could be a couple of reasons. Fake turf I think and after one horse broke both its front legs on the first circuit they reran the race a few hours later. Also, don't flat runners tend to have unbelievably slender legs?
Grand National 2012
- Thread starter Cutch
- Start date
could be a couple of reasons. Fake turf I think and after one horse broke both its front legs on the first circuit they reran the race a few hours later. Also, don't flat runners tend to have unbelievably slender legs?
I am neither pontificating or talking about a sport I know nothing about ,if you read the comments correctly instead of making a sweeping generalisation , most who have commented think this race and only this race is the problem.
The Grand National is brutal race on the horses and always has been , I think the race should maybe not be banned but modified to make it safer for the horses and rides to run in it
I'm not one of those advocating the banning of the National (though safety improvements to try and prevent the number of deaths are obviously welcome). But that bit in bold is hardly true.
Obviously we do use animals to our benefit, whether it's racing or for consumption. But that's not 'why' they're here. That's just how we've evolved to use them, they didn't evolve for that purely for the benefit of humans.
That was down to human error. The ground was atrocious for that meeting.
That's how we've bred them, to our own use, it's not 'why' horses are here as a species though.
Obviously we use animals to our own benefit and to some extent this is nature's way. But they have evolved as a species in their own right and as a wider species serve other purposes in the natural world.
I'm not advocating that we cease using them to our benefit, but we should acknowledge that in having bred them to our benefit we have some duty of care in response. The implication otherwise is that they are entirely disposable, which I don't agree with.
So what you're essentially saying is that we should continue using them for our benefit in environments where their life is hugely at risk, just because they've been bred to race? No animal deserves to have it's life wasted away, let alone ones worth so much money and with so much investment put into them.
Go feck yourself you badger baiting cnut.
Of course this race should be banned, and if jockeys died at the same rate as their horses, it would have happened a long time ago.
Take a few minutes to write to the broadcasters and tell them you are disgusted that they support such blatant animal cruelty, write to newspapers about their coverage of the race, write to sponsors etc. Write a few lines of disapproval, or an entire essay if you wish. It DOES help.
Horses are gentle, beautiful creatures. It’s about time we stopped treating them like machines.
Yes, just like black people are here for the benefit of white folks, like women are here for the benefit of men, and like Jews… well, they weren’t really here for the benefit of anyone at all. Drop the ignorance and speciesism. Anyway, while horses undeniably have been of benefit historically, what are the benefits of horse racing?
Take a few minutes to write to the broadcasters and tell them you are disgusted that they support such blatant animal cruelty, write to newspapers about their coverage of the race, write to sponsors etc. Write a few lines of disapproval, or an entire essay if you wish. It DOES help.
Horses are gentle, beautiful creatures. It’s about time we stopped treating them like machines.
Yes, just like black people are here for the benefit of white folks, like women are here for the benefit of men, and like Jews… well, they weren’t really here for the benefit of anyone at all. Drop the ignorance and speciesism. Anyway, while horses undeniably have been of benefit historically, what are the benefits of horse racing?
Reported. I'm not tolerating that sort of abuse.
Hugely at risk? The vast majority of racehorses are treated better than humans.
Yes there are problems with the race that do need sorting, but this sort of reaction is over the top and is being posted by people who know nothing about the sport.
I'm fully aware of the fantastic treatment that most racehorses receive. However, that treatment doesn't extend to them in races does it? Especially not in the Grand National.
I stand by what I said. Treating an animal like a king and then highly endangering it's life is putting it at risk, and is threatening to have it's life wasted away.
I can also categorically say that I'm not in the same group of 'daytime activists' who get pissed off about this stuff for one day a year, so don't lump me in that category either.
Which is why I would be in favour of a radical overhaul of the National. Even moving it to a safer venue (horses can't gallop as fast if they are running on undulating tracks where they have to go uphill) and ensuring it's always run on soft ground.
Spot on
You can't continue with a race where a horse dies every year - it's not sport any more.
to be honest I'm not sure that it helps too much knowing about the sport. I assume the organizers know all about the sport yet we still lose a horse every other day in one country alone.
How is "this sort of reaction" over the top when someone dies?
I am by no means an expert on horse racing. I don't know the names of the horses and the jockeys, nor do I know about the odds and amount of money at stake. But I know a lot about horses and have first hand experience with former racehorses and know that some are in pain, sometimes even for the rest of their lives, once they retire.
A horse loves to run, but racing and running are two completely different things, and especially so the Grand National which is basically a graveyard for horses. These horses love racing as much as pitbulls love dog fighting. "But yo dawg, this is what he was bred for and he luvs it." feck no, he doesn't. He is fighting for his life, and he is terrified.
