That the Grand National should end

[LlynTegid]

The cruellest horse race, at least on these shores. Hope no horse is injured or killed before it is stopped for good.

I have to agree with this - horse racing pales in comparison to killing animals to eat. Weird for someone to be against horse racing while tucking down a roast every Sunday.

@FestiveAuntFanny

Yeah, of course horses want to race.

They really love being forced to race until their lungs are bleeding, their hearts explode. Same as they love broken legs, backs, necks. Have you ever seen the footage of the horse running round in panic with his leg snapped in two, just being held together by tissue and muscle?

What about the horses that "don't make the grade" so they are killed by the trainers because they won't make money.

The trainer filmed laughing while sitting on a dead race horse.

The horses that are no longer able to race for various reasons. They just get shot, they could be retired peacefully to pasture, or given to anyone who is looking for a companion horse.

The entire industry is incredibly cruel and barbaric and needs to be stopped, as I said in my first post, sixty horses killed so far in 2024 alone.

I really hate this minimising type of extrapolation. It’s like you can’t say anything about the environment unless you’ve never used anything plastic in your life.

People speak up against what they see is inhumane. End of.

“Anyway, I don't get the cruelty argument. They're horses, you can't make a horse run if it doesn't want to.”

Tell me more about what “breaking” a horse in is. Horses are controlled from birth to do our bidding.

I take your point and don't eat meat myself. However there is very definitely a difference between eating meat and taking a fun day out to see an animal being ridden hard, whipped and potentially shot.

Is there a reason why we don't eat horse meat but will tolerate horse racing? I mean, other than money?

I wonder how many vegans go the races and how many racing fans are vegan? I bet there's not much crossover.

• MuggedByReality , *you are obviously the clueless one . If you think being stabled in a 12 foot square box for 23 hours a day, having metal shoes fitted before the feet are even fully formed and being raced whilst their bones are still developing, is luxury then you are sadly mistaken. I have a friend who owns 3 failed racehorses. They all have habits such as weaving, cribbing and windsucking from being stabled for so long. Even when out in the field they still do it as the psychological damage is done.

100% get rid of this cruel race.
I do not support it in any way.

Yes, vegan since 2007.

And… first fatality. 💔

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/24249805.grand-national-2024-giovinco-dies-fall-ladies-day/

And 2nd:

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sport/horse-racing/second-horse-pikar-dies-ladies-28988751

The whole thing is a disgrace and everyone who participates in any way is disgusting.

This. I care not one bit what happens to the Jockeys, zero sympathy for any casualties. The trainers, the losers that get all dressed up , spending money to win blood money. Revolting.

Please help horses

Prince Fluffy Kareem

Thing is people pick and choose what to be outgraged about and call for things to be banned as long as it doesn't affect them.

People who eat meat by the truck load and then get massively emotional about horses dying at Aintree are pretty hypocritical.

Well I don't think there was 1 horse fell except a loose horse at the second but he got up and was fine. So hopefully all home save and sound.

It's a fucking disgrace.

Your understanding is wrong

These figures are entirely wrong too.

I understand why people don’t like racing, but it doesn’t help to get all hyperbolic or roll out obviously false statistics.

Extrapolation works both ways though!

People just choose to criticise this race without mentioning the welfare changes that have been made recently: the different starting point, the lower fences (which causes greater speed which is potentially as harmful an issue ) the smaller number of horses taking part, the cooling systems in place at finish.

Everyone involved makes a huge effort so that the horse’s welfare comes first.

And welfare standards have never been better in racing as a whole. There is greater aware now of the need for turnout and a more natural way of living. Look up Philip Kirkby’s stables on line as a great example of how well race horses are kept.

And there are huge efforts going in to the retraining of racehorses once their careers are over. More than ever before.

Horses that take part in the GN are massively strong, fit, athletes with hearts the size of volley balls which pump 75 gallons of oxygenating blood around the body. They have 25 kilos of muscle on each back leg propelling them forwards.

The ones taking part in the Grand National weigh about the same as a Formula One racing car. Their lungs, which expand and contract up to 150 times a minute when racing, are two metres long and, if opened out, would cover the same surface area as ten tennis courts. Over the course of the GN, a horse will breathe in 21,000 litres of air, the same as an adult human breathes in 2 days. It breathes perfectly in sync with each stride when galloping.

At certain speeds these horses can release extra blood cells from the spleen to turbo charge their performance.

They are phenomenal animals and should be allowed to do what they are are physically adapted and bred to do. Not stay cosetted in stables. We as humans are no longer used to witnessing the extreme physical force of nature up close and racing is one opportunity to do that. The horse as a prey animal is ALL about movement. And they are beautifully adapted to run the short distances needed to get themselves out of danger from a predator.

If you want to look at horse welfare why not also look at all the ponies suffering excruciating foot pain because they are overweight, laminitic and under exercised and under stimulated, standing virtually motionless neglected in the corner of a field.

So if you choose to extrapolate, please extrapolate from a broad, objective, knowledgeable perspective.

I hear all of this. I’m not comparing racehorses to caged horses though.

Why do we have to keep horses at all?

@RefreshingCandour the same reason we keep other pets.
We love them. And the vast majority of horse owners idolise their horses and do everything possible to give them the best lives they can.

My two cents - don’t particularly like the horse racing industry due to the age the horses are started and their lifestyle but racing itself is strictly regulated. Accidents and fatalities happen but I know only too well how easily a horse can suffer a fatal injury in the field despite every endeavour to keep them safe. They are fundamentally very badly designed (yet incredible!) animals.

They have extremely unnatural lives. And yes I have horses myself so I do know what I am talking about.

Why do we have to keep horses at all?

Because for many hundreds of years they were bred to live alongside us and provide us with our only means of transport. They are not completely wild and some are not completed domesticated, but the majority still continue to live alongside us in as natural conditions as we can mimic.

Every proper horse owner knows that being privileged to have one of these animals in your care requires 100 per cent commitment 24/7 whatever the weather, whether you are ill, heavily pregnant , working late… the horse comes first. It’s a vocation and an all encompassing lifestyle involving huge sacrifices in terms of hours, and labour and financial commitments.

People think that horses are not adaptable but in fact they are hugely adaptable animals and have adapted to live and work alongside us over many years; down the pit, travelling on aeroplanes, in horse boxes , carrying out a multitude of different disciplines from endurance riding to dressage and show jumping to pulling a carriage to racing. Done skilfully, a horse can adapt very happily to all of these different tasks and environments as long as their essential needs are met.

Btw, if you ever see horses close up in the wild like mustangs or those that live semi feral existences in Argentina for example who are rounded up once or twice a year, their life is not the ideal, carefree existence you might imagine. They roam miles to seek water and food, some while dragging excruciatingly painful foot injuries. Diseases go untreated. Some have huge parasitic burdens. Some are massively underweight. It’s a natural life but it’s just as challenging, probably much more so, than domesticated life.

Yes me too. I find it impossible to get the horror out of my mind.

@TheFireflies you're talking nonsense. If anyone is wrong, it's you.

I’m demonstrably not. If you think the original claims are correct, please provide evidence.