Why ?

[fatmrsgeorge]

Trying to make sense of the furore over the grand national. Why do the horses need to be put down ? Cant they be saved by surgery etc ? Secondly isn't there a minimum qualifying standard for horses and riders ? Last, arent there too many horses for safety ? I am a once a year punter on the national so genuinely dont know the answers. Thanks

 

[Nollaig Shona]

Trying to make sense of the furore over the grand national. Why do the horses need to be put down ? Cant they be saved by surgery etc ?

It depends on the injury, but generally speaking, yes they do sadly need to be put to sleep as horses don't make for good patients. It's practically impossible to immobilise a horse safely for any length of time - you can't put them in a coma, their lungs would fill with fluid and they'd die that way. Some horses have been saved after a fracture, but it doesn't happen often. Mill Reef broke a leg but survived, Barbaro on the other hand had to be PTS after he'd been operated on due to complications after he broke a leg.

Secondly isn't there a minimum qualifying standard for horses and riders ?

Yes there are. And this year they were the highest standards ever.

Last, arent there too many horses for safety ? I am a once a year punter on the national so genuinely dont know the answers. Thanks

Once upon a time there was no limit on the number of runners, but it was reduced to a maximum of 40 for safety reasons. The fences and the course have all been altered to make it safer. IMP they need to look at the idea of reducing the size of the field in future, a lot of falls were/are caused by too many horses trying to jump the same spot on the fence at the same time - particularly the Canal Turn where everyone wants to jump on the extreme left of the fence to get a good turn on landing, there's now a rail on the run-in to the jump to make them stay over to the right.

 

[fatmrsgeorge]

Thanks for your answers. Now I get it. Cheers