Horse Racing. The sport of Kings? Or the sport of Corpses. This is a super big controversy in the world and I've been meaning to make a post about it. I am going to try and keep any graphic things for the videos that I will like below. I will advise you to watch at your own risk, you might throw-up.
Imma just cut to the point. I. DO. NOT. SUPPORT. HORSE. RACING. AND. I. NEVER. WILL. And yes, I do understand that some people do care for their horses but MOST don't. And those people that do care for their horses, are still support the racing industry. The horse racing industry is responsible for 1000 horse deaths, JUST on the race track. And estimated few hundred to a thousand additional horses are killed in training (Yearlings and 2-3 yr olds), or are sent to slaughter. Not to mention they DO 100% use a "cocktail" of drugs to masks the horses pain, so that they are able to run through the pain, when they should be recovering and resting, leaving them even MORE prone to injuries. Not to mention the over-use of whips. It has been proven that horses have thinner skin and have more nerve ending in their skin. (More sensitive skin)Horse ARE literally run to death, proof has literally been given. Not to mention the fact that Jokeys have been caught using illegal shocking devices. I provide proof to all of these statements in the videos and in the article.
Horse skin vs Human skin There are a lot of things I do not feel okay-with sharing here, so I will link videos and articles down below. I do advise extreme caution when watching the videos they can get extremely graphic, (I even had a TikTok video taken down because it was too graphic and that wasn't even a bad part) and they do include mature language (swearing). I did leave a link to an article which is more family friendly. Article: https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/horse-racing-2/ WARNING: Contains EXTREMELY graphic content and mature language! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHkLn0L9Y7A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qigc0JARveA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLeLx-Hu5uo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5INKU-Bac
Lastly, don't start arguing in the comments. I am not in the mood. It was extremely hard for me to watch these videos and make this post. I most likely will not be returning comments to prove my point I have put my proof. Everyone has their own opinion. This is mine.
I don't feel like watching a video or reading at the moment.... but it makes sense and I really do believe you!! it's like Bodybuilders using drugs to make themselves have more muscles!! IT'S. JUST. STUPID. and it kills them faster... os it would make sense it would do the same with horses.
My point of view on this issue is that it's not horse racing as a whole that is to blame, it is certain individuals that allow the allure of money to cloud their judgement.
I mean, if you just take a look at the actual sport it's self, there is 0 harm in it. I believe that it was Nightmist who made the point earlier that horses need to have a purpose for existing, and if it's running races, why not?
However, even though I see nothing wrong with the concept of this sport, I do agree that there are many cases that the horses involved need to be treated better. I remember being horrified during a few parts of the book 'Seabiscuit' when I listed to it a few years ago. I mean, his original owner intentionally tried to 'run him into the ground' just because he didn't live up to his expectations!
With that said, I believe that instead of boycotting horse racing because of the few decussating individuals that are only using the sport for their own gain, there should be a larger focus given to the stables, trainers, jockeys etc. that are trying to make these events safe for everyone.
Yes 100%! As I said in a previous post, Thourobred's and other race horses are literally born and bred for running. The industry just exploits this for their own personal gain, instead of embracing these amazing horses in a safe and animal-friendly way.
The horse racing industry could be this amazing thing where everyone is safe and the horses aren't abused or beaten just for show, but the people in charge can be greedy and selfish so the industry races horses until they literally die from the effort or until the horses legs' break and are killed. When horses don't win races or are too slow for the owners liking, they are sent to slaughter.
This is why I love the OTTB Rehabilitation programs! They sell the off-the-track horses to a trainer, instead of sending them to slaughter. This trainer then transforms the horse from a racer to a completely different thing, whether it be a dressage horse, a jumper, or even an eventer! The possibilities are endless for the thoroughbred horses who are apart of the programs! The horse has a second and better chance at life!
But, yeah, Dragon is right. The racing industry under the proper hands would do so much good to the animals, instead of the industry under bad hands who are only in it for the money and glory.
I just dont like the fact that there is an industry made out of it. I understand if there are like races that you want to enter your horse in, but they shouldn't be bred and raised just to race. They deserve their own life.
My riding stables rescues off-track racehorses who are going to be put down and retrains them as lesson horses. I respect them for that wholeheartedly, but we all know they can't take them all. But I know for a fact that these horses are amazing. They've been through so much and they're still willing to try again. They're so patient with us. They're seriously the best teachers. They're still willing to love us. And they're still willing to help us.
Their purpose in their previous life was to make dreams come true. Dreams of riches and fame. Some horses make that dream, and that's their purpose. But we know not all horses make that dream, but they shouldn't be discarded because of that. There are so many other dreams out there.
My dream was to ride. And they've made my dream come true. And they showed me that there's always a second chance, and they helped me to keep going. I respect them and love them for that.
To the racehorses, and especially to my beautiful boy, you guys are amazing.
I don't realy like the term, "Racing is their purpose" because yes these horses are made to run, but they can do other things. That term kind-of just implies that if they aren't racing then they have no use on this planet. I do agree that nice half hearted fun racing is perfectly fine. But in my opinion, its more than just a few individuals. It's businesses. Betting businesses, horse auctions, slaughter houses, meat buyers. Its all for the money. To me, thats more than a few individuals. I think the idea of making horses race is bad. I understand that if your horse is fast then sure! Enter them. But these creatures deserve more than to just race their entire life. They deserve a home. They deserve to go on trial rides, to develop a bond with owners. I just dislike the fact that they created an industry out of it. I just can't go half in half. I've watched some pretty heart breaking videos and seen some horrific truth. And I can't turn back. I just don't see how people can be so careless about a living thing.
You're right Starleaf. Everyone on here can agree that animals(specifically horses) are not machines. Horses are living, breathing, beautiful creatures and they deserve respect, love, and happiness, not slaughter, auction, abuse, and death.
But, as my dad would say, money is the root of all evil. These people governing the racing industries don't care about the horses(some do, but the majority don't) they only care about whether or not their horses will win the race and win the owners lots of money.
(it's not just the racing industry. I can go on a LOOONG rant about how rodeos(of course, not all of them) are just as disgusting-if not, more disgusting-than races. And of course, there's the 3 day horse trials. The world just needs to learn that money, power, and glory mean nothing. They mean absolutely nothing. Wake up business men.
In the end, you'll die and leave the Earth, and you can't take your money, power, and glory with you.)
Yes! Rodeos! Thank you!! (Obviously barrel racing and pole bending, etc. isn't bad) But the 'Saddle Bronc Riding' where they take a "wild horse" and see how long they can stay on it extremely bad. They shock the horse and beat them making them appear crazy and wild when it is a regular old stock horse. Many end up breaking their backs or necks as they try and back at the shocks that are delivered to them. And yep. Its all about the money.
Not to mention Spanish bull fights 🙄
@Starleaf Exactly. All those terrible things. Of course, there are still good people in the rodeo industry trying to do the right thing, but like the racing ind., the greedy and bad people just outweigh them. Anyway, it was brave of you to start a conversation like this Starleaf! Kudos to you for bringing up and starting a discussion about something you feel so strongly about. I think this is what the MB should be about. Except, not so much the abusive rodeos and horse races and more like TGH and ROTR