When Is This Slaughter Going To Be Banned ?

[Canary42]

Yet another horse killed on the Aintree Course.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/22032810

The course has allegedly been made safer, and "Jockeys who rode in Thursday's race had reported positively about the redesigned fences. "

Nobody got the horses' views.

The Sport of Kings, like kings themselves, should be abolished.

[Sharingan]

Are you proposing banning horse racing completely because if you are then there will be massive slaughter of lots of worthless high maintenence horses not really suited to many disciplines outside of racing. We have an elderly thoroughbred who we wouldn't part wth but he's very difficult to manage through the winter, needs extra rugging, stabling and high quality feeds all of which cost a lot of money compared to our others who cost half as much to keep and are more suited to their respectve disciplines. Without racing there would be no race horses and owners / trainers would hve no issue sending them all for dog meat.

[Canary42]

/// Without racing there would be no race horses and owners/trainers would have no issue sending them all for dog meat. ///

... which shows the true attitude of this self-styled horse-loving community.

[237SJ]

Strange how this county cares so much about foxes but not horses. Of course, it has nothing to do with money..

[Psybbo]

Well said Sharingan

[237SJ]

*country*

[TheNovice]

You need to get your facts right. The horse collapsed after being pulled up. These things happen.

[SSSid]

Let's ban EVERYTHING!!!

[Sharingan]

It may well sum up the attitude, but what are you proposing happens to all these redundant Thoroughbreds? They are not much use for anything other than racing, so if you ban racing what will happen to them? Do you want to band all racing? I'm just trying to undestand what you want to do.

[Canary42]

///The horse collapsed after being pulled up. These things happen. ///

Oh, so that's all right then !

[Sharingan]

ban sorry

[bibblebub]

it'll be banned when canaries are no longer kept in small cages

[Zeuhl]

Based on mortality rates it appears that it's the National course that is the issue more than other courses and events.

I walked the course as a youngster several times and the jumps were a terrifying sight close up - they claim to have made them safer but the stats don't get much better

Isn't the extreme nature of the jumps, the length of the course and the size of the field; and the ensuing dangers, create the heightened excitement this course seems to generate?

As mentioned above; the jockeys choose to do it - the horses don't have many options

Still, as long as the race-goers had a lovely time and the bookies made a few quid - what's the problem?

[TheNovice]

Well of course it is. The horse could have dropped grazing in a field. No horse were killed racing today. Do you want to ban everything that has an element of risk. Do we ban mousetraps?

[Zeuhl]

/Do we ban mousetraps?/

interesting parallel novice

the purpose of the mousetrap is to kill mice

are you saying that a purpose of The Grand National is to kill horses?

[Purple_Popple]

It is indeed very distressing to watch horses die this way Canary - they are such majestic and beautiful creatures, Im not sure what to think when people say they 'enjoy' racing and jumping. However, this famous race is so much safer than it ever used to be, there will be casualties no matter how much they alter the fences. The horse who died 'Battleground' suffered a heart attack apparently.

[EDDIE51]

Far more horses are put down due to hunting accidents, but that is out of the spotlight. Many hunts have a slaughterman on stand by or even riding with the hunt , the Hunt master normally has a humane killer bolt gun with him if there is not a slaughterman with the hunt. The whole thing is over in minutes and never reported to anyone.

[CoffeeLounge]

A couple of years ago a horse named St John Castle refused to race the Grand National. The jockey could not get him to move. The horse
had done it the previous year. Perhaps this particular horse thought done it once, got the T-shirt never again. If a horse did not want to do it they wouldn't.

But last year a flat horse broke its leg in a race and also one died on the gallops in Ireland. No fences involved.
If it was banned there would be so much unemployment. The farriers, the grooms, the feed merchants, the saddlers, the vets, all the people involved in the science of racehorses, the trainers so many. The community would also be lost.

[rsvp]

there is a huge industry surrounding horse racing - it is not going away - neither is the cruelty involved in dog/cat breeding, fur farming, meat production, egg and chicken cruelty and the confining of caged birds and keeping of fish in tiny sterile bowls to name but a few. At least horse racing is in the public eye and is able to be better monitored. Not ideal I agree, but at least something.

[EDDIE51]

At least the horses are less likedly to end up in the lasagna now !