To think horse racing is cruel?

[alwaysncxx]

Got very upset watching some of the horses fall today at Cheltenham

I can't help but feel sad when it happens.

I used to think it was cruel.
But then my uncle started working for a Saudi businessman who owned a ton of race horses. I spent a few summers In my teens helping out with mucking out, feeding etc and honestly I was surprised.
When people say “you can make a horse run if it doesn’t want to”, they are right.
It’s why when a jockey comes off, the horse more often than not will keep on running.
And from what I’ve seen, those horses are treated like animal royalty! The owner of the horses my uncle took are of literally worshipped them. He spent an obscene amount of money making sure they were pampered.
When animals like that retire from racing and are still healthy and able to live a good quality of life, they are often kept by their owners, gifted to their jockeys or sold to rich people as pets, and they often continue to live a very pampered, comfortable life!

Who won btw?

The bookies’

Which sense do you consider it cruel? ( was an animal destroyed?). Horses are herd animals and absolutely love running together. I doubt that many of these animals would exist without the racing industry though - it is what they are bred to do and as such they are working animals. I do however think that some racehorse owners are very unsentimental and treat their animals like a commodity and consider the issue of treatment of injuries etc from a cost perspective rather than an animal welfare perspective. That being said the people who work with animals on the yard are typically animal mad and do it for the love and as a result those horses are incredibly pampered.

Here we go again, every year when Cheltenham starts and again for the Grand national meeting.

Welfare standards in the horse-racing industry are stringent

Are they? How do? And if so please explain:
High concentrate diets that predispose to gastric ulceration
Limited social contact leading to frustration of natural behaviours and stereotypy
The euthanasia/export for slaughter each year of hundreds of ‘wastage’ horses that aren’t fast enough
‘Retired’ Brood mares carrying foals, often with chronic tendon/limb injuries
Whip use (banned in several countries already)
Regular transport (known to be stressful)
Injury/fatalities during race

Here we go again, every year when Cheltenham starts and again for the Grand national meeting.

So? You think conversations can only happen once?

My sole knowledge of horse racing comes from reading all of this guy's books though

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis
Was a steeplechase jockey, rode the Queen and the Queen mother's horse, retired from racing and became a journalist and fiction crime writer centred around the horse racing industry.

Thoroughly enjoyable reads if you want an inside into the racing industry (with a twist)

How anyone cannot support a sport where animals die is beyond me. Bottom line is that most people couldn't care less so long as they get a fancy day out with a hat

Spirited When I hear horses described as “herd animals” I always get an image of a spectacular herd of wild mustangs kicking up dust in an old western film

Must be a stunning sight to see in real life!

YANBU, it's incredibly cruel. I say that as somebody who has been around horses for the last 20 years or so.

I have horses and I’m in two minds.

The horses are treated very well. They love to run (well mine certainly think a race is the best thing ever!!) and they are often only race a very short time.

My reservations are that the horses are broken in too young and should be left longer and also the rehoming/disposal of them when they are finished racing.

Horses break legs all the time. If there’s a way to kill themselves a horse will find it, even just mooching around in the field. injury is certainly not limited to racehorses.

Also the breaking in of horses certainly should not be barbaric. All mine have been broken with kind methods, much like training a dog or any other animal really.

Yes it's very cruel.

They are bred for long legs that makes them have long strides but be unstable.

Even if they aren't whipped directly they scared enough of the sound of the whip showing they know exactly the pain or can cause.

Racing is purely for the financial benefit of humans.

And well done for being a veggie OP, now time for you to look into the absolute horrors of the dairy industry and dip your toe into veganism.

Racehorses exploited????

They live a life of luxury.

They are herd animals who are stimulated by their natural endorphins when they run. When they jockey falls off, they keep running, and jumping.

The spectacle may offend the sensibilities of some people, who do not have to watch.

It's not a simple black or white issue really.

The actual act of running a horse isn't cruel - it's the most natural thing for a horse. A horse is a prey animal, and relies on running to stay alive. Foals will run and run, just for fun - actually, even adults will run just for the fun of it sometimes. Some horses truly love to run, and I have no doubt that some love to race.

The greyer areas are the things like the fact that while most of England doesn't sit on a horse until it is 3 at the earliest, and many now don't until at least 4 years old, in the horse racing world, you have horses that are classed as yearlings under saddle in flat racing (jump racing is older).

Then there are the ways that these horses are kept. On the one hand, most are given treatment fit for royalty, money no object - on the other hand, a huge majority of racehorses leave racing with stomach ulcers or other vices. Then there are those who never make it out of racing, having been injured & shot. Those in racing don't always get much in the way of turnout, they live a large proportion of their lives in stables.

Then there is what happens to them after racing. While some stables do try to find good homes for them, there are a huge number of horses that come out of racing with no fixed future. And a racehorse needs retraining - it cannot just come off the track and be a normal riding horse in most cases.

