Horse-Racing- Cruel?

[pixie374]

To avoid disrupting Ken's thread, and to allow people to have their say...

My view is no. Because I believe mental health is just as important for animals as it is for people... and I have worked in Racing yards, Polo yards, Riding schools etc...

When you have bred an animal throughout hundreds of years to want to race, is it actually "kind" to wrap them in cotton wool instead forever? I now work with older people, and feel the same. Anything "fun" comes with some risk.

Obviously,there is no justification for cruelty or abuse, no matter what- and I doubt anyone would suggest there is.

So- horseracing? Fair or not?

[Ken4155]

Huelgoat, Lankeela?

[AuntPollyGrey]

// But racehorses are treated like babies. They literally wear duvets at night. No horse is going to do its best if it is unhappy, or unfit.//

Racehorses have the most un-natural life! They are in their box around 20 -22 hours a day -not usually allowed to graze-given a high grain unhealthy diet and not allowed to socialise with other horses.

There are a few yards that allow turnout in a paddock for an hour or two, but they cannot risk their expensive young racehorses the luxury of turnout with other horses.

[pixie374]

Good luck, lankeela x

[pixie374]

Absolute rubbish, apg. They are in for about 10 hours a day. Not including exercising, grooming and grazing. Where did you work??

[pixie374]

Apg... you do realise, I'm sure... that the expense of looking after and running horses, is nowhere near the prize money available. It's a hobby, for rich people who love horses. You are never ever going to make money from it.

[lankeela]

Yes Huelgoat - he had an entry tomorrow but has not been declared and has an entry at Newton Abbot in a bumper. Fingers crossed - at least will be able to get to watch it in the bookies on Tuesday.

[lankeela]

Well I am certainly not rich! My share cost just £51 for the whole year. Chances are even if he is successful the share of his winnings won't even cover next year's subs.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Pixie -where did you work? Flat horses are absolutely NOT turned out. I'm beginning to think you are winging it a bit here.....

Typical daily routine
5.00am – First feeds given by a key member of staff

6am to 12noon – Mucking out, and riding horses. Each horse will generally be exercised for 1 to 1½ hours. The trainer will oversee three or four ‘lots’ (strings of horses) a day, sometimes more.

12.30pm – Second feed

1.00pm to 3.30pm – Quiet time when the yard will ‘shut down’ so the horses can rest, and the lads have lunch and may also have a sleep; hard work and a good social life being integral to a life in a racing yard.

3.30pm to 5.30pm – Evening stables when the horses are skipped out, groomed and re-checked for injuries, inflammation etc. Some horses may go out for a pick of grass or go on the horse walker. In the summer those horses who have been turned out in small paddocks will come back in for the night.

8.30pm – Late night check and some horses may have another feed.

[pixie374]

Sincerely, I hope you reported that apg. That certainly is not normal or standard.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Thats so funny Pixie -it was directly taken from the retraining of Racehorses page:

https://www.ror.org.uk/care-and-training/life-of-a-racehorse#:~:text=A%20horse%20will%20still%20have,or%20be%20on%20walking%20exercise.

I do actually know what Im talking about without resorting to Google but needed to find something you couldn't argue about. If you have ever worked in a Racing yard where horses get turned out for 10 hours a day then tell us about it!

[pixie374]

I have, apg... in fact all the ones I worked at were brought in for 10 hours a day. Where did you work??
My real question was about cruelty though. And that because horses are raced- that doesn't mean they are cruelly treated.

[pixie374]

Apg, that link is horrendously inaccurate. Are you seriously saying you have worked in those kind of places?

[AuntPollyGrey]

I've not only worked in Yards I've owned a Yard producing 3-year-olds for the Breeze up sales. One of my clients was Sheikh Hamdam but I'm certainly not compromising my anonymity by telling you, my connections.
Like I've said previously Racing is not cruel -the Racing Industry can be. I don't mean the grooms who do a fantastic job looking after the horses. I mean the owners and trainers who make decisions sometimes that don't always take the wellbeing of the horses into account.
I'm not even going to bother asking you where you worked for reasons that have become pretty apparent.

[pixie374]

Probably the most well-known i worked for, although not necessarily "the best" was Martin Pipe.
Where have you been, apg, seriously?

[AuntPollyGrey]

Pixie best leave it there before the hole you are digging for yourself gets any bigger. :-)

[pixie374]

Racing is not cruel. Just what I'm saying. Clearly you have different experiences, but actually- that doesn't make them right.

[pixie374]

Why? If you actually have something to say- just do.

[Togo]

Well done Pixie. You started a thread instead of deciding to be a nuisance elsewhere. I note that you have a multi poster who was invited to do the same but declined the invitation. Obviously gets the self satisfaction from being a pest then. How about we shoot all the thoroughbred horses, and turn the places that they race, train, stable or otherwise have protected and monitored lives into parking spaces or refugee camps? Then we could declare them an endangered "species" and put them in lovely zoos where they could be taught to talk just like on the Disney cartoons.

[pixie374]

Well, seems to be Togo. If we no longer let them race, we may as well eat them.

[Togo]

Now c'mon Pixie. I am not turning froggie no matter what. :))