The Grand National

[gessoo]

I refuse to support this because of the amount of injuries and deaths it causes and I believe it pushes the horses beyond their natural capabilities. When I have watched it I found it very upsetting.

I heard yesterday on the news that nine horses died last year alone. I don't understand why it is allowed to continue. It is just a moneymaking exercise all round and is a cruel sport as far as I am concerned.

Loads of people will disagree, but does anyone agree with me?

[Emma-J]

I totally agree with you, its a horrid sport, you say 9 died last year alone, thats got to negate animal cruelty surely! I don't agree with any of the other racing sports either such as dog racing, the owners/trainers always say its the animals natural instinct to run, but its a real strain on their bodies and I think its wrong.

They'll never ban it though coz it makes too much money and the toffs will have nothing better to do!

Good question by the way.
EJ

[gessoo]

Thanks Emma. I just can't understand why people don't seem to consider it cruel. Year upon year at work we used to have office sweepstakes and I never would participate and stated the reason why. I was alone in this. Like you I don't like to see any form of horse racing. The demands on the animals are far too high. I also don't like dog racing because of what happens to the poor dogs after their racing life is finished.

Money rules this world, eh!

[little coojy]

i agree the horses are pushed much to hard and the jockey uses the whip far to much, surely the horse that runs the fastest on its own steam should be winner.

[noxlumos]

I'm going to be the big bad wolf here and defend it I'm afraid.

Use of the whip is strictly controlled, excessive use results in a stewards enquiry and jeopardises the result so scarcely ever happens.Racing is money oriented ( we have a small ex-race horse rescue and recieve an amazing amount of help from the racing fraternity but very little from the general public, that's how much the average man ACTUALLY cares) but as well as being money driven, racing people have a very real and deep love of their horses, albeit a different style of love than the animal rights activists who think anything they don't understand is cruel.They respect their horses and serious tears are shed when a mishap befalls one.It a truth that none of the horses you see would be alive if there was no racing. They are at best an average breed type for any other application and their temperaments make them sometimes unsuitable for certain riders and uses. We try to rehabilitate the ones which come to us so that they have a long and useful life and are rehomed as hunters,showjumpers etc but they are not the easiest of breeds and to try to stop horse racing would result in an almost unimaginable amount of horses being sent for slaughter as you can't reschool in 5 minutes.So your choice is let racing continue with people who understand the mechanics of the industry and the horses or intervene and risk bringing about the demise of not just a huge economic bonus for the UK and Ireland but also of the horses themselves.It's always distressing to lose a horse, but their purpose is to race and yes they do enjoy it.

I'm going to wait now to be jumped on as a unkind person, but I too love horses but I also recognise the validity of racing and hope it continues with minimal interferance for years to come.

[gessoo]

I would never call you unkind Noxlumos. From your posts I know that is far from the truth. I understand all that you say, but I still feel quite sure that the majority of horses don't like being pushed to jump over things that doesn't come naturally. Just watching the horses stop at the jumps looking agitated makes me wince. They can't enjoy that.

I admire what you do with your race horse rescue, but I think it should be up to the super rich people that own them to make sure they care for them themselves after their useful life is over. But that would cost them money and interfere with their life style.

I am a practical person, noxlumos and a country person and I am certainly not one of these animal activists. I see the necessity in killing for food or for vermin control, but I don't like to see animals used for financial gain or to satisfy human need for a 'jolly day out'.

We must beg to differ on this.

I live almost next door to a racecourse! :o)

[jedimistress]

I agree completely. I was arrested there one year. Naughty me.

[jedimistress]

On reading the other posts I have to say I am one of "these animal rights activists". And proud, and trust me it is not because "I don't understand".

Why is it when you know the difference between cruel and not cruel do people want to demonise you and patronise you???

[zara 4]

I said exactly the same thing on another thread,i reckon the grand national is cruel and i would never put money on it,i reckon one year just for a change we should have the jockeys doing the race with monkeys riding on their backs,

[gessoo]

Jedimistress. By saying that I am not one of 'these animal activists, I am referring to those that bring disrepute to genuine protesters and demonstrators by doing such things as digging up graves. I would certainly lend my support to any genuine protest against animal abuse.

I know what you mean about 'not understanding'! I am a true country dweller. I find fox hunting appalling as do a good majority of country dwellers I talk too, yet if I post my feelings about fox hunting I usually get replies saying I 'do not understand' country ways. The Countryside Alliance only represents a very few of us. But that's another issue.

Chicken Farms with rows upon rows of chickens in battery houses is a fast growing industry where I live. I 'understand' this completely. Greed on the part of already rich farmers and greed on the part of consumers who will not pay extra for their poultry and would prefer to turn a blind eye to suffering.

I digress :o)

[gessoo]

Zara 4. Where is the other thread please.

[kipchik]

Thers one on the news thread page 5 gessoo,sorry but don't know how to do the link!

[annavc]

I actually agree with noxlumos on this one. I used to think it was cruel but since meeting and becoming friends with someone who is closely involved with the horse racing world I now have a much better understanding of it. People say the horses don't enjoy it but you just have to watch the ones who have unseated their riders and who continue to run the course and jump the fences with no one riding them to see this isn't true. If they didn't enjoy it and didn't want to do it, when the rider fell off surely they would stop running but they don't. These animals are bred to run and jump, its a natural instinct for them and they do enjoy it.

Yes it is a huge money-making industry but the people invoved - the owners, the trainers, the jockeys, the stable lads all care deeply about the horses and race horses are supremely well-cared for. They have the best of everything. I've visited a couple of racing stables and they are cleaner and better maintained than a lot of people's houses! The people involved do the very best they can for these animals and yes there is a risk in every race but it's not just the horses that are at risk, the jockeys too are risking life and limb every time they go out but they do it because they love the job and they love the horses.

Its one of these issues that is always going to divide people but I've had my view changed in the last couple of years.

[gessoo]

Thanks for your views Anna, which I respect. Do the horses really enjoy running along with the race and going over the jumps once they have thrown their riders(he he), or is it just that natural herd instinct? Watch a herd of wild horses - one or two run and they all run I doubt whether they think about what they are doing. Personally, I doubt that it is because they are enjoying it. Also, the jockeys have a choice in whether they risk their lives or not - the horses do not.

I will never be convinced that the Grand National or other such races are OK. I just kept away from the TV on Saturday to stop my BP going up. :o)

[Vasquoy]

What worries me about this thread is the constant reference to "toffs" and rich people.

I worked in the horse industry and racing industry for years and the percentage of people involved in going to racing tend to be low, working and middle class people. And I would hazard a guess that most of the owners are not "toffs" but business people and syndicates of "normal" working people. And the same goes for hunting may I add - go to your average meet and the people out on horseback are not landed gentry but farmers, locals and the kind of person you would meet in the pub on a Saturday night.

It absolutely riles me that anything to do with horses is immediately fingered as a "toffs" sport. I scrimp and save to keep my horse and I still get "snobby" yelled at me when I'm riding on the roads.