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Fee
Platinum Member
2601 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 11:09:04 AM
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http://news.sky.com/story/1056926/grand-national-fences-to-be-made-safer
Whilst I applaud any efforts to make this race safer I have to agree with WHW Chief Exec in that fewer should start.
Flat racing = minimal risk
Hurdle racing = medium risk
Hurdle racing + high numbers = high risk
And then there is the 'Grand' National...
High jumps
High numbers
High speed
A risk too high IMO.
Dread it coming again... 
Fee
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brack369
Gold Member
559 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 12:44:29 PM
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Hooray!! A small step in the right direction, although the comments from the Aintree racecourse manager made me chuckle:
"safety at Aintree is always our top priority for riders and horses and it's something we do not stand still on" - really??!! |
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gossy
Platinum Member
England
3639 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 1:35:28 PM
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| im with you 100% Fee, hate it always have and hate hearing whats happened afterwards just to line toffs pockets, no regard for animal care and welfare at all!! |
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borleybird
Bronze Member
184 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 1:48:55 PM
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Don't agree, I love the National and in fact love horse racing in general. I think Aintree has made significant changes to improve safety with minimal impact on the integrity of the race. This is the ultimate fixture on the NH calendar and allows racing to cross over to the main stream. Sometimes I wonder if people are gunning for this race rather than others purely because of the media attention surrounding it.
Racing is a massive industry which allows people from all backgrounds to rise to become household names whereas other equestrian sports require considerable financial backing.
No one wants there to be fatalities, however they are a fact of life. I am sure we all know of horses who have been injured in the field. In fact, there were over 60 animal fatalities relating to road traffic accidents in the New Forest last year.
What's next? Flat racing, eventing, riding on roads, breeding? The all carry risks. |
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gossy
Platinum Member
England
3639 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 1:59:04 PM
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| i disagree and i can have an opinion as i worked in said racing yards/industry, is is all about making it more exciting for the owners and punters which in turn means more dangerous, the grand national is just a perfect example of that! |
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Centaur
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
237 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 2:34:49 PM
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Well said Borleybird - the Aintree management are continually taking on board both Health & Safety and Veterinary concerns and making positive changes for both horse and jockey safety on those grounds.
Horses are killed & injured beyond repair in all horse sports, it just that they are not all beamed across the airwaves for all to see.
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Tzarina
Platinum Member
England
1997 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 3:10:15 PM
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| I love the GN and NH racing, and yes there are fatalities which is very sad. Aintree has worked with everyone to make huge improvements to the safety and in the re-design of certain fences. It is now much harder to actually have a horse entered in the GN than ever before. This is just my opinion, I realise everyone has their own views; but the GN is like hunting, politics and religion, something that will always raise huge debate. The thing that has always amazed me is the Derby, 3 year olds coming round Tattenham Corner on that camber at the speed they do, that a serious pile up there has never happened. |
    
Tzarinaarabians@yahoo.com
"The horse is God's gift to mankind."
"The daughter who wont lift a finger in the house is the same child who cycles madly off in the pouring rain to spend all morning mucking out a stable."
"All horses deserve to be loved by at least one little girl during their life" |
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brack369
Gold Member
559 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 5:48:08 PM
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| There is risk involved in anything. I think I am fair in saying that you can expect at least one fatality every year at the GN. If this same level of risk to horses wellbeing is present at any other event, I would hope that they too would review their safety measures. |
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littlearabians
Gold Member
1323 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 7:05:40 PM
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I have been an amateur for one of the best National Hunt stables in the country (I stopped there in 2005 though) and we have had several runners and 2 winners in the Grand National.
I MUCH MUCH prefer FLATRACING however I honestly think GN is fine, though I am glad to hear the changes I am OVER THE MOON to hear they didn't make the jumps smaller as so many people wants them to. |
www.littlearabians.com
Classic Polish Arabians
Worcester based
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 8:07:53 PM
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| How do I feel about the Grand National? I wouldn't run any horse of mine in it because it is too easy for a horse to be brought down by another. I watch it through my fingers for fear of fatalities. I am glad that safety is being constantly reviewed. Do I think it should be banned? No I don't - any horse that doesn't want to compete over those jumps won't run on, on the other hand it is a totally thrilling test of equine ability and it should continue. |
  Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
Linda
East Sussex |
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 8:22:37 PM
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Good news.
