taxman Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 As a follow up to the story about Greyhounds being shot through the head and buried in fields here is another fun story about what happens to horses who fail to make the grade, or are too old for the Sport of Kings http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1884945,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr craig Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Money rules everything these days, to be honest I'm not surprised in the slightest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinklady Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Im not even looking at the link, it upsets me too much ________ Volcano vaporizers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterw Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Neither am I for the same reason; although I did know a Jewish betting man who owned greyhounds and bought kennels and a couple of fields to keep them in their retirement. He also hired a full--time kennel-maid and paid her well, so not all greyhound owners are the kind of people who, if their parents ever married, I wouldn’t buy them a wedding gift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Im not even looking at the link, it upsets me too much That's exactly what I said . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiglet Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Is it any different to someone shooting their own horse because it injures its leg, becomes unrideable and is no longer financially viable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 What did everybody expect would happen to them? This is what I assumed happened and the real surprise to me is that anyone is surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heyesey Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Well, you could always ban horseracing and then the entire country's supply of thoroughbreds would ALL be slaughtered. Maybe that'd make you happier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 When they hurt their legs at a race then they always seem to shoot them and everyone says "you have to shoot them if they break a leg". Why is it that nobody ever questions this? Do they really mean that the horse will die in agony unless it is shot or that it won't make any more money for them, or is it something in between? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Moomin Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Basically, a proportion of retired racehorses are shot. This is actually seen as the most humane way of 'disposing' of a horse. In the world of racing (as well as eventing and other horse sports) this can be because of injury - the horse will not have any quality of life if it is kept alive; or because the owner can't/won't pay for very expensive treatment. This sort of treamtment is usually only carried out if the horse can be used for breeding if they can no longer compete. Some race horses are retrained for other sports, and there are some retirement homes that others go to, but of course this is expensive also. The nature of thoroughbred racehorses often makes them unsuitable for general riding. I read an article about this int he Observer at the weekend. One point that I feel was important is that it is not so much the abbatoirs at fault here, for doing their job, but the industry who produce so many foals a year, striving to find the next big thing. But many never make the grade, but because of their breeding are weak and vulnerable in other ways, and so are unsuitable for other 'work'. As far as I know, and I have a reasonable amopunt of experience, other horse sports such as eventing and show jumping do not have this problem. But then the money at stake is less. The pressure should not be on hte abbatoirs but on the multi millionaires that run horseracing to change their ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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