I know there are people who don't like racing, and that is their view and they are entitled to hold it.
There are also people who enjoy jump racing either as participants or viewers. And they are also entitled to enjoy their sport.
There is no need to abuse them when a horse is killed. The organisers at Cheltenham have done a lot since last year and
can't see what more they can do in terms of safety. Horse inspections by vets before racing, fences moved, etc Sadly broken bones can't generally be fixed and that's it, however the accident happens or where. I have lost 2 horses to field fractures.
The people involved with the horses love them and care for them and will cry for them. Yes there are bad things in racing like any equine sport, but there is also a lot of good people who love their horses. There are also recent examples of horses being retired at the peak of their form - Coneygree, Cue Card - where they have been showing good form at home but at the races they clearly just weren't as good as before - they were retired on the spot. There are others like Special Tiara who have run for years, been brilliant horses and got killed recently in a fall in a race in Ireland. Very very sad but the horse just made a mistake and fell, it didn't drop down dead, it wasn't unwell. It was just very unlucky. And many of the best horses got killed after they retired like Kauto Star. So stopping them racing didn't keep them safe.
It's fine for people to disapprove of jump racing, but a lot of the time they also disapprove of horses being ridden at all. So what happens to all the ridden horses, do we ban riding as well?
A lot of the jump horses go into retirement or have other careers. JPs horses go home to Ireland, Robert Ogden's are found homes, a lot of the owners take responsibility for their horses beyond their racing career. And not just the top horses.
It's horrible whenever a horse has a fatal accident but it's not very kind to suggest that its connections don't care. The horse killed yesterday was in the amateur race so more than likely was even more of a pet and ridden daily by its jockey. So even sadder for the connections. Especially if it came from one of the smaller stables. I bet Nicky Henderson aged 10 years when Buveur d'air fell....
I wish that horses didn't die in accidents but this is always going to happen no matter what you do.
There are also people who enjoy jump racing either as participants or viewers. And they are also entitled to enjoy their sport.
There is no need to abuse them when a horse is killed. The organisers at Cheltenham have done a lot since last year and
can't see what more they can do in terms of safety. Horse inspections by vets before racing, fences moved, etc Sadly broken bones can't generally be fixed and that's it, however the accident happens or where. I have lost 2 horses to field fractures.
The people involved with the horses love them and care for them and will cry for them. Yes there are bad things in racing like any equine sport, but there is also a lot of good people who love their horses. There are also recent examples of horses being retired at the peak of their form - Coneygree, Cue Card - where they have been showing good form at home but at the races they clearly just weren't as good as before - they were retired on the spot. There are others like Special Tiara who have run for years, been brilliant horses and got killed recently in a fall in a race in Ireland. Very very sad but the horse just made a mistake and fell, it didn't drop down dead, it wasn't unwell. It was just very unlucky. And many of the best horses got killed after they retired like Kauto Star. So stopping them racing didn't keep them safe.
It's fine for people to disapprove of jump racing, but a lot of the time they also disapprove of horses being ridden at all. So what happens to all the ridden horses, do we ban riding as well?
A lot of the jump horses go into retirement or have other careers. JPs horses go home to Ireland, Robert Ogden's are found homes, a lot of the owners take responsibility for their horses beyond their racing career. And not just the top horses.
It's horrible whenever a horse has a fatal accident but it's not very kind to suggest that its connections don't care. The horse killed yesterday was in the amateur race so more than likely was even more of a pet and ridden daily by its jockey. So even sadder for the connections. Especially if it came from one of the smaller stables. I bet Nicky Henderson aged 10 years when Buveur d'air fell....
I wish that horses didn't die in accidents but this is always going to happen no matter what you do.
