09/04/2022
Sharing again as the event of animal abuse over at Aintree commences today.
As the horse racing season in the UK kicks off with the Cheltenham races, many self-proclaimed animal lovers around the UK will place a โharmlessโ bet. But is the death of an animal for our own entertainment ever justifiable?
Here are some common attempts at justifying horse racing and how best to respond to them:
โ๐๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐๐โ
If 1 horse dies for our entertainment, thatโs 1 too many. 72 horses have died at Cheltnam since 2000.
However, there are many more issues to horse racing than the deathsโฆ
โ๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ. ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐ช๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฎ?โ
Horses are herd and flight animals. A herd of horses running for fun looks a lot different to a herd of horses running because they are spooked, confused or (as is the case with racing) being forced.
Horses at races may not be an established herd but when out of their comfort zone they will follow one another because they see safety in numbers.
Moreover, horses are designed to run for a short length of time, either to get away from a potential threat or in running for fun when they will transition comfortably through gaits at their own leisure.
Horses are not meant to run long distances at a sustained high speed such as in these races. Many of them suffer heart problems (either on track or afterwards) as a result.
โ๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค ๐๐ฉ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐.โ
Some horses do refuse at the gate, that is true. It takes a very strong-willed or learned horse to go against the flow of the temporary herd and refuse at the gate. Most horses will follow one another and take off at the gate because, not only is thatโs what theyโve been trained to do, but also because the gate is designed to make them feel trapped so that when it opens they want to take the chance to get out.
โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ.โ
A lot of race horses do have great care: the best vets, the best quality food and are turned out to pasture with other horses when they are not in training.
However, there are many factors linked to racing such as: stabling, transporting and being placed in a unknown, noisy environment with new horses which can cause a great deal of stress.
The other big problems with regards to the care of race horses lies in the breeding and training practices:
The majority of horses, not just in racing, are trained using methods which should be consigned to the history books.
Horses are sensitive creatures who are willing to learn when the experience is positive. There is absolutely no need to use methods of force when training horses.
The problem is though, the horses are asked to perform so many unnatural tasks and the trainers are under a great deal of pressure (both time wise and monetary) to turn an inexperienced foal into a racer.
The easiest and quickest training method, therefore, is to use force and for many trainers, it is the only way they know.
Race horse trainers should not be revered, they need to be held to account.
(Just to be clear- โmethods of forceโ do not have to be whipping and kicking. Almost everything in traditional training methods use force: leading, lunging, driving, bridle and bit use etc.)
These training sessions are not fun for the horse and eventually they break the horse down to a state of condition suppression. This is essentially when they learn that the easiest and quickest way out of these training sessions is to do what is asked of them rather than fighting against it.
This not only breaks down the horsesโ spirit and is unsympathetic to the gentle nature of the horse, it also means there is a high risk of spontaneous recovery (when an unwanted behavior that has been trained out comes back), hence horses not leaving the gate, throwing their jockeys etc.
Breeding practices in the race world are also problematic. Race horses often begin their โcareersโ at just 2 or 3 years old (by the way, thatโs before their skeleton has even fully developed). Therefore trainers need to start as soon as possible with training.
This means that horses destined for racing are often artificially weaned away from their mother at as young as just 1 month old. In the wild a mare would not wean her foal until at least 1 year old or later if she was not yet pregnant again.
Not only is this a welfare issue, but artificial weaning can cause many behavioral problems which then become a difficulty as the horse has to try and fit in to a world of forced training methods. For example, many horses develop the sterotypy of wind sucking (or crib biting), due to artificial weaning. This is a coping mechanism in order to release endorphins as the foal tries to cope with the loss of his mother.
โ๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐๐ช๐ก, ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐๐.โ
The majority of races horses eventually end up in an abbatoir when they have been retired. Likewise if they suffer an injury (even if they could recover and live a comfortable retired life) as they are no longer seen as profitable. The only exception is if they have done particularly well and the owner decides to breed from them.
Ex-racehorses which do end up being retired to pasture are more often than not those who have been rescued by sanctuaries and independents.
Their fitting in to a retired life is not always easy due to their stunted mental development from early and artificial weaning and the coping mechanisms they develop as a direct result from early weaning and due to the stressful environment of training and racing. They also very often have health issues such as gastric ulcers, commonly developed by stress.
People may rescue an ex-racer out of kindness but not have this foresight or knowledge to rehabilitate these behavioural and health issues. Oftentimes the horses are then passed from pillar to post (thus exasperating the issues) and can still end up being euthanized out of the โownersโ inability to successfully care for them.
But horses do deserve a chance at living a fear free retirement, and this is what many sanctuaries, rescues and independents give them.
โ๐
๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฃ. ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.โ
There are plenty of ways to have fun and to gamble without creating a demand for the abuse, suffering and potential (or eventual) death of innocent animals.
Some traditions need to fade into the past like many other abhorrent things we, as a society, have done and since decided against.
In order to develop as a human race, we need to constantly change and better ourselves.
We canโt slam Spain for its bullfighting culture when we have a tradition, just for the sake of entertainment, which is equally as abhorrent.
Just because something is, doesnโt mean it should be.
