Four more horses die in the name of ‘sport’

25Avalon

The horses are very valuable animals and as such are very well looked after but not just as an asset. You can witness the love for them in the yard and many a tear is shed for those who sadly suffer injury and death. The reward for a top race horse is to spend their final years at stud ( unless they are a gelding of course). With no racing they would have to be culled as keeping horses is very expensive. Vet fees alone are extortionate.

You just played an own goal, foxie--- despite the grooms loving the race horses that they care for it's a fact that retired race horses are most often culled.

Retired grey hounds suffer a similar fate but at least dogs are more easily adoptable as pets.

Race horses straight off the track will sell between £1-4k depending on age, size, soundness and temperament, once retrained (which needs an experienced person and can take months) they can sell for up to £10k occasionally even more if they show a particular talent. I've got friends who retrain racehorses as a business and several friends who compete ex race horses in eventing, dressage, showing (there are special classes for ex race horses) and as just really good all rounders. A tb can turn it's hoof to anything really. This idea that they are raced until they drop then sent to a glue factory is total misinformation. One of our eventers was a failed race horse, he was sired by a very well known race horse stallion who won one of the major races at Ascot but he didn't show any enthusiasm for racing, was retrained as an eventer and was quite successful but he was always careless in the show jumping phase. He was absolutely gorgeous though! Pic of him competing with my daughter who was fifteen, he taught her so much (especially how to sit a buck when he was feeling well!)

Heros and many other organisations rest then retrain racehorses which are sold, possibly for eventing, being
smart, athletic willing horses.
A retrained, calmer horse could be secured on a
permanent loan, ensuring that it cannot then be sold on.

Racing horses retired whilst still in single figures are nevertheless valuable and will not be sent directly to the
glue factory.

The horses are very valuable animals and as such are very well looked after but not just as an asset. You can witness the love for them in the yard and many a tear is shed for those who sadly suffer injury and death. The reward for a top race horse is to spend their final years at stud ( unless they are a gelding of course). With no racing they would have to be culled as keeping horses is very expensive. Vet fees alone are extortionate.

BlueBelle

Thank you for your very rude post Taunton it says a lot about you ! I don’t need to educate myself (but thanks for your nasty comments) I can see for myself the amount of over breeding and over expectations of a horse or horses, whipped, broken legs and over worked hearts and of the end results.
If you’re happy with that that’s your business I’m not happy with it nor dog racing, bull fighting or fox hunting.
I have absolutely no experience with horses but I do know cruelty when I see it, whether is a human or an animal suffering

I don’t think there was anything ride in my message! You admit you know nothing about horses but are making unqualified judgements. I merely suggest you visit the ‘heart’ of horse racing - where they freely open up their doors to talk to the public and answer questions - however sensitive they are. I am not a rude person but am passionate about the sport and very empathetic to the horse.

MaizieD

Perhaps we should ban cars for causing so many fatalities; human and equine

I used to regularly ride out on the roads, as did DD (she was braver and a superior rider to myself)

We have no alternative. Wee have to ride on the roads in order to reach anywhere 'off road'. 🙁

Same here 👍

It’s not cars that cause fatalities, it’s poor drivers.

Perhaps we should ban cars for causing so many fatalities; human and equine

I used to regularly ride out on the roads, as did DD (she was braver and a superior rider to myself)

We have no alternative. Wee have to ride on the roads in order to reach anywhere 'off road'. 🙁

MayBee70

And, even with all the new legislation, horses are still being killed on our roads. Anyone can buy a horse. In retrospect although I did my best to look after her when we had the family pony I didn’t really have any knowledge of horses and I’m sure I made lots of mistakes. People had horses on the same field who had even less knowledge than me.

58 horses were killed, 97 were injured and 3,000 horse related accidents were reported in 2024 (UK)

The majority due to car drivers, passing horses and riders too close and/or too fast.

I used to regularly ride out on the roads, as did DD (she was braver and a superior rider to myself)

The majority of drivers round here were (and are) considerate to horses on the roads. We have a livery hard at the end of our road, hence we have horses up and down fairly regularly.

GrannyGravy13

Iam64

foxie48

Actually * Maizie* I think you are spot on, racing is about what horses do naturally and you are correct, the fastest one doesn't get eaten!

Yes. MaizieD is spot on

I agree with others, that horses shouldn’t be dying in races

I agree that horses shouldn’t be dying whilst racing. The racing governing body is constantly looking at ways to improve safety for horses and jockeys, at will continue to do so.

I will go further and say horses and/or ponies shouldn’t be dying in fields (caught on barbed wire fences, colic, broken legs etc) or left in stables under exercised and overfed by inexperienced owners.

