Its very sad, it really is, but its how it is. The people that own these animals are fully aware and the rules are followed. Accidents happen, its unfortunate but it happens.

Oh no, has another died??

This is what annoys me the most.

Self righteous people being appalled about two animals dying, then going on to tuck into their Sunday lunch tomorrow.

I am very sad that the two lovely horses died today. I am also very sad that many other animals die every day to put food on your tables.

I would rather see 40 animals doing what they were bred to do, with an outside chance of dying, than 40 animals being bred to sit in a field then be eaten.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Luthien here - to my mind, if you are a vegan or vegetarian and are happy to contemplate a countryside minus cows, sheep, pigs and horses (and all the changes to that countryside that this would inevitably lead to) then it is fine to say how awful that horses sometimes have to be put down when doing what they were bred to do, and what they enjoy doing.

If you do not fall into the above category, then how do you distinguish between the joint on your table and how it got there, and the death of a racehorse. There is no difference because all animals, if you are an animal lover, are appealing.

Horses for courses as they say.....
Do as I say not as I do!!
Like the I am against animal testing brigade, but I take nurofen when I have a headache, and I need surgery for an illness!! Tested, perfected and still tested on animals, but hey, it will help ME ME ME ME ME ME !!!

I have heard this argument many times before, but I do not agree with it.

There are always dangers in life, with everything we do. Every time we step out of the door, there is a chance we could be injured or even killed. Heck, even in the house there are dangers. But we do not lock ourselves up, that is no quality of life at all. We do however, make decisions and weigh up the dangers of what we do (well, most people do).

It is the same as dogs, the risks are always there. On walks, treats/chews, toys etc, but you need to make an educated decision on what is a reasonable risk to take. I know anything could happen on a walk, but I still choose to walk my dog because otherwise, he would have a low quality life IMO. I know the risk is there, but given the number of dogs that are walked, and the frequency and the number of injuries that occur, I don't think the risk is too high.

I think the same goes for horses, they need to be out in a paddock, and have suitable exercise. I don't believe horses NEED to race, and I certainly don't believe they need to race in such a notoriously hard race. People do it for themselves, not for the horses.

I would never put an animal I loved in to something where the chances of serious injury and/or death were so high.

I would very much appreciate not being called names.You don't know me from Adam....There is a difference between animals providing food and animals needlessly dying for people's enjoyment.I have only stated facts here not not made it personal.Everyone is entitled to their opinion without being called names.

I will not be commenting on this thread again.

There is a HUGE difference.

Animals that are killed for meat, are killed for a reason... It is natural for humans to eat meat. The same as it is natural for a lion, wolf, bear etc to eat meat.

A horse killed during a race is not killed for a 'proper' reason, the poor horse has died to entertain humans.

There is a world of difference, to me.

I agree, I think the post (not yours, but the one you quoted) was actually out of order, and was uncalled for. I don't even understand where that came from

Playing devils advocate here: is there really a huge difference? Humans are omnivores so can survive without eating meat, so how much difference is there between having an animal die so you can enjoy eating it's flesh, to having an animal die so you can enjoy placing a bet???

Either way the animal dies to provide emjoyment for human beings......