[TV] Panorama : The Dark Side of Horse Racing

[Mr Putdown]

There is no doubt that if there was no gambling, there would be no horse racing. Sport of kings my ar$e!

If there was no gambling, there would be no Star Lizard either.

 

[dsr-burnley]

This week, a billionaire has sent himself into space. Are you telling me we can't find a way to nurse a horse back to care from a broken leg? I'd have thought some technolgy involving a metal splint while it healed was a potential solution, but I really don't know. I simply refuse to believe it can't be done and the racing industry needs to address it, especially as it has caused this issue through breeding and then intense racing.

Yes, I am telling you that. If you put a metal splint into any creature to heal a broken bone, then that splint needs to be kept immobile to give the joint time to heal. You can't keep a horse immobile. Very few horses would survive standing in a sling in a narrow stall for weeks on end.

Quite apart from the dangers of reinjury. How to you train a horse to take care in future?

Compare it with a human and a false knee. A human can be told to be careful with the kneww for a couple of months and not to try going back to the same level of activity. You can't tell a horse that.

 

[Creaky]

I have never been a fan of horse racing.

I prefer watching Dressage, Cross Country and the Jumps as at least the horses are treated alot better than some in horse racing.

And there is more skill in Dressage than horse racing too.

The activities you mention are participated in by many amateurs who love and care for their animals but don’t be fooled by that. At the top level breeding, selection and disposal takes place in the same callous way as in horse racing. The one saving grace is that horses bred for those “sports” are often suitable for use by amateurs, unlike horses bred to race. Consequently there is often a market for ones that can’t make it at the top level.


One of our rescue horses, Posh, was an ex-dressage horse sold on, without treatment, when she damaged a ligament. She thankfully survived a miserable life and is now enjoying a peaceful retirement.

 

[Bry Nylon]

One of our rescue horses, Posh, was an ex-dressage horse sold on, without treatment, when she damaged a ligament. She thankfully survived a miserable life and is now enjoying a peaceful retirement.

That's a cat. I think you may have been done.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Pleased to say I've never placed a bet on anything, ever. It's a mugs game and those of you that bet on horses or dogs are basically funding and complicit in animal cruelty.

Shame on you.

Just for full disclosure you're involved in hunting and had the sign off "ban the ban" for years.

 

[Guinness Boy]

If there was no gambling, there would be no Star Lizard either.

This. It really is a shame that some Brighton fans need a Palace fan to point this out. There are issues in pretty much every single capitalist industry if you look hard enough but I'd take a smart gambler and businessman over Qatari blood money any day.

 

[vegster]

That's a cat. I think you may have been done.

They are a damn sight easier to muck out though.

 

[keaton]

I'm sure it's not bollocks but surely this happens across the board in animal welfare (not testing, I'm talking racing here). There are farmers who treat animals badly and high welfare / organic farms who treat their animals to the highest possible standards. There are pet owners who spoil their pets beyond reasonableness (not actually great for them), really good pet owners and people who mistreat or abuse their pets. But no one is arguing that pet owning should be banned and a society where we have the choice to buy high quality meat less often or become vegetarian / vegan is surely more reasonable than one that forces people to eat certain things.

As per all these threads I assume those 100% against racing are holding their noses and pressing "ignore" for a while when they hand over some cashflow to Tony Bloom?

Not sure I fully get that argument. Should everyone who disagreed with Archer and Belloti have stopped buying tickets? We'd not exist.
Essentially we're not making him any money but costing him loads.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Not sure I fully get that argument. Should everyone who disagreed with Archer and Belloti have stopped buying tickets? We'd not exist.
Essentially we're not making him any money but costing him loads.

Further clarified with the quote of Mr Putdown.

I find it bizarre that people will rail against the gambling and horse racing industry on here when, without it, we'd either still be in League One under Dick Knight or worse.

 

[A1X]

That's a cat. I think you may have been done.

I can't think of any creature less likely to do dressage than a cat to boot

 

[Guinness Boy]

I can't think of any creature less likely to do dressage than a cat to boot

 

[Iggle Piggle]

As a horse racing fan, I found it tough viewing. You'd have to have a heart of stone when watchiing Vyta Du Roc in the abbatoir and not fell sympathy or wonder if it's all worth it. A couple of points from me :

- Horse welfare from the BHA is worth £1.4 million a year. That's about £200 a head notwithstading the likes of Frankel and Galileo who went to Stud to live the best life any animal could wish for who don't need any kind of welfare budget. The Ebor is worth £1 million. Clearly, that's not enough.
- 7,000 horses a year leave racing. If you own or part own one, it's not like many of us can put it in the back garden. It would appear - in Ireland in particular - there isn't a great deal of thought what happens when their career is over and I can't believe the likes of Michael O'Leary lose any sleep about the horses whereabouts after it has retired. Surely, there should be some sort of fee paid when you buy one that goes towards the animals longer term welfare? If you can afford to buy and train one, you can afford to put something towards its care?