I think it's true that risk is part of life and horses can get hurt in a field,however deaths in show jumping or dressage are quite the exception,whilst it seems there is AT LEAST one every year at the GN.So anything making it safer is a good thing IMO. |
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flosskins
Silver Member
345 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2013 : 8:55:18 PM
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| I think the Grand National and all that it stands for is an essential part of the racing industry. How many hundreds of horses are in training to be aimed for the national? How many of these horses might have been discarded without the most famous race to aim for? How many trainers are making a living, and employing grooms, riders, farriers etc to care for these horses? Without it there would be a big hole in the racing industry in my opinion. It is devestatingly sad when any horses life is lost but sometimes the greater good can outweigh a tragedy. |
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Meggie-Lu
Platinum Member
England
1519 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 10:01:57 AM
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What a great thread. Interesting as always to see what people think.
I love watching horse racing we have a racecourse not far from were i live, i think in the last few years the amount of horses that have been killed or fatally injured while running the GN calls for an in-depth investigation. Stable's not put there best horses in for the GN because of the risk. Yes you do get the odd one but last year it was three or four and the year before that i think it was three. Surely there should be a re look at this. I agree with a smaller field of runners and riders 40 is far to many, and the jumps should most defiantly be made smaller, i'm not 100% sure of the heights of the jumps, but i think it's Beacher's Brook and the Bench that are massive! Not just tall but also wide. I notice that the horses can't even jump them they seem to go through them? Maybe it's just me.
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   Danger Mouse |
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littlearabians
Gold Member
1323 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 10:40:41 AM
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| Meggie-Lu: Stable's not put there best horses in for the GN because of the risk. ..... thats not right we did enter our best horses (that was also suited for the course and distance) in the grand national... don't know where you have that information from. |
www.littlearabians.com
Classic Polish Arabians
Worcester based
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brack369
Gold Member
559 Posts |
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Goldenmane
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4964 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 10:51:22 AM
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| Anything to make the GN safer is good...I still hate the fact that it seems to be normal there are horse deaths, specifically at this race, and that the general public accept it. |
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Meggie-Lu
Platinum Member
England
1519 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 11:11:12 AM
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littlearabians: Sorry i meant to put Do stable's not put there best horses in the GN because of the risk? But i'm glad that in your experience the horses were suited to the distance and that they were deemed suitable, that's a good thing to hear.
Goldenmane: Your point about the horse deaths at the GN are completely true and i completely agree people seem to just accept the fact that the horses break necks, legs and are put to sleep on the racetrack,but yet when somebody puts a cat in a wheelie bin there is national outrage? Something doesn't seem quite right there.
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Danger Mouse |
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
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borleybird
Bronze Member
184 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 11:18:55 AM
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I've just looked last the list of fatalities going back over the years. It seems the number has increased since the changes made in response to the two fatalities in 1989. If you go back, the race seemed to be 'safer' for example there were no fatalities between 1980-1983, 1968-1972, 1960-1966. The fatalities were considerably lower prior to this but I'm not sure if it ran during WW1 and WW2.
So my question is, have we actually made the race safer or is has something else intrinsically changed which has increased the risks?
I don't enjoy watching horses injure themselves and cried when Synchronized was put down as I had followed his career.. This won't stop me watching GN this year. |
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Pop
Platinum Member
England
3051 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2013 : 11:33:50 AM
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I found this interesting ........no comment, just sharing ........
"This comes perilously close to vanity TV programme-making, were it not that Clunes is not quite the clot he needs to appear to keep the mass audience onside. He is deep down uneasy about racing: and wondered whether horses enjoy it. In Dubai he elicited the killer observation by a top horse trainer that horses are essentially driven by two natural instincts, fear and competitiveness. Clever trainers play on the “flight” instinct to make them run. The trainer said smilingly, why would a horse put himself through the pain barrier of a race - the jockey agitating on top, the crowd shouting, a whole bunch of other horses pushing past him. He runs because he thinks he’s in danger."
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Grand National changes