Unfortunately horses do die, as do dogs, cats and us humans, we cannot sanitise the world as much as we would like to.

In total agreement with you, GG13.

I do, in fact, dislike the racing industry, but for different reasons from those expressed by the ‘antis’ on this thread.

And, even with all the new legislation, horses are still being killed on our roads. Anyone can buy a horse. In retrospect although I did my best to look after her when we had the family pony I didn’t really have any knowledge of horses and I’m sure I made lots of mistakes. People had horses on the same field who had even less knowledge than me.

Iam64

foxie48

Actually * Maizie* I think you are spot on, racing is about what horses do naturally and you are correct, the fastest one doesn't get eaten!

Yes. MaizieD is spot on

I agree with others, that horses shouldn’t be dying in races

I agree that horses shouldn’t be dying whilst racing. The racing governing body is constantly looking at ways to improve safety for horses and jockeys, at will continue to do so.

I will go further and say horses and/or ponies shouldn’t be dying in fields (caught on barbed wire fences, colic, broken legs etc) or left in stables under exercised and overfed by inexperienced owners.

Unfortunately horses do die, as do dogs, cats and us humans, we cannot sanitise the world as much as we would like to.

foxie48

Actually * Maizie* I think you are spot on, racing is about what horses do naturally and you are correct, the fastest one doesn't get eaten!

Yes. MaizieD is spot on

I agree with others, that horses shouldn’t be dying in races

Thanks for the update MayBee70, on the four recent tragedies. And to the Posters who have described their experiences with equines of all sort, I enjoyed reading those too.
But racing horses are not companion animals. They are a mega investment, and not everyone in the horsey world is as kind and caring as you are.
And that's where the potential cruelty can exist.
If horses are dying on the track, then something is going wrong.

Actually * Maizie* I think you are spot on, racing is about what horses do naturally and you are correct, the fastest one doesn't get eaten!

Iam64

It’s one of those endless discussions about rights n wrongs, The bond between horses and humans is as old as time. I’ve already said I can’t watch, wouldn’t bet on Cheltenham or National.
I also referred to my favourite riding school horse, a 16.2 retired race horse. Put him on the gallop/canter route and his heart sang - he had to be first and he was.

I trust the posters here eg grannygravy to give a fair evaluation of the industry. I stayed in Middleham recently, home of a huge racing stable. Watching the stunning horses leave their stables for a stroll then the gallops was a joy

My favourite place in the world. We used to stay opposite the castle. Loved the sound of the horses walking on the cobbles through the village from Mickey Hammond’s ( he tried racing skewbalds but they weren’t very good; there were two, Angrove Rum Baba and Fat Rascal who was named after a tea cake) yard. We used to walk the dog up to the gallops each evening and a curlew would be trying to lure us away from his nest. First time I’d ever seen a curlew. There was a stable we used to visit ( it’s next to The Forbidden Corner) where there were ducks wandering into the stables. There was a horse there that Victoria Pembleton (sp) used to ride when she stopped cycling. My retirement present from work was a trip to Newmarket and I found it to be a bit seedy and run down and rather disappointing so we went to Middleham next time. What a difference. There was an old chap that used to take people on tours of the stables. All the money went to horse charities and in his spare time he rescued owls. What history. Dante is buried there. And there were little stables hidden away where famous horses had been stabled. The B&B where we used to stay went very boutique’s and we can’t afford to stay there now. The Richard III pub had two resident Patterdales; Tilly and Ted, her son. The grass grows on limestone and it’s particularly good for rearing horses on. I’d love to go back.

I am loth to do this, I am 'with the horse owners in most that has been said, being one myself, but I would disagree with SORES about horses loving to race. Horses are herd animals and they are essentially prey animals. Living in the wild if one shouts 'DANGER!' they all try to escape it by running away from it as fast as they can (fast galloping isn't at all 'unnatural'). They may appear to be racing each other but there's a perfectly good reason for that, the slowest one is the one that gets eaten by the lions..

Racing is exploiting this natural instinct for self preservation. Note that if a jockey is unseated his horse continues to gallop with the herd because that is where it feels safe.

That doesn't mean that asking a horse to gallop is cruel, they'll do it off their own bat when they're not being ridden, but I'm always a bit wary of anthromorphising animal behaviour.

I've been on the gallops many times and the horses love it. They are creatures who are designed to conserve energy but to react really quickly with a huge explosion of power and speed. It's an incredible feeling. There are things that I would change with regard to racing but interestingly no one on this post who is against racing knows enough to make a coherent argument (and I'm not going to do it for you). If you really care about horse welfare fgs educate yourself so you can make a decent argument because saying horse racing is cruel and should be banned will only stack up if you know what you are talking about and frankly, you don't. There are still changes that should be made and I am hopeful that in time they will but they will come about because knowledgeable people offer solutions as well as objections.

