Race Horse Deaths

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573943#Comment_120573943

wild horses don’t just run though they also fight. A wild natural horse is a much more balanced animal, that won’t break down from nerves or a heart attack or whatever because they haven’t been raced on time.

“less such horses” isn’t a good enough reason to protect a sport that reportedly kills upwards of 600 Irish horses annually.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573946#Comment_120573946

I don't see "untold misery" in the lives of race horses versus that which might be expected in how they live and die naturally.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573951#Comment_120573951

It does have to contend with not escaping from a predator and dying a slow gruesome death. Or falling down a ditch while escaping.

So to be clear, you would prefer if race horses did not exist, had no reward of existence at all to balance out the issues faced in life and death by race horses.

I disagree with any significant bans that would have the inevitable consequence of those horses not having an existence at all. And many other people share this view.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573965#Comment_120573965

This argument is weak tea. What happens in nature is nature. The breeding of pit fighting bears was a great counter analogy.

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573873#Comment_120573873

Why wouldn't the horse crowd want you to know that, is there is some evidence of them trying to cover something up?

A toddler could tell you more horses will die jumping a fence so I'm not sure what point your trying to make.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573984#Comment_120573984

The life of a race horse doesn't seem comparable to 'pit fighting bears' to me, so that seems like 'weak tea'.

You think the life of a race horse to be so bad, it is better they never existed at all. At least you accept that as a consequence, some people pushing for such bans try to ignore that consequence.

I don't, with reference to the natural life of a horse - the stresses and events and possible deaths it faces.

And my view I think is the majority view.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574010#Comment_120574010

Your argument suggests horses aren’t domesticated if races don’t happen, that horses will be left in some living hell running away from wolves 24/7. That’s bollocks, horses are still domesticated and trail ridden etc.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574027#Comment_120574027

No it doesn't.

Horses in general will still be domesticated and trail ridden. But if racing doesn't happen, a large number of horses will simply never be brought into existence. It will have a material impact on the number of domesticated horses that live. And it would be absurd to pretend otherwise.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574045#Comment_120574045

Living, again, for what many describe as a “blood sport” that claims hundreds of horses per year just from Ireland alone. If you call that living..

Backstreet Moyes

So the life of the majority of race horses.

They have a groom who loves and cares for it each day and love it like a pet, several meals a day, vets on call for any issues, stables to keep warm and after a long career are looked after for breeding purposes.

Versus let them run free and look after themselves in the wild.

I think I know which I would rather if I come back in life as a horse.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574052#Comment_120574052

Out of how many vastly more that live?

What do you think happens to horses in a wild environment with natural predators? Facing being hunted daily and sometimes desperate searches for food and water? How do you think they die?

If you can call that living, then yes, horse races live.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574067#Comment_120574067

Where do any such wild horses roam in Ireland? On what untamed land? Get out of here with that strawman argument it doesn’t actually exist.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574054#Comment_120574054

Wild herds of horses in the United States exist in groups of 300-500+ at a time. I think if I was reincarnated as a horse I’d rather go live with 500 fellow horses living wild and free not stuck on a 2 acre lot with some other species alone and cropped for sport.

Note we don’t find their wild existence so inhumane that we’ve rounded all 82,000 of them up to be race horses (bureau of land management).

kneemos

They're quite tasty apparently. No reason we can't farm them for food. Any outlived their usefulness as racers could be delivered to the abattoir.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574121#Comment_120574121

Except nobody wants to eat it, and to get people to eat it historically it has been cut into other ground up food or directly mislabeled.

I think we’d still circle back to this ethics conversation if similarly we were racing cows on the side though and selectively breeding cows for racing.

lmao10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574054#Comment_120574054

The majority of UK and Irish horses end up on a dinner plate in France after their careers actually.

It's a scummy game, rotten to the core. You only need to watch a couple of races to see that certain trainers and jockeys are corrupt and fixing the race.

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574126#Comment_120574126

Plenty of countries eat Horse. If they were packaged up beside the steaks folk would give them a try I'm sure.

Lionel Fusco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573886#Comment_120573886

Flat racing is shite

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574177#Comment_120574177

As though it’s never been tried..

(it has, people don’t want it, it rots, better to export it to places it is not taboo if you’re going to sell it off at all)

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574164#Comment_120574164

Have you a link to the statistics on how many end up in France?

Do you think we shouldn't breed any animals used for food?

I watched a couple of races yesterday where nothing stood out on trainers and jockeys fixing races.

Can you post a few examples from yesterday so I can take a look?

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573946#Comment_120573946

Tbf to you calling for the extinction of the thoroughbred is a far more honest way of framing the discussion, though I doubt it would go down to well at the animal lovers agm.

Banning horseracing sounds much more polite and acceptable

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574399#Comment_120574399

Calling it an extinction would be humorous. Like crying about the extinction of the Dachshund. Dogs would still exist. And that poutin pigeon thing I posted earlier does it have a natural reason to exist? Pit bulls are also a human creation. But if we ended the reasons for selectively breeding all of them horses dogs and pigeons would still persist in nature

lmao10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574380#Comment_120574380

If you don't have the intellect to look up what I've said then why do you think I'd go to the effort to explain when it would clearly be pointless?

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574434#Comment_120574434

Lazy diatribe. Your claim your burden of proof. You said it without evidence it can be dismissed without evidence.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574085#Comment_120574085

Get out of here? You've obviously lost the argument when you have to conceal your lack of one with bluster.

That is the natural environment of horses before humans started domesticating them, and killing off their predators.

That is what a natural life of a horse was like. Was that a living?

You are now running away from the point put to you that banning racing will lead to far few domesticated horses having a chance to exist.

It is all very well to say well I'd rather be reincarnated as a wild horse, conveniently ignoring the point put to you that that's not the choice. The more likely outcome is no existence at all - because 82,000 fewer horses are in existence. Never had a chance to live.

Markcheese

I had horse meat for dinner while in italy last week , it was good , unremarkable,but good , and probably most people myself included would think it was beef if not told otherwise -

Many sport horses in ireland are not fit for human consumption ,because they're treated with medicines not approved for food animals .. so pet food it is,

easygoing39

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058295723/race-horse-deaths

Google GAA Player Deaths.Do you want to ban hurling too?? You have'nt a clue about horse racing,the money,time and effort required to keep a racehorse fit and well.Most owner's make a loss on every horse they own,they own racehorse's because they love the sport of horse racing.Do you not think the owner,trainer or stable girls/lad's are not devastated when a horse they're involved in is put down?? I don't know if youre trolling or what,but horse racing is'nt going away any time soon.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574486#Comment_120574486

So you’re arguing centuries or millennia ago with no relevance. Modern racing modern horse deaths. This sanctity of life angle you’re on or whatever I’m not buying it sorry.

Markcheese

Would the world be worse off without horses , i think so

Would it be any worse off with thoroughbreds , probably not ,

Of course , if you follow that argument then all use of horses would be banned , and largely that'd be the end of the horse .

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574497#Comment_120574497

The relevance is in the question you refuse to answer.

You said "If you call that living..."

I pointed out what "living" meant for horses in their natural environment in comparison to that of living as a race horse. So entirely relevant to considerations of what 'living' means for a horse.

So yes, I call it a living and you wish to deny that living to significant numbers of horses.

Their choice isn't between racing. versus wild life, versus farm or trail life. It is simply no longer to exist.

lmao10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574438#Comment_120574438

I don't have any interest in debating as I said. Do you think anyone on here changes their opinion because of whatever "proof" is posted on here? The goalposts simply get moved every time. I also know that particular poster has a history of it so absolutely zero chance I'd waste my time with him beyond the initial post.