[pogle]

Quote: from ninahagen4 on 5:52 pm on April 18, 2007[br]hallo Dandy was with The Thoroughbted rehabilitation center.If we chose to write "sychophantic platitudes on the memorial site then that;s because we care and we are paying our respects to the horses we all admire.<br>I respect most peoples opinions on here even if they dont agree with ne but I fing Pugs andf Pogles comments innappropriate to the memorial part of this forum.Like you Quixall I repay the horses that give me pleasure by doating to the TRC and belonging to ILPH and Bransby’s.I also have an"expression of wish" clause to my company pension that if I die in their emplyment that money goes to 4 animal charities 3 of which are above.<br>

<br>I am sorry if i have offended you in any way but i have had horses all my life and they stay with me until they die because i have taken responsibility for their welfare.How are racehorses viewed? When they can’t race anymore some will go to stud, but what happens if they are infertile some will be sold on but there is only so much demand for ex racers and the really successful ones like dessie and rummy will be paraded around but the rest?We all know where they end up as it would be impossible to find all of them nice comfy homes so are racehorses to be viewed as a commodity like sheep and cattle?I can live with that better than some of the hypocritical rip stuff.

[pogle]

Because we can and are entitiled to our opinion.If you would prefer  everybody to give each other a pat on the back and say how wonderfully super everything is in the racing world from foals to "retired" and reel out the sycophantic platitudes of "rip" and "gone to horsey heaven"etc before promptly moving on to the next animal then thats your perogative.

[pogle]

Quote: from zara21147 <br>I hope lord rodney is at peace and is in a happy place, whatever it may be. <br>please dont criticise the horse racing field, as i think you will find that there is a lot of love for these animals from most true fans. :o

He will have been turned into pet food probably;-)<br> People who genuinely love horses wouldn’t race them.

[pogle]

Anyway we can discuss this subject until the cows come home:)  but I’d like to know where you stand regarding the issues that you have mentioned. Are you saying that you think that horse racing is cruel? Reading between the lines of your posts so far, it does seem that this is the way you feel. If so then don’t bet or support it. I can respect the opinion of anybody who considers horse racing to be cruel as it is a matter of opinion even if I disagree with it. What I dislike is people who think horse racing is cruel but continue to bet/follow it – they are massive hypocrites imo.    

<br>I don’t think cruel is the right word but i do believe that welfare issues can be improved.I don’t bet or follow it but neither do i campaign against it.I agree we could discuss it till the cows come home and thank you for discussing it in a mature way without personal insults or sarcasm.It has been a pleasure and you are a credit to the forum.

[pogle]

I can’t see any positive evidence that the ulcers are caused by bad feeding practices or that horses suffer from stress by being confined to a stable for many hours…..Do they? I have never worked with horses so stable staff would be best qualified to answer whether a horse is kept in a stable for many hours and suffers stress from it.

May i let you peruse the article below taken from Horse and hounds.

It regards "the daily pain of gastric ulcers"

"It is now commonly accepted that the at risk horses are those in training-the incidence of gastric ulcers  in racing is reported at 80-90% and in competition horses at 50%.However,any horse fed limited amounts of forage and a few seperate meals per day has the capacity for gastric ulcers,including dieting ponies,show animals and sales preparation young stock.<br>Equine gastric ulcers is probably a man made syndrome.The root cause is the imbalance between how the horse evolved to eat and how we now feed.The horse was designed by nature as a trickle feeder and acid is produced continuously in the stomach in the expectation of food.<br>Gastric ulcers disappear if an affected horse is rested and turned out to grass,alternatively offer forage."

So yes it affects other horses as well as racehorses but only if fed the same way as obviously a large percentage of racehorses are.This is a basic welfare issue where people are ignoring the correct feeding patterns required in order to chuck high energy foods down their throats for their own ends.

[pogle]

Yes i have been to a racing yard.yes i have spoken to trainers.yes i have spoken to owners,yes i have worked on thoroughbreds.yes i have taken mares to stud yards.no i don’t need to go on an open day<br>No i am not anti racing and would never and have never decreed a ban.But these issues need to be addressed or other organisations will do it for you.If anyone chooses to web search these conditions they will find that a lot of research has gone into it and what i have summarised is correct.If you are happy that nothing can be improved and every racehorse is free from stress and the effects of their way of life then fine.If you believe bleeding lungs and ulcers is a fair price to pay,fine.I have no wish to disrupt this forum by going on but hopefully i have provided some food for thought.

[pogle]

Quote: from SwallowCottage on 6:11 pm on Mar. 27, 2007[br]Well, I’ve read it and I can’t see that it is doing any long term damage. It’s significant to note that a recent Horserace Betting Levy Board Grant to the Animal Health Trust funded a two-year study to investigate the effects of changes in airway resistance on the occurrence of EIPH. <br>It doesn’t change my view that the majority of racehorses experience an enjoyable life.

I didn’t think it would, even though it is a welfare issue that is measured by how much blood comes out of their lungs.From a teaspoonful up to a bucketful as one researcher put it on another site.The gastric ulcers is another issue that is caused by a combination of bad feeding practices ie not allowing natural trickle feeding,confined to a stable for many hours with no interaction in a stressful environment followed by strenuous excercise.Again I appreciate that it is not long term because if they are allowed to be horses and fed correctly and naturally the ulcers go.But the only reason I am mentioning these things is that i wouldn;t want people to get the impression that racehorses have this great life when in fact there are welfare issues that need to be addressed in my opinion.We are not talking about a couple of horses here we are talking about up to 90 out of every 100.

[pogle]

Quote: from SwallowCottage on 4:52 pm on Mar. 27, 2007[br]pogle – I can’t find any reference to the EGU’s and EIPH that you refer to on the website of the Animal Health Trust. Please provide a link to it.

I am trying to and i am saving them in my favourites and dragging them across but it is not working on here.is there a better way for me to copy them to you?If not go into animal health trust and click on "animal clinics" and then equine disease and disorders for EIPH.Search EGU’s on general search and you will find many sites of scientific research worldwide showing the same results.

[pogle]

Quote: from Aragorn on 10:51 am on Mar. 13, 2007[br]After someone told me that a bunch of animal rights protesters dug up some scientists mothers grave I lost all respect and it just confirmed my fears that they’re all zealous nutjobs..

Race horses, apart from the occasional death on the racecourse, lead a bl**dy good life.. Personally I think its all a load of sh!t, just like animal testing. Have these people not got jobs and something better to do?!?!<br>

I wouldn’t call 300 plus a year occasional and this Bl–dy good life includes up to 90% of horses in training suffering from EIPH and EGU’s as a result of the way they are "managed".I am  not an activist or a member of AA but i am concerned with the total lack of acceptance of welfare issues surrounding racehorses,on and off the track.The percentages are supplied by The Animal Health Trust,not some crackpot organisation.

[pogle]

Quote: from SwallowCottage on 10:54 am on Mar. 13, 2007[br]These people are not fools and will do their best to make horse racing illegal. As long as they protest peacefully and in a civilised manner then I don’t object to them. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.<br>I can understand why some people think horse racing is cruel even if I don’t agree with them. A person can see a horse getting injured or killed on the racecourse and their gut reaction is to consider it a cruel sport without understanding the pleasure and joy that most racehorses experience in their lives.    

<br>What about the very high percentage of racehorses suffering from EGU’s and EIPH as reported by the Animal Health trust?

[pogle]

Thank you for the info and thanks for the welcome.looking forward to sharing the forum.

[pogle]

why was he put down?

[Author]

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