Grand National

[Arriba]

i think it asks to much of the horses.the fences are huge and relentless.only 19 finished out of 40 which says it all

[stfcinbmth]

i think it asks to much of the horses.the fences are huge and relentless.only 19 finished out of 40 which says it all

Much like bull fighting in Spain I guess, bit of a tradition

[steptoe41]

Not denying that, same as you get the occasional death in any sport - even in football you hear about an increasing number of players dying in matches. But the national is an annual event and there's a death every year which is why it stands out from the rest.

The only reason that it stands out is the fact that it's just about the only major horserace that the BBC broadcast live. If you were to watch dedicated racing channels such as ATR and Racing UK, you would see that fatalities are not uncommon.

I personally love the sport of National Hunt racing, but some of the scenes today were unacceptable, and I do think that something needs to be done regarding the way the fences at Aintree are built (take the spruce away and it's like jumping into a line of upright telegraph poles. Hit that at 35 mph and you stop stone dead and are cartwheeled straight over the top).
It's also worth remembering that horses are a herd animal and running and jumping is what they do naturally. Horses can and do refuse to race and jump, but as a rule, most racehorses love doing what they do.

There have been more equine casualities over the years at the Cheltenham festival than the Grand National, but you never hear the same outcry calling for the festival to be banned.

[DMR]

Exactly, at the end of the day, these horses love it and are bred to do it, they want for nothing whilst they're in training nor in retirement, that's just one of the risks I'm afraid.

If you want it banned, where do we draw the line? F1 by the same logic shouldn't exist after Senna, football after the likes of Foe etc, fuck me I remember some cricket club league game in Wales last season, an umpire got killed when he got hit in the head by a throw from the boundary, should we knock it all on the head?

[Arriba]

Much like bull fighting in Spain I guess, bit of a tradition

nothing like bull fighting.
those poor animals are sent out to die,horses racing are not.

[steptoe41]

Don't know if anybody on here has seen this, but I am sure the likes of Arriba and DMR will join me in wishing Peter a speedy recovery.
It's guys like this that put a bunch of overpaid, under achieving wankers (most professional footballers) to shame.

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/aintree-aintree-grand-national-jockey-peter-toole-in-critical-condition-in-hospital/839567/top/

[stfcinbmth]

nothing like bull fighting,horses racing are not.

But they do die, just a comparison arriba regards the tradition nothing more. Can't stand horse racing myself, I would maybe more interested if they got shot of the jockies and had an electric carrot going round the side of the track ala greyhound racing. Lot's of it is fixed anyhow

[Sussex]

ala greyhound racing

...where 6000+ dogs retire every year, many of which aren't lucky enough to be re-homed and end up in the hands of the meat man.

They all live and love their lives, unfortunately not all come through with happy endings.

[stfcinbmth]

...where 6000+ dogs retire every year, many of which aren't lucky enough to be re-homed and end up in the hands of the meat man.

They all live and love their lives, unfortunately not all come through with happy endings.

Not interested in greyhound racing either, just in the electric rabbit or carrot. Though it is a shame that animals lose their lives because people like to gamble on certain outcomes

[sonicyouth]

Exactly, at the end of the day, these horses love it and are bred to do it, they want for nothing whilst they're in training nor in retirement, that's just one of the risks I'm afraid.

If you want it banned, where do we draw the line? F1 by the same logic shouldn't exist after Senna, football after the likes of Foe etc, fuck me I remember some cricket club league game in Wales last season, an umpire got killed when he got hit in the head by a throw from the boundary, should we knock it all on the head?

I never said it should be banned. All I said was that I didn't understand it.

[spacey]

Oh, but they love it....

I feel reasonably confident that if you could communicate to a horse that they could die within the next 15 mins they'd be like "yeah, fuck you and your carrots! I'm going nowhere."

The kindest thing would be to destroy them all before the race.

[BANGKOK RED]

If the horses love it so much, why do they have to be broken in, whipped and spurred?

Sounds like great fun!

[Peter Venkman]

If the horses love it so much, why do they have to be broken in, whipped and spurred?

Sounds like great fun!

And then shot!

[Benzel]

Oops I've broken your leg. Time to kill you.

[Arriba]

horses love to run,but they have to be trained to do the jobs they do.
i'm not convinced they enjoy it at all,but it becomes normal for them.

animals are abused killed for all manner of reasons,food,racing,killing for fun,fishing,fighting each other to amuse humans etc,etc.
we all just have differing levels of guilt,and the decisions that guilt causes see how animals are used in our personal lives.