Sorry, this is all a bit weird....

It reminds me of the conversations I've had which go "we shouldn't eat animals, they should be in the fields where they belong..."

Yup, but if we didn't eat pork, we wouldn't have pigs. If we didn't eat lamb, we wouldn't have fields full of sheep.

These animals wouldn't be kept if we didn't have a reason to do so - we wouldn't just have fields full of cows and sheep for the fun of it.

If we didn't race or show horses, we would have a lot less horses around. There would be a lot less of them as pets.

In a rather horrid way - most of the animals we have in this country are there by our grace, including wild ones. Rightly or wrongly, the growth of the human race has made our animal/livestock/pet population what it is.

In an ideal world, we wouldn't treat animals appallingly; kill them for fur, mistreat them etc, however it's no good saying "all horse racing should be banned" - there are several breeds of horse that may die out, and a sizeable amount of the equine population wouldn't eventually exist if that was the case.

(Just to put you all straight: I have no issue with horse/dog racing, providing animal welfare is good. I am not a vegetarian. I keep animals for meat, and have slaughtered my own food. I hunt, trap and kill vermin. I agree with fox hunting. I don't like circuses, however have no problem with well managed zoos.)

Both - Pet owners - just like with all animals, there will be good and bad..The bad owners shouldnt reflect the overall owner ship, and the good owners should not be tarred with the bad...

Them that race their horses may well care for them while still being raced but at one point they will be no longer needed, then there is the figures for them that are failed race horses and destroyed each year....Here we are talking about a sport - pet owner ship we are talking about individuals!

Yes.

I raise poultry for eggs and meat. We slaughter and eat our surplus cockerels.

We raise and slaughter turkeys at Christmas.

I have no problem with it at all, and wouldn't hesitate to assist with the slaughter of a larger animal for food.

Whats the point?

The Justification for the fact horses die seems to be that it happens in other situations as well so why does it matter if people get enjoyment out of it in this instance.

I do not like the GN. I will not be eating a Sunday roast tomorrow. Happy?

Excellent, you smack of somebody who doesnt read the thread when you stuff up like you did earlier.

Oooooh, yeah you're right I stuffed up and the world ended and turned against me.

Bothered Dawn, really.

Totally disagree, Im talking about accepted cruelty. So are you saying its acceptable for a Horse to be injured and killed because its not a Race Horse then? But if its a Race Horse, cared for and treated immediately and without hesitation, its cruel?

Is it OK for a person to have a Horse, grow out of it and sell it on?

I'm not sure that is the case?

In the same way that people breed dogs whose job is no longer functional the same would happen with these horses.

Im delighted you realised.






(You did look pretty daft)

Horses are not kept as house pets, no comparison.