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I logged on a while ago and a few people were interested in horse fatalities and were unable to track down if their favourite horses had passed away or simply disappeared, by coincidence I found this website http://www.horsedeathwatch.com
I don’t really agree with some of Animal Aid’s policies/issues but thought this was quite an interesting site which seems reasonably upto date. Don’t quite no why they have listed some things like jockey – I don’t think there has ever been any evidence linking a jockey and number of equine deaths due to bad riding?
The more people that visit a pointless site of this nature, the more credence it gives the non-sensical argument Animal Aid try so pointlessly put across with regard to horseracing in this country.
I suppose it’s a sort of shock tactic, the big 66 at the top of the page succeeded by a seemingly never ending list of deceased horses. But whatever good they are trying to do they undermine by insinuating that racing fatalities are dealt with merely as ‘statistical blips’.
Utter nonsense.
It might mean something more if they had a list of horses which dropped dead or fatally injured themselves in a field. Or maybe a list of horses dying of disease, starvation, dehydration or fatal injury in the wild. The racehorse has a good deal more comfortable life than many species in the world.
As a list on it’s own it’s like reading the deaths in the local newspaper. Informative in the right context, but as whole means very little. They can’t even get the facts right. Mighty Fine wasn’t ‘pulled up’, he’d just won the race.
Watching the racing at Perth on Sunday it was clear a number of jockeys quickly spotted that their horse was tired or struggling and pulled up. Officials take a good deal of flak at times, but the stewarding of continuing on a tired horse has been tightened in recent years. Little Paddy’s jockey clearly noticed something amiss on the home turn and swiftly pulled up, walking the horse back in.
Rob
Watching the racing at Perth on Sunday it was clear a number of jockeys quickly spotted that their horse was tired or struggling and pulled up. Officials take a good deal of flak at times, but the stewarding of continuing on a tired horse has been tightened in recent years. Little Paddy’s jockey clearly noticed something amiss on the home turn and swiftly pulled up, walking the horse back in.
Similar comments also apply to Richard Tierney, who wasted no time whatsoever in calling it a day on Gollinger at the first sign of bother at Rasen on Saturday.
It’s a shame that TRF’s own Robertylea’s Racehorse Memories site is not updated more often, as that was shaping up to be as comprehensive and credible as any other such site dedicated to lost racehorses, whilst at the same time being free of the misappropriation of facts / misinformation with which Horsedeathwatch seems rife.
You’re quite right where Mighty Fine is concerned – as we’ve mentioned in the previous thread on him, he only went down on his way back to the paddocks, not on the racecourse proper.
TMWANG – I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying a jockey has never been linked to the death of a horse due to bad riding – earlier on in his career, Antony Evans refused to stop riding out on Gutteridge at Ludlow despite the gelding being palpably unable to go on even to the most untrained eye, with the dreadful upshot that the animal ultimately collapsed underneath him. It was a terrible error of judgment at the time and he admitted as much subsequently. I can’t think of a single instance since then where I’ve thought, “for God’s sake, man / woman, pull the horse up now!” immediately prior to a fatality, though. You’re basically right – the instances of such malpractice are negligible, and certainly not as prevalent as may be being implied on Horsedeathwatch.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Please do not support an organisation that campaigns to ban horseracing, by upping the hits on its site.
Antony Evans refused to stop riding out on Gutteridge at Ludlow despite the gelding being palpably unable to go on even to the most untrained eye, with the dreadful upshot that the animal ultimately collapsed underneath him. It was a terrible error of judgment at the time and he admitted as much subsequently. I can’t think of a single instance since then where I’ve thought, “for God’s sake, man / woman, pull the horse up now!” immediately prior to a fatality, though. You’re basically right – the instances of such malpractice are negligible, and certainly not as prevalent as may be being implied on Horsedeathwatch.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)I remember that race well Jeremy; bizarrely, the jockey originally pulled Gutteridge up only to continue again for reasons which are hard to fathom. Ironically, the ban picked up by Tony Evans was less than that meted out to Mark Bradburne who dropped his hands on Seabrook Lad only to be mugged on the line.
Incidents like the Tony Evans one and the points made by Rory above certainly don’t do racing any favours at all.
Saying that I like to think most people are open to seeing what a hypocritical organisation Animal Aid actually are.
yeah racehorses have a great life of luxury and they are bred for racing and it’s in their blood
horse whisperer monty roberts once said that horse racing is the most natural spot for a horse because in the wild they would run close together in herds with miles of grass or sand infront of them which is what they race on! shwojumping is just as dangerous! and they land on a surface a lot harder than turf if they fall!
when i ride horses and they have been in their stable for a day off they are so excited to get on to the gallops -fresh as a daisy so it proves they do enjoy it! don’t see what all the fuss is about, accidents happen in every equine sportThose people are not knowledgable about racing, i bet they have never been to a racing yard and looked at it properly, they are treated like royalty! and are trained properly for races not just shoved on the track unfit and asked to run it’s heart out! If a horse did not want to race it wouldn’t, a horse can refuse to jump, enter the stalls, refuse to run! We don’t like to see a horse hurt in any way! but i have saw things in showjumping that are bad and nothing is ever said!
Have they looked at the retirement homes for racehorses, the life at stud-racehorses living on to their late 30s? what about desert orchid? horses die and it’s very unfortunate but it doesn’t just happen in horse racing it happens everywhere! sometimes putting the horse down is only the humane thing to do, horses love to run and being cooped up all the time because of a serious injury does no good for the horse, it just causes stress and causing more injury to the horse!
people like that need to get a grip of reality, not everything can go right no matter how much we care for our horses!
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