aibu to HATE the bloody Grand National....

[ThatVikRinA22]

i cant watch.
i refuse to watch.
cruel horrendous barbaric stupid race. and for what?

hate the fucking thing. wish it was banned.

Ok then tmae, if horse weren't ridden/ raced, please explain what justification there would be for them existing at all?

I wouldn't have them live in any capacity in captivity, I don't think they should be kept in those conditions at all, if that meant they didn't exist except in countries where you still get wild horses then that would be that, and I would be perfectly satisfied with that.

Horse racing is disgusting all year round, as is all animal abuse.

Anyone who participates in the GN in any way is a disgusting human being.

It's as simple as that.

Quite tmae. And if Monsieur and Madame Lenoir, and Herr and Dame Otto, had never met you could say the same thing. Your point is?

Do you eat meat/ use any animal products/ have pets nokids.

If you do, what exactly is your justification for your views?

I simply don't agree with animal use for human fun. You do, that's your opinion, great, but don't expect everyone to agree with you. In your example I do agree it was responsible to give your horse a whip to protect it as that was the only way to ensure both of you were safe, I just can't help but feel sad about animals being scared by traffic in the first place. I'm off to watch Dad's Army now as to continue this is pointless as we'll never agree, but then again life would be boring if we did!

Why is it that this one race gets the tongue lashing?

For all you 'I hate the GN' thread starters I didn't see you start any threads about Cheltenham?
There is a Macmillan cancer meet at York on the 14th of June due any of you wish to start a thread about how much you hate that?

If you have a complete belief that all horse racing is cruel and you regularly campaign against it on here or else where then fine go ahead and blow ya horn.

If your just one of those idiots that only think about equine welfare once per year when it is advertised at you from all angles then get off your soap box. You don't belong there!

Yay to funnyfoot

There seems to be an awful lot of hypocrisy on this thread.

I think the reason that people hate the national (and I do) is because of the way it's rammed down your throats & advertised on TV.
www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a559429/channel-4-premieres-incredible-grand-national-2014-advert-watch.html#~oAAl4UUG2OBQ3x

I don't see this rubbish for the other race tracks, which have their own share of fatalities. And, I had the drunken yobbish scum which are attracted to races, no matter where they are held

I mean't "hate" -dear me, typing when cross!

Not just this thread Bear it's all over the forum today.

I adore animals and I care about where my meat comes from, make up, pets and eggs. I have also in my youth been involved in the horse racing world and I can tell you they are the most monitored and regulated of the animal sports. Spout about dog racing too because that is also a animal racing sport. Why stop at the GN.

YANBU. I think all horse and dog racing should be banned.

Fair enough tmae, you're right that we won't agree but I respect your views, as I do anyone who is consistent in their beliefs and lives by their principles without hypocrisy.

Enjoy Dad's Army. Don't tell 'em Pike!

I don't know the figures for dog racing, but if you banned horse racing that would mean:

• the loss of around 17,500 jobs in the UK
• the loss of over £275 million in tax revenue each year
• the likely death of around 35,000 horses (15,000 in training, approx 10,000 broodmares and stallions, around 10,000 young stock yet to reach racing age)

Source

Those facts alone mean horse racing will never be banned.

That jobs figure is only the number of people directly employed in racing, of course. You'd also have the knock-on effect on feed merchants, farriers, saddlers, equine vets, other equine practitioners etc. And the majority of these establishments are in rural locations, which don't need further job losses and resulting poverty.

There would also be the loss to equine veterinary research and rare breed conservation of the Levy contribution, which is a proportion of every pound bet on horse racing in bookmakers' shops. This research benefits not only racehorses but the general horse population due to the knowledge and treatments developed as a direct result of this funding. Millions of everyday horses would suffer as a result of this funding cut, and historic national breeds such as the Suffolk Punch, Cleveland Bay and Shire horse would be at even greater risk of extinction than they are now.

If you truly believe any activity involving animals is abuse and, more importantly, you live by your beliefs eg not eating/using any animal based products, no leather products, no pets etc, then I respect your views.

If you just feel the need to rant about the GN whilst demonstrating the utmost hypocrisy in the rest of your life then don't be surprised that your thoughts don't count for much.

As for posters like yolandi who believe it's all wrong but can't be arsed to care anymore- words fail me.

Well, no horses died this year. And i won £150 so YABU :)

Horse still die if you don't watch. Glad that this year and last there have been no fatalities. Hopefully the safety adjustments are going in the right direction. I won't be watching until I'm sure that is so though.

As for the 'whips', I suggest those who oppose rethink by trying to find one of these 'whips' and getting someone to hit you with it. They aren't 'whips' in conventional terms and don't hurt.

I do however object to babies being started far too young and the fact that in later life many horses have to be PTS due to complications from the shit start in life they had.

I love it. It's a big family tradition for us and we all get involved GPs, DCs etc.

Couldn't care less about those posters who bitch on about it but don't campaign about other races.

YAsoNBU!! I've always hated it, i hate the way that horses are owned by people that may as well have bought a race car. Just to make them money - its shit. it is very different to horse riding.

YANBU.

This blog nicely sums up my views - on all horse racing of this type.
blog.peta.org.uk/2014/04/the-grand-national-8-things-they-dont-tell-you-about-horse-racing/

And the argument of "And I won X amount" that you see every time this happens is saddening. Because that obviously makes it all ok.

electric- do you eat meat? Do you wear leather shoes?

As for Ruby's Walsh's 'horses are replaceable' comment- he got right royally fucked off his next ride and broke his arm so there's definitely an element of karma there.

LEMming, you are aware that very few owners actually make money from racing, aren't you? With only a handful of exceptions, owners actually subsidise racing to the tune of millions of pounds per year. Most of them do it for love of the sport, especially in National Hunt racing where the prize money is smaller and there is no money to be made in stud values as the majority of the horses are gelding.

In 2012, racehorse owners spent £369 million gross in racing (excluding purchase of horses) for a total prize money fund of £98 million. You don't have to have a maths degree to see that for the majority of owners, that equates to a net loss.

With that level of ignorance and misinformation, I wouldn't want anyone from PETA to get near any of my horses!

There are fatalities (human and equine) in every equestrian discipline. Eventing, racing, hunting, endurance etc. the horses are bred for their particular discipline, and it is very difficult to make a horse do something if it does not want to do it. Take the non starter for example. You do not mess about with 1/2 ton of animal lightly. I think all those who get upset regarding the GN need to base the argument on the whole picture as others have said, there are many other race meetings throughout the year, of which we do not hear a peep out of so called 'concerned' spectators/casual viewers.