Very sad - 5 in one day yesterday :(

Puts me off having a flutter on the Gold Cup today.

Oh I would have a flutter Chloe might be your last chance ..after yesterday I wonder how long the sport of Kings will survive the thought police and nanny state?

:rolleyes:

I think it will survive - but I don't want to see horses being killed. I wonder why it is - I think there was mention of the ground being too hard...

I don't think there are any moves to stop it.  Even the RSPCA are quoted in the paper today as saying it was just one of those things and not connected to any particular conditions or jump that they would want looking at other than the large numbers running this year that might take some different consideration in the future.

The ladies at the farm were talking about this this morning what's happened?

The Telegraph article

One of them died on the flat. :(

The horse that died overnight, Shboom ,was foaled and broken by my OH. We were sad to hear that he had died. There was a horrible story to his start in life and it's sad that he never made as good a racehorse as he was bred to be. He was a 3/4 brother to Anzum that won the stayers hurdle. By Alderbrook that won the champion. (OH used to look after him at stud)

some people i have spoken to have suggested making the races shorter, but horses die in 5F races, unfortunatley its just a huge strain on them running so fast.

Wish i knew what the answer was. I hate it when you watch them in the paddock looking so well and they don't come back. Saddest thing to see is the lad/lass walking back with just the empty bridle and rug. :-(

A friends 6 year old horse dropped dead in his stable one day No one ever found out why

No one can force a horse to race or jump & without racing(of any kind)  there would be a lot less horses around. The horse doesn't know it could fall & get hurt or worse & jump jockeys do. They are on the whole a very caring lot & put their lives at risk in every race, they know what can happen to them & the horse in an accident

Just seen one of my favourite of all time horses Dessie looking brilliant aged 27 He was as full of himself as he was when he was racing. I had the pleasure of meeting him & Rummy several times as well as a few others

It is reported locally that the drainage system at the course was upgraded a few years ago and as a result the going now tends to be firmer. I don't know whether this has been a contributing factor, but i suppose its possible.
Talking of Gold cup, guess which idiot went to do the shopping this morning and emerged from Sainsbury an hour later to find the whole surrounding area overrun with stretch limos, luxury coaches and the like. Took me an hour to get home, a distance of 2 miles. Still at least I had plenty of food to keep me going

I turned the TV on today and saw a race where they missed out a fence as they had the screens up. Had another one fallen today? I was too busy letting the dogs out to see. I like watching the horses race, but don't like the falls.

Not sure as haven't seen the news :)

It is funny as there has been a constant flow of helicopters over us tonight with all the rich folk going home :D

No, it was a jockey who'd been unseated and had a nasty fall - they were treating him. Apparently he's badly bruised but that's all.

Its heartbreaking to see/hear the news about the horses :( These horses are bought trained and brought on at some expense, so its not as if the owners are irresponsible. There are also equine fatalities in Cross-country, and Show jumping too. Just very very sad.

Them poor poor horses :-(

Yes it is heart breaking but they wouldn't jump if the didn't enjoy it :)

That is what they are bred for and many of them go on and then retire and have happy endings to their lives :)

Sorry I don't mean to sound cold hearted but it is part of life :) Ban this sport then where would be :(

Sorry I don't mean to sound cold hearted but it is part of life  Ban this sport then where would be 
ALOT less horses around and on a slippery slope to banning riding horses completely I would imagine :(
Lea.

Excatly :)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2006-03-17T144402Z_01_L17085613_RTRUKOC_0_UK-HORSE-RACING-CHELTENHAM-DEATHS.xml

The Jockey club vets are investigating so I don't understand the Animal Aid quote that the deaths were being hidden.

Horses sadly die in accidents every day & many die out hunting, in training  or just like my friends horse who was found dead in his stable

Look at Best Mate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Mate he died on a race course from a heart attack that he could have had simply running round a field

I think a good portion of the problem lay in the ground.  It was too cold to water (anything under 4 degrees and you can't water the course) and the ground was drying up fast.  Faster ground = more strain and jarring on the horse when it falls.  Bigger fields and more open races also added to the problem.  Plus the competition is so much more fierce as it's the festival.
It was something I never had to deal with when I was racing thank Gods.

Debs

Thanks for letting me know it was the jockey. I was a bit worried. I love watching the horses, and having a little bit of a giggle when the loose horses get in the way ;) I know they can cause a major problem but it's wonderful to see them enjoying it so much. As has been said, they wouldn't do it if they didn't enjoy it.