If racing wants to continue long term, it will have to find answers to these tough questions.

 

[keaton]

Further clarified with the quote of Mr Putdown.

I find it bizarre that people will rail against the gambling and horse racing industry on here when, without it, we'd either still be in League One under Dick Knight or worse.

Yep, not really getting it. Should anyone who doesn't agree with slavery have to leave Britain?
I don't agree with Boris Johnson's running of the country should I not pay tax?

 

[dsr-burnley]

Yep, not really getting it. Should anyone who doesn't agree with slavery have to leave Britain?

Huh? Britain is the one country where (except under Roman occupation) there has never been a law allowing full-on slavery. The position pre-Black Death wasn't great, but it wasn't full slavery.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Yep, not really getting it. Should anyone who doesn't agree with slavery have to leave Britain?
I don't agree with Boris Johnson's running of the country should I not pay tax?

That's fine, just accept your own double standards. [MENTION=27275]Creaky[/MENTION] did - I think their reply was really good.

 

[keaton]

Huh? Britain is the one country where (except under Roman occupation) there has never been a law allowing full-on slavery. The position pre-Black Death wasn't great, but it wasn't full slavery.

We don't have a law against horse racing or gambling ,my point was Britain benefited from it. I'm not sure why you can benefit from something without you having any say in it but not be able to oppose it

 

[keaton]

That's fine, just accept your own double standards. [MENTION=27275]Creaky[/MENTION] did - I think their reply was really good.

I will if you tell me are you in favour of slavery or do you have double standards?

 

[BadFish]

I'm sure it's not bollocks but surely this happens across the board in animal welfare (not testing, I'm talking racing here). There are farmers who treat animals badly and high welfare / organic farms who treat their animals to the highest possible standards. There are pet owners who spoil their pets beyond reasonableness (not actually great for them), really good pet owners and people who mistreat or abuse their pets. But no one is arguing that pet owning should be banned and a society where we have the choice to buy high quality meat less often or become vegetarian / vegan is surely more reasonable than one that forces people to eat certain things.

As per all these threads I assume those 100% against racing are holding their noses and pressing "ignore" for a while when they hand over some cashflow to Tony Bloom?

To be fair I haven't called for anything to be banned. People are within their right to do what they want to do, I know a lot of people who really enjoy it and fair enough. My preference would be for more consideration to be given to the animals involved rather than banning it. Surely there is a happy medium to be found so people that like it can continue to enjoy it?

Given the opportunity, I would try to improve things for all the animals in the situations you have outlined. For example, I am trying to cut down on the meat I eat and purchase higher welfare meat when I do eat it.

As for Tony, I have no idea how he treats his animals. My experience tells me that it is not everyone involved in horse racing who is on the nose. Perhaps it is blue and white blinkers but maybe he is leading the way in the way things should be done (seeing how he runs his football club perhaps hints at this. I've certainly never heard anything negative.

 

[Guinness Boy]

To be fair I haven't called for anything to be banned. People are within their right to do what they want to do, I know a lot of people who really enjoy it and fair enough. My preference would be for more consideration to be given to the animals involved rather than banning it. Surely there is a happy medium to be found so people that like it can continue to enjoy it?

Given the opportunity, I would try to improve things for all the animals in the situations you have outlined. For example, I am trying to cut down on the meat I eat and purchase higher welfare meat when I do eat it.

As for Tony, I have no idea how he treats his animals. My experience tells me that it is not everyone involved in horse racing who is on the nose. Perhaps it is blue and white blinkers but maybe he is leading the way in the way things should be done (seeing how he runs his football club perhaps hints at this. I've certainly never heard anything negative.

I don't disagree with any of that.

 

[dsr-burnley]

We don't have a law against horse racing or gambling ,my point was Britain benefited from it. I'm not sure why you can benefit from something without you having any say in it but not be able to oppose it

If you want to live in a country that never benefitted from slavery, then you should have got on Jeff Bezos's rocket. You won't find a home on earth.