To be so sad at grand national

[bellalou1234]

Im so sad to hear a horse has died today. Apparently it was inexperianced on the jumps and the third horse the trainers/owners have lost!

YANBU. At all.

So sad.

Yeah I know such a shame. 😭
Also I saw this video thing about a walrus falling off a cliff. I felt so sad for it - it must’ve been terrified falling and not be able to stop itself and in pain when it died.

I saw the walrus too in the Daily Mail. I don't click on sad animal stories but you could see the walrus one without even clicking on it.
Every day in the Daily Mail there are a couple of stories about animals suffering. I know it makes me a wuss but I have enough sadness in my life right now without being exposed to more.

I hate everything around the horse racing industry so YANBU. In fact anything where animals are used for entertainment or "sport" is so unnecessary and cruel.

I can't see them ever banning the Grand National but surely inexperienced jumpers shouldn't be allowed to enter. It would be quite easy to impose a rule about the number of races with jumps a horse must have competed in before being allowed to enter.

How old was UFR?
There were 2 other deaths earlier , I think they were 7&8 .

There was a comment on one of the other threads that the people at the first fence would've seen the ugly face of racing , would it stop them going to races or betting?

The sight of that beautiful majestic animal writhing and screaming with broken limbs. Poor soul paid the ultimate price so that people can be entertained

Oh , I will give him the dignity of his full name , not initials .
Up For Review

That’s why I never bet on the National, or support it. It’s just cruel. I love the idea of getting all dressed up in fancy frocks, but not at the expense of a horse’s life.
Awful.

Worst arguments for this people seem to love are:
‘But the horses love it!’ - do they indeed, how do you know?
‘What about other dangerous sports like boxing, should we ban that?’ - erm, no because the boxers are human beings with a choice in the matter.

It is an appalling charade. And they call it sport. The bastards.

The horse wasnt in the novice race so it wasnt inexperinced at all. Horses normally have to win to get places in the Grand National race 🙄

I placed a bet on this race (not on Up For Review) and feel absolutely sickened by what’s happened. I will never, ever support this cruel sport again.

If what the OP said is correct, then how could the owners let their horse enter this race when he was an inexperienced jumper? They’ve lost two horses already this year apparently. Should they not be banned from keeping them?! There needs to be an investigation into this at the very least.

I’m so upset right now

Some horses love jumping when it’s safe and within their capabilities. Think showjumping. The Grand National isn’t safe. I neither watch nor bet on it. It only survives because of its popularity. Just horrible.

Some horses love jumping when it’s safe and within their capabilities. Think showjumping.

How can you possibly know this?

I find it more upsetting that people are only aghast at horse racing once a year.

Sadly, many horses die in the Grand National every year, and when they are deemed too unfit to race/no ‘use’ anymore, many are simply killed.

Very cruel, inhumane ‘sport’.

Showjumping and the GN are worlds apart.
SJ tend to be a lot older.
Race horses start their careers pitifully young , some are backed as 2yo.

A SJ fence needs the horse to be up close so it takes off practically vertically . The rider has to pace out the course so they know when to ask the horse to jump.
Racing over jumps they jump 'flat'

And the main difference is a SJ is the only horse (unless its one of the Horse of the Year Show 'novelty' races where they might have two courses and two horses)
A racetrack has how many horses? 12?15?20?
They are surrounded all sides, if they fall there is no escape route.

Horses will race without their jockey not because they love the race but because as a herd animal they seek the safety of the other horses.

The horse wasnt in the novice race so it wasnt inexperinced at all only run in 4 hurdle races before the Grand National seems fairly inexperienced to me

The horse wasnt in the novice race so it wasnt inexperinced at all. Horses normally have to win to get places in the Grand National race

Only won at novice level last year

I went last year- I really enjoyed it, the horses were pretty majestic, and it was an incredible atmosphere. The horses were beautiful and really admired in the paddock. I felt safe in the knowledge that they made big changes to the course and no horses had died in years. Today however I’m really glad I’m not there, I feel awful. On the one hand I eat meat, on the other hand I would describe myself as an animal lover and have a house full of rescues. I’m not quite sure where I stand now.

Imo it's little different to fox hunting or dog fighting. They have no choice and are whipped to go as fast as they can. You don't need such hard and high jumps for a horse to have fun.

I don't understand why people only get upset at the Grand National when until today there hadn't been a fatality for a while. I never see people up in arms when there is a loss at Badminton, SJ etc. I presume they are OK with everyone?

I think it's not as promoted so people don't realise.

When there is a death on the course the race should be stopped, immediately.

Instead all the news is about the winner! Oh and as an afterthought, a horse died!!

Every time a life is lost of that course, or any other, sj, x-country, whatever, the event should be considered withdrawn, as a total fail, but no, pull the screens round, and carry on cheering like nothings happened.

Yes, horses do get excited by galloping, jumping, doesn't give anyone a reason to put them in a dangerous position to take advantage of it!