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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wish the grand national wasnt an event

197 replies

Dineout112 · 14/04/2018 09:05

I hate it as so many horses get badly injured or even killed . I don’t know how people can enjoy it 🙁

OP posts:
mellowyellow2018 · 14/04/2018 16:52

Andrewofgg A tax on the poor is a saying! It’s not literal ffs

Chrys2017 · 14/04/2018 16:55

Saltcrust I'm glad to hear small steps are being made in the right direction, but I suspect this is more of a PR exercise, and in any case the racing industry still has a very long way to go.
The subject of nurse mare foals, for example, hasn't even been touched on here yet. It's estimated that there are in the region of 50,000 of these by-product foals every year that the racing industry has to answer for.

Amanduh · 14/04/2018 16:55

I love it, and the tradition. Fun for everyone I know

southernNights · 14/04/2018 16:57

mellowyellow2018

So, the poor choose to gamble money they can't afford?

What does this saying mean?

FairfaxAikman · 14/04/2018 16:57

No horse has died in the National since 2012.
Massive steps have been made to improve fence safety since the late 80s.

GeekyBlinders · 14/04/2018 17:34

Pretty sure that one has died this year - the runners were waved around a fence on the second circuit, and there was a big green tent up. Hopefully it's only injured.

Oysterbabe · 14/04/2018 17:35

The tent usually means death.

immortalmarble · 14/04/2018 17:38

What a shame.

ballerinarosebottom · 14/04/2018 17:40

I was obsessed with Red Rum and Desert Orchid growing up, i love horses and any excuse to watch them on tv ...but now I can’t watch the National. I saw the tent up after bechers brook. (DP has it on in other room) I feel sick seeing them fall. Some of the injuries you see to those poor horses.
I don’t know enough as I am obviously not a vet, but in some ways I wish equine veterinary technology had advanced enough to save horses with broken legs . Not just for racehorses but in the equine world generally.

WhyDidIEatThat · 14/04/2018 17:42

Broken legs are a bit more survivable these days.

immortalmarble · 14/04/2018 17:43

But they would never race again and that’s all they are, a machine, not something living and breathing and with feelings (they have them.)

GoldenKelpie · 14/04/2018 17:46

I'm pretty sure I saw the collision that caused the fatality. Horrible and shocking. Waiting for update. I love Grand National (my home town) and avidly followed the awesome Red Rum many years ago but injuries and fatalities, though unusual, are devastating for everyone in horse racing.

WhyDidIEatThat · 14/04/2018 17:46

Well not necessarily www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/racehorse-returns-broken-leg-win-first-race-639387

Slartybartfast · 14/04/2018 17:49

Might be too costly

PinkCrystal · 14/04/2018 17:51

Needs banning. Horrible event. How anyone can enjoy whilst green tents are up I don't know.

RunMummyRun68 · 14/04/2018 17:53

My heart lurched when I saw that tent

I always watch it in memory of my grandad who loved racing but I didn't really feel it this time. I read this thread earlier and thought mumsnet had gone mad (again) but it made me think. I won't watch it next year

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 14/04/2018 17:53

Hate it. My family love betting and watch it. Don’t know how they can.

BlondeB83 · 14/04/2018 17:54

Saint Are has been taken back to the stables for assessment. Fingers crossed they will give him a chance.

ballerinarosebottom · 14/04/2018 17:59

The collision at bechers brook was horrendous according to others.
Is there any update ?

JacquesHammer · 14/04/2018 18:25

The green tent doesn’t mean death. It is erected as a matter of course to give privacy to injured jockeys/to keep horses calm.

The horse behind the tent was winded. It is fine. It wasn’t Saint Are.

Saint Are is back at the stables being assessed

SaucyJane · 14/04/2018 18:30

Lots of people on twitter making the same point as the OP. Of course there are some dickheads laughing about riderless horses:

mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/grandnational?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag

Only 12 horses finished. Some galloping riderless - a miracle more weren't injured.

But hey, so long as some people can use facile grinning smileys and place bets to spice up their Saturday, who cares, right?

There's so much that is wrong with using animals for entertainment, but realistically that's never going to stop given the money at stake and the people who enjoy it. But making the course less demanding for the horses and making people think about what goes into their entertainment - given the profile of the GN it has a unique platform within racing - surely that would be a start.

GeekyBlinders · 14/04/2018 18:31

Oh thank goodness, that's good news.

CatchIt · 14/04/2018 19:10

@Frouby "But without horse racing or eventing or showing many breeds and types would cease to exist as they just aren't suited to pet homes. "

Well, no, not really, only thoroughbreds and some warmbloods.

I'm pretty sure I've never seen a PRE (Andalusian) thundering down the race track. Horse breeds are like dog breed, many were intended with a specific purpose in mind.

BananasAreTheSourceOfEvil · 14/04/2018 19:35

@Catchlt is correct. Breeding has produced horses for for the purpose of racing. Its done very specifically, thats why you pay for breeding a dam from a well performing stallion or the progeny they have sired.

Racehorses are expensive. Not just for the horse, their upkeep and training. I can think of a lot of horses that get better treatment that I do. No one brushes my hair or rubs my back every morning.

There are a number of charities that re-home ex racehorses. The difficulty is that where they have been trained for one thing it can be incredibly difficult to try and re-school them. A TB can be amazing at dressage for instance, but trying to 'reprogramme' them so to speak to basic flat training can be a nightmare. I was given a mare to school (sire and dam were racing horses) and I couldnt do it. She literally just wanted to bolt at every chance and I saw more than my fair share of hedges after she chucked me off!

TBs can also have a lot of health problems due to inbreeding to get that 'perfect horse'.

The horses you see on TV are not neglected or abused.

I dont want to get into the 'ahhhh racing is cruel' debate, but would like to point out that there's a hell of a lot more to racing than a race you see on television.

I respect that some people find racing to be offensive, that is their right. As a person who has grown up amongst many different horse- related disciplines, I disagree.

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