Horses are big strong animals, but they are also often happy to be told what to do. So while it's true that if a horse truly doesn't want to do it, it probably wouldn't, most of them are so good natured (and possibly not that bright) that they can be pushed, persuaded or punished into doing things.

Horses on racecourses do fall and become injured, and that is a terrible thing, and not something I'd like to witness/be responsible for. But the end comes very fast - there are horse ambulances on standby, and the end will be very quick if they cannot be treated. Horses break legs running in fields by themselves, or falling over in weather like we're currently having, or being kicked by another horse - in that case, the vet may take up to an hour to get there and put them out of their misery. Which is worse? On the other hand, a horse I knew got kicked by another, leg very clearly broken beyond repair - yet he wasn't at all stressed, and stood and ate mints calmly until someone got to him and put him down - I think the adrenaline kicks in.

So, I don't know. I'm not sure what to say on racing overall. I think probably I don't think it should be banned. I'd like to see more safeguard put into place - horses not ridden so young, guaranteed retirement/rehab places for them to go to after their careers, more emphasis on a more natural way of life to reduce stress (and hence ulcer & vices). Racing has hugely benefited the horse world on the whole - the amount of money that has gone into veterinary & feeding & all sorts of research - now meaning that there have been huge breakthroughs that benefit all horses.

People shouldn't underestimate the amount of money that horse racing brings in either - it's huge. Of huge benefit to the country as a whole.

There are things I don’t like about racing, some of which already mentioned here, and then there are things (advances in veterinary medicine) every horse owner can appreciate.

Maneandfeathers Crazy how susceptible to injury just strong, magnificent animals are isn’t it? And not just in sport.
We went down to get some horses back in from one of the fields one morning, and there was one of the younger ones lying there, trying to get up but falling. Turns out he had been kicked by another horse and suffered a very nasty break poor bugger.

YNBU

Horse racing is a business and the horse is a means of making money.

Successful horses which win races and therefore make money for their owners will be treated very well, but even they are at risk of serious injury through undertaking something without being able to assess or choose the risks. Successful horses will also have a comparatively happy retirement because they can continue to make money for their owners if they are used for breeding.

Unsuccessful horses are expensive to keep, aren't a valuable asset and therefore won't have a lovely retirement.

Animal aid has got useful information here including some info about Cheltenham: in 2018 10 horses were killed at Cheltenham including 7 during the 4 day festival.

The League against Cruel Sports also has information about horse racing, but the link has been censored by my work computer!

38 horses dead so far this year since the start of racing on 1st Jan only 1 at Cheltenham - so far

Yes it's cruel.

They might love to run but they sure as shit don't want to be whipped, break their legs on jumps that are too high for them and be shot when those legs break just for our entertainment.

OK clearly those thinking the horses are forced have never been near a horse, let alone ridden one. Come here and ill let you ride mine, see how easy he is to force. This is a horse that will attempt to throw any rider that doesn't ask him nicely enough on his terms. Or please, try and get him in a trailer. It will give me hours of entertainment watching. And him for that matter.

I've seen horses on the race track stop dead and refuse to run even as all of the other horses gallop away. Nothing wrong with them at all, they just refused to race. Saw one do it at the national actually, he went on to have a good showing career if I recall correctly.

I've been thrown enough times by horses to know you cannot make them do something if they aren't willing. You can ask, you can fight, but if they fight back they will win every time. Mine is relatively well trained, but he has a mind of his own, is very intelligent, stubborn and very easily swayed to going back to his wild instinct. If he feels under threat, you will not persuade him otherwise until he feels safe.

And accidents happen to horses all the time. More probably break their legs or necks in their fields than during competition. A lot of top competitors go that way. With how my horse goes galloping round his field its amazing he's never done it.

@bridgetreilly really? If someone sat on you and whipped you I bet you'd run! That's a ridiculous statement.
Horse racing is massively cruel. Horses are backed before they finish growing so their bones are soft, they are treated as disposable objects. Large numbers die every year and yet it still goes on. I agree with you OP, very cruel.

I agree it's cruel. Whilst it isn't crueler than factory farming or whatever else, it is entirely dispensable. Would like to see it banned.

@Maneandfeathers what happens in the breaking process, out of curiosity?

@jessicaWakefieldSVH exactly where have you watched horses being 'broken in'? There is nothing grim about it at all. I have backed (which is the proper term) many horses and ponies and it is a long process, with the animal gradually introduced to each stage of being ridden, such as wearing tack, obeying commands etc. You don't progress to the next stage until the horse is completely calm, happy and understanding of what you are doing. The whole idea is not to frighten the animal at any time.
If you have observed the process being grim, I would suggest you have been watching inexperienced horsemen/women who haven't got a clue what they are doing.

Best stop horse riding too because some people ride and those kind of paces and show jumping, don't forget crufts too for forcing dogs to do things.