This "sport" exists purely because of money and the thrill of it, not for the love of horses. The abuse of racehorses start at conception, being human-bred genetic freaks equal to pugs. They are not naturally healthy horses, and they do not deserve to suffer and die in the name of tradition and betting.
I am by no means an expert on horse racing. I don't know the names of the horses and the jockeys, nor do I know about the odds and amount of money at stake. But I know a lot about horses and have first hand experience with former racehorses and know that some are in pain, sometimes even for the rest of their lives, once they retire.
A horse loves to run, but racing and running are two completely different things, and especially so the Grand National which is basically a graveyard for horses. These horses love racing as much as pitbulls love dog fighting. "But yo dawg, this is what he was bred for and he luvs it." feck no, he doesn't. He is fighting for his life, and he is terrified.
This "sport" exists purely because of money and the thrill of it, not for the love of horses. The abuse of racehorses start at conception, being human-bred genetic freaks equal to pugs. They are not naturally healthy horses, and they do not deserve to suffer and die in the name of tradition and betting.
Quite possibly the most unknowledgeable post on any subject that I've ever read.
I love pugs.
Then feel free to correct it. And I love pugs too.
I do not have the patience to even attempt to correct you're statement above, you clearly know zero about the sport so you really shouldn't be commenting on it.
I can't see a massive load wrong with it (apart from the last paragraph). You're doing yourself any favours by claiming its wrong but refusing to correct it when asked.
Admittedly, "genetic freaks" was an exaggeration. As said before, I worked with former racehorses for a week back in 2008 and saw firsthand the injuries they had picked up during their time racing professionally or while in training. Two of the four horses there were two and three years old and already retired. Young horses start intensive training before their legs are fully developed which often results in several minor injuries either making them unable to race or in the need of drugs for the rest of their lives.
Breeding for certain qualities (flat faces) over a great period of time does not always give a healthy result (breathing difficulties), and thus I decided to use the pug comparison as "human-bred genetic freaks". Breeding any animal to the point that they are sick, weak or have disabilities is cruelty.
"A Jockey Club study determined that 2.04 horses die every 1,000 races (Drape B.16.). In real numbers, this comes to 700 to 800 racehorses put down every year due to injuries sustained while racing. It has been concluded that many of these deaths are not caused by a single, massive injury, but instead by numerous small injuries that are left untreated. (Hodges n.p.). Due to specialized breeding, thoroughbreds are especially prone to leg injuries. Thin, fragile legs are a desired trait in racehorses because they help
the horses break out of the starting gate faster. Thin-boned thoroughbreds are bred together to produce foals with even thinner leg bones who can run even faster, and are even more prone to injury (Lubrano A1+). Unfortunately, since trainers are under so much pressure to make money, they give horses with minor injuries a shot of cortisone to mask the pain so they can run, which leads to races full of injured horses who could worsen their injuries with every stride they take (Hodges n.p.)."
http://www.hennet.org/docs/contest/winners/2011_Kowalczyk_Amanda.pdf
One of the articles referenced above is pretty well balanced. http://articles.philly.com/2006-05-...w-bolton-center-track-surfaces-horse-industry
I've been careful not to say that all racehorses are sick, treated badly or suffer because that would simply not be true, but with so many racehorses dead, this is by no means a sport that can claim to be without massive ethical concerns, concerns there seemingly are no sufficient solutions to.
Breeding for certain qualities (flat faces) over a great period of time does not always give a healthy result (breathing difficulties), and thus I decided to use the pug comparison as "human-bred genetic freaks". Breeding any animal to the point that they are sick, weak or have disabilities is cruelty.
"A Jockey Club study determined that 2.04 horses die every 1,000 races (Drape B.16.). In real numbers, this comes to 700 to 800 racehorses put down every year due to injuries sustained while racing. It has been concluded that many of these deaths are not caused by a single, massive injury, but instead by numerous small injuries that are left untreated. (Hodges n.p.). Due to specialized breeding, thoroughbreds are especially prone to leg injuries. Thin, fragile legs are a desired trait in racehorses because they help
the horses break out of the starting gate faster. Thin-boned thoroughbreds are bred together to produce foals with even thinner leg bones who can run even faster, and are even more prone to injury (Lubrano A1+). Unfortunately, since trainers are under so much pressure to make money, they give horses with minor injuries a shot of cortisone to mask the pain so they can run, which leads to races full of injured horses who could worsen their injuries with every stride they take (Hodges n.p.)."
http://www.hennet.org/docs/contest/winners/2011_Kowalczyk_Amanda.pdf
One of the articles referenced above is pretty well balanced. http://articles.philly.com/2006-05-...w-bolton-center-track-surfaces-horse-industry
I've been careful not to say that all racehorses are sick, treated badly or suffer because that would simply not be true, but with so many racehorses dead, this is by no means a sport that can claim to be without massive ethical concerns, concerns there seemingly are no sufficient solutions to.