Horse Racing

[Theland]

A part of our British culture, but watched five minutes of the Cheltenham racing today.
Am not a fan.
Struck me that it is nothing more than cat food on legs.
Rather cruel.
We could live without it, or at least retire the horses to a decent rest home.

[spathiphyllum]

they must be nervous

[NellieMay]

Exactly ummm!

[Cloverjo]

I don’t like it. I agree with NellieMay. They love to run, not race.
I am sickened when I see pictures of horses with their noses planted into the ground with their whole weight up in the air behind them.

[Cloverjo]

Yes, the whipping too. Plans are in place to ban it, I believe. It’s one thing to use a stick to guide or encourage the horse, but often they’re literally thrashed.

[albaqwerty]

they are not literally thrashed in this country.

If you have any concerns, take it up with the British Horse Racing lot, but they are a bunch of amateurs giving rules to the professionals who look after their horses (jockeys look after their rides, generally)

By the way, a horse can fall down dead in its paddock at home without being ridden. It's called nature.

[New Judge]

I've never seen the point of horse racing. It's quite obvious that some horses will be able to run faster than others. You don't need to build huge tracks (which lie idle for most of the time) to prove it.

[NellieMay]

That's not relevant though Alba. Anything can fall down dead at any time, but the horses that die through racing are injured through racing or exertion and that is not a naturally occurring death.

[chrissa1]

Alba is right. They are not whipped. If you look, the “whip” actually ends in a broad flat piece of leather, that makes a noise and doesn’t hurt the horse as a thin whip would.

This whips were outlawed years ago.

[grumpy01]

The jockeys banned are amateur riders who only ride occasionally.I am sure professional jockeys who are aware of whip rules and have to face owners and trainers every day would act more responsibly.

[ummmm]

But the whip was common years ago.

[chrissa1]

Not now though.

[NellieMay]

It beats me how anyone can support this!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/racing/2019/03/15/cheltenham-2019-horse-deaths-rises-three-overall-safety-record/

[agchristie]

//I've never seen the point of horse racing.//

Bit like golf eh NJ? A good walk spoiled and all that... ;-)

[Ken4155]

So, NJ, you've never seen the point of a multi billion pound industry? As for "It's quite obvious that some horses will be able to run faster than others", if you backed horses on speed ratings alone, you'd be on the streets with a mangy old mongrel for company sitting under a cardboard box. Tactics play a large part of determining which horses win on the day, much as they do in other sports.
No-one likes to see these beautiful equine athletes get injured but racehorses are bred to race. The clue is in the name. If you don't like watching it, you can always watch Peppa Pig.

[agchristie]

//Tactics play a large part of determining which horses win on the day, //

You can take the horse to water...

I would say tactics play a small part Ken.As soon as a horse comes off the bridle it is usually a spent force.

Horses are a law unto themselves.

[Rockrose]

Horses love to rave and jump and the money paid in taxes from the horse racing community is huge

[Rockrose]

Race

[aelmpvw]

:-) i had this fleeting image of horses at a dance party in a disco ...

[-Talbot-]

New Judge
I've never seen the point of horse racing. It's quite obvious that some horses will be able to run faster than others. You don't need to build huge tracks (which lie idle for most of the time) to prove it.




I guess you have never seen the point in

Tennis
Snooker
golf
athletics
etc
It's quite obvious that some people are better than others at Tennis, Snooker, golf, athletics etc...why build stadia to prove it.

[agchristie]

RR had a mare when typing that ;-)