Times they are a Changin'

Make sure to tell Chef to cut the fecking carrots thinly today.

 

What do you think would happen to these horses without National Hunt racing or the people "who know the risks and don't care about them"?

Each to their own in how they react to any of the tragedies that have occurred in recent weeks within the sport but that doesn't give you a right to have a cut off of them. I can't remember you coming on here last week calling for homage to payed to the two Mullins horses who died. Maybe it's just certain horses who deserve this sort of respect.

 

Man has always used horses for transport, travel, travail, and yes, pleasure- or even food.
Sure horses are quite sociable animals but not too bright between the ears- there aren't many beasts that would let you ride them until they drop dead.
I don't see the problem. You either think that they should be revered and protected or that man, as the superior being, can do what he wants with them.
There's no point in sitting on the fence- loving horse racing; and then up in arms when a horse dies on the course. To me, that's just hypocrisy.
Added to that, it boils down to your priorities. It never ceases to amaze me that we donate more to the RSPCA than to the NSPCC.
To me, that's sick.

 

For gods sake, is Hendo on the wane or not?

 

On the wine more like

 

Not remotely.

 

millions died to cross the
road

****ing right they did you pompus arse....

 

All this thread for that answer!! Lol!

 

But that’s not the issue! It’s a side, or follow-on if you prefer, issue that would be addressed should (and I know its not going to be anytime soon) NH racing be abolished. I sincerely hope that the horses would be taken care of. A lot of people involved in NH racing would, of course, lose their jobs and have to look for alternative employment either within or outside racing. But it’s a fact of life that people, in this country, lose their jobs or are made redundant every day of the week and then have to adjust accordingly (I in the past been made redundant and so have countless others). Why should NH racing be different in this respect? You can’t say this should continue because if it doesn’t so and so could lose his/her job!

No it is not certain horses who deserve respect more than others. I’ve never said that.

No, I did not say anything re the Mullins horses. Do I need to, on social media, then to show how sad I was about them?!? That’s a very ‘New’ Labour standpoint. Or would you prefer I posted my sympathies and then 2 minutes later was posting tips right left and centre?!? As I said I’ve now reached the point where I, and I’m not trying to convert others here, have had enough of NH racing. Have gradually reached this point over the past couple of terms it ain’t happened overnight.

 

Just to clarify you won’t find me outside NH tracks, this winter, waving my placard around and demanding an end to NH racing. Nor do I want my regular readers to perform similar deeds with their placards. And there should certainly be no chasing Sam W-C or Mr Henderson, with a placard, down the street either whilst shouting obscenities.

Look I greatly enjoyed the 2016 Flat season but feel no such warmth to NH racing after recent events. If you have a differing view that’s fair enough. I guess I’ve just said ‘enough’ to that particularly pastime. Just hope the 2017 Flat version will be as good as the ’16 edition…

 

You’ve a potty mouth, haven’t you?!? You’ve disgraced yourself with your earlier comment and have now backed this up by showing you obviously can’t hold a sensible conversation. Hang your head in shame!

 

I've been watching NH racing since the 1960s and there appear to be more fatalities today, I say appear, because we may see more on the TV due to better film and camera quality and we hear of them via social media almost immediately. There have been certainly more horses killed on NH tracks on the flat between jumps and in bumpers than there ever were. This is surely due to the greater prevalence of flat bred horses; but hang on, haven't there always been a lot of flat bred hurdlers? Possibly it's something to do with the general weakness of the breed and the overuse of the Northern Dancer bloodlines with it's duplication of pastern weakness via Native Dancer. Even the majority of the stallions standing for NH books are from this bloodline as well as their potential partners.
It has maybe come to the stage where incentives will have to be placed to encourage using half bred mares, stallions from different bloodlines, after all the French use Selle Francois stallions and mares, Sprinter Sacre having been bred this way. There might be some slower races, but no amount of re positioned, reduced or plastic fences will rectify problems of limb unsoundness. The public, both racing and none racing will not tolerate a continued increase, and all we need is another death at Aintree next spring for the future of the sport to get shaky.

 

We have a couple bred as you suggest Gladness, 3yo colt and 2yo filly. They do look more like thoroughbreds than show jumpers and it did cross my mind whether to sell one of them as such.

 

After reading all the comments above I've come to the conclusion that we really need to entertain the idea of giving horses wings again.