after in his racing carrer, and yes towards the end he did go sour. we tried mixing his routine up and different things and he gave us good results at home, took him to the race course and he pulled himself up at the 2nd fence. the owners decided to retire him there and then as he clearly wasnt enjoying it and they asked me if i would like to have him. i of course jumped at the chance as he was my boy, i knew all his quirks and still loved him! they werent in it for the money, they bred the horse, had a sydnicate where everything the horse won went back into a pot for any vet/retierment/ whatever the horse needed. they refused to accept any payment for him and gifted him to me on the condition that he would never race again and if i had top sell then they would buy him back.

i know i for one will never forget any of the horses i had in my care, they were all far too special, from the ones who never saw a racecourse or never won a race to the big cheltenham winners, they were all treated the same. it breaks my heart that some people think that we dont care for these horses that give their all wanting to please, loving to race, and flying over the obstacles.

sorry for the rant, it just really annoys me that a few people can be so heartless.
 
Hear hear!Well said, and beautifully put. People just don't realise what these horses do mean to the people who look after them, day in, day out. Yes, there will be a few owners who are in it for the kudos, but for the majority I do believe they genuinely care, especially in NH. I've met quite a few stable staff, and I know what these horses mean to you all. In fact, I think you are the closest of all to these horse. You're right about horses and ponies in other walks of life. I've seen with my own eyes horses that have given up because their owners don't care. Horses treated just as a ways to a means.Carry on loving your horses in your charge, you know you care, and so do they :) x
 
To be honest I don't know if anything can influence how anti racing people think. A friend posted a clip about how TBs are cast aside and slaughtered after they fail or end their careers. I think it was an abattoir clip which I could not and did bit view. I did however speak up and said that I enjoyed going to the races. Myself and a couple of others who made positive comments were then subjected to a number of insults and name calling. I don't know how people think that this is an ok way to behave! Yes my husband likes to bet when we go to the races and I'm getting the hang of it but when the horses go out to the start my first care is that they come home safe.
I've only been to a race yard once and the horses there were being well looked after by the YM and were very loved as well. I did some massage work on one of the horses and am hoping to go back and do some more soon. The boy I worked on races at the end of the month and I know my heart will be in my mouth waiting for him to come home safe AND I've just met him once.
 
Like. Like. Like. When I saw the title I thought it was going to be an anti thread and I was all geared to rant myself. I think a lot of the antis rant through ignorance - if only they would be accepting to open their eyes and minds.
 
Nigel Twiston-Davies horse Mad Moose is evidence that you can't make a horse do something it doesn't want to do. Both times I've seen it race he hasn't started. First time he didn't even move, the second time he ambled up to the first rather unenthusiasticaly then stopped!

My dad has a share in a flat horse and he really isn't interested in the wins/money (just as well as she didn't do too well!). They retired her and both him and my mum were quite sad about it. She went to a nice yard to be reschooled.
 
Well said OP!!! I'd rather come back as a racehorse than a poor scraggy pony tethered to a post on someone else's land!

The only negative thing I will say about racing is that I would like to see a few more owners take an interest in where there horse ends up after its raced. But the same could be said in a disciplines!
 
Elbie said:
Nigel Twiston-Davies horse Mad Moose is evidence that you can't make a horse do something it doesn't want to do. Both times I've seen it race he hasn't started. First time he didn't even move, the second time he ambled up to the first rather unenthusiasticaly then stopped!

My dad has a share in a flat horse and he really isn't interested in the wins/money (just as well as she didn't do too well!). They retired her and both him and my mum were quite sad about it. She went to a nice yard to be reschooled.
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I follow Mad Moose on Twitter :) I think he's now notched up 4 non starts and last week he dropped out at the first fence :) at Cheltenham last march he ran in the opposite direction to the other horses :)
 
Parkerpops said:
Well said OP!!! I'd rather come back as a racehorse than a poor scraggy pony tethered to a post on someone else's land!

The only negative thing I will say about racing is that I would like to see a few more owners take an interest in where there horse ends up after its raced. But the same could be said in a disciplines!
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Owners are kept informed, but like anyone else no one can guarantee they will get the best home on offer, some of the best are retired locally, and owner gets a bill every month!
 
TrasaM said:
I follow Mad Moose on Twitter :) I think he's now notched up 4 non starts and last week he dropped out at the first fence :) at Cheltenham last march he ran in the opposite direction to the other horses :)
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o dear, I don't think he will be appearing on the racecourse again.......... or Nige [Twiston-Davis] will find there is hell to pay [Jockey Club Rules OK]
so how do i twitt?
do i #MadMoose?
 
TrasaM said:
I follow Mad Moose on Twitter :) I think he's now notched up 4 non starts and last week he dropped out at the first fence :) at Cheltenham last march he ran in the opposite direction to the other horses :)
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I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Mad Moose on a race course again. He's been referred to the BHA so it won't be a big shock if he gets banned. I remember the same thing happened to Chaninbar when he refused to race a few times.
 
TelH said:
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Mad Moose on a race course again. He's been referred to the BHA so it won't be a big shock if he gets banned. I remember the same thing happened to Chaninbar when he refused to race a few times.
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Shame but MM does seem to have a mind if his own and taking part in races does not seem to be what he wants to do.
 
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