Thank you for your very rude post Taunton it says a lot about you ! I don’t need to educate myself (but thanks for your nasty comments) I can see for myself the amount of over breeding and over expectations of a horse or horses, whipped, broken legs and over worked hearts and of the end results.
If you’re happy with that that’s your business I’m not happy with it nor dog racing, bull fighting or fox hunting.
I have absolutely no experience with horses but I do know cruelty when I see it, whether is a human or an animal suffering

It’s one of those endless discussions about rights n wrongs, The bond between horses and humans is as old as time. I’ve already said I can’t watch, wouldn’t bet on Cheltenham or National.
I also referred to my favourite riding school horse, a 16.2 retired race horse. Put him on the gallop/canter route and his heart sang - he had to be first and he was.

I trust the posters here eg grannygravy to give a fair evaluation of the industry. I stayed in Middleham recently, home of a huge racing stable. Watching the stunning horses leave their stables for a stroll then the gallops was a joy

The four horses that died. One died in a steeplechase. Broke a leg running on the flat I think ( need to double check). One fell at the last hurdle. I’m concerned about that. It was a race for conditional jockeys. Big field , very competitive. Think it needs looking at future wise. Envoi Allen collapsed and died after the race. He had been checked before the race and immediately afterwards. Walking back, ears pricked he just collapsed. Obviously a heart attack. There will be an autopsy. He hadn’t ran for a while as he didn’t like muddy ground. He’d won a big race in Ireland beating a horse who won an even bigger race next time out so he was in the form of his life. He was going into retirement straight after the race. Fourth horse also fell at a hurdle. They are constantly changing the hurdles. Now painted white at the top because horses see white better. Padded so they won’t hurt their legs if they brush through them. Winning horses are drug tested but there are also spot checks on horses all the time. There isn’t really money to be made out of winning races given how much training fees cost. Unless you win a Derby or a Grand National. Some people I know bought a horse for £7,000 and he’s won over £200,000 but he’s the exception to the rule. He’s 9 now but will have a home for life with his trainer. He’s trains them on the beach and they paddle in the sea every day. He finds good homes for his horses. A lot of people have horses in the borders for the riding out ceremonies so there are homes for them. This is one of his retirees complaining that I didn’t have a carrot for her. She now wins prizes at the horse of the year show. I think most of the money is in breeding and pinhooking etc.

Yes, I know horse doping is illegal, in fact I believe I said so in my post. Perhaps you didn't get a chance to read it properly? I know, busy people. It happens.
Are you saying that you know, with absolute certainty, that no racehorse in the UK in recent times, in any stable, has ever been given illegal drugs?

GrannyGravy13

Maremia

Yes, you have demonstrated that horses love to win.
Some horses are well looked after, for example, by Posters on this Thread.
But,
there is a lot of money to be laid out and to win in horse racing.
Not every horse that races is fit to be doing that.
Can you deny that unfit horses are forced to perform?
Are drugs, although illegal, still used to over-enhance ability, so that money won't be lost?
What for example caused the death of the four mentioned in the OP?
Just because rodeos are worse than our horse racing, does not automatically remove any blame for how horses may be treated here.
🐎

Horses get checked by the course vet before races, they also have regular blood tests, to test for drugs.

Doping a horse is illegal.

Anyone who knows horses and is around a horse can tell if they are off , and there would be no point paying entry fees, transport and all the other costs associated with a race entry if there was not a chance of winning or being placed.

Horses get checked by the course vet before races, they also have regular blood tests, to test for drugs.

Doping a horse is illegal.

But the misinformation persists.

Maremia

Yes, you have demonstrated that horses love to win.
Some horses are well looked after, for example, by Posters on this Thread.
But,
there is a lot of money to be laid out and to win in horse racing.
Not every horse that races is fit to be doing that.
Can you deny that unfit horses are forced to perform?
Are drugs, although illegal, still used to over-enhance ability, so that money won't be lost?
What for example caused the death of the four mentioned in the OP?
Just because rodeos are worse than our horse racing, does not automatically remove any blame for how horses may be treated here.
🐎

Horses get checked by the course vet before races, they also have regular blood tests, to test for drugs.

Doping a horse is illegal.

Anyone who knows horses and is around a horse can tell if they are off , and there would be no point paying entry fees, transport and all the other costs associated with a race entry if there was not a chance of winning or being placed.

Here we go again…. Another thread on horse racing started by someone totally ignorant about it- why don’t you pay a visit to the Lambourn (Valley of the Racehorse) Open Day on Easter Friday when you can visit the yards, see the horses and even speak to the trainers to actually EDUCATE yourself? Just a thought…