Those horses who like jumping, jump for fun. You know the old saying "you can take a horse to water?????" Those that don't, won't (believe me, I had one of those!!! ), and more horses are ruined in flat racing probably, than over the sticks, coz of shattered bones, or sheer exhaustion. It's all down to the trainer getting the horse fit enough to do the job,and if he hasn't, therein lies the problem, a tired horse will make mistakes!

We have a very well known racing trainer in my village, Nick Gifford (used to be his father Josh Gifford), so I watch them training every day on the gallops, and then 5 miles away we have Richard Rowe, another good trainer, and 2 miles the other way I have Lady Herries. Those horses are kept better than you or I and most of them cherished like a piece of gold because of the sheer value of them, some of them millions of pounds, and they don't want to risk that do they!

Even the Grand National are soft, brush fences, nothing to injure them on at the height that they look, and are very, very inviting to a horse that loves his jumping Not to me though!

I raised this thread simply to highlight the death rate involved in this sport. The cost in beautiful horses lives.

My wife watches racing every day on TV, she has been a horse and racing fanatic since she burst out of the egg.

I like it. I have never been to a race meeting, but that is because I have never made the effort - no other reason.

The difference between humans and animals is that WE know the dangers involved in what we choose to do and either do it or back off. Animals do not. They do either what is natural to them, what they are made to do or because like so many of them, they simply wish to please us.

Many thousands of animals, horses, mules, dogs etc. that dedicate their lives in our service, often in great danger and hardship like war or security service, receive a death sentence when their services are no longer needed.

Need proof ? Look at WW1 & WW2, plus all the minor wars since. Those animals were either abandoned or slaughtered
when of no further use. We get medals - they get death.

They do not know that our demands of them may result in injury, pain or death. We do.

Believe me, my experience with the military is a real example of "March or Die".
John Bull

Oh it says this message is too short coz of what I've done up there, bear with me!

Yes really, Horses break down, get cast, brake legs, get injured all the time in fields and are left untill the owner or passer by finally sees them.

I dont gamble but LOVE the sport!

Sounds like a great gal!

You should go, you'd love it.

Mmm not sure Horses wish to please. They refuse if they want, they jump if they want, accidents happen, just like with anything else.

Good point, service dogs, bomb dogs etc.. are never questioned, may get blown to bits, but hey whats a dogs life eh?

Yes thats what they were for to serve us, they were there to serve a purpose.

Correct, they have no knowledge and therefore no fear.

I dont want to watch the video or whatever it is...I certainly do not like to see any animal injured or hurt.
BUT the fact is horses are "working" animals and i do not believe they are happy kept as pets.
As others have said horses love to run, jump etc and really wouldnt do it if they didnt want to. So it comes down to quality of life rather athan length of life sometimes.
IMO its much better for a horse to lead an active, enjoyable short life than live forever bored out their brain living in someones garden!!!

I really thank you all for your comments.

I`ve put my points over, you`ve done the same.
Enjoy the thread

John Bull

.... and THAT honeysmummy, are the words taken out of the mouth of my equine vet when I had my horse pts a few years ago! He was old, yes, but he wasn't at death's door, but I was ill myself at the time, the friend he had shared his field with for years was going to be pts, and my vet said to me "Murphy wouldn't like being just left out in a field all day getting bored, he's led an active life, and the kindest thing you could do for him is...." and that's from a VET!

The times I went to different events, all the horses got hyped up, on their toes, full of sheer excitement of doing something different, especially anything involving jumping, they just loved it, and you came home with a very happy horse everytime.

Same with the racehorses, to see them walking up our village roads, sometimes 40 at a time, all pinging about, ready for their morning gallop, again involving over the sticks, now why would they be like that if they didn't enjoy doing it? Then you see them stuck in their stable on box rest maybe, swinging on the stable door through sheer boredom! They get a lovely summer holiday too, put out to grass all summer long same with the flat racers, they get the winter, they're very, very well catered for in every respect I can vouch for that.