Very good, well balanced post. I have some sympathy with the protesters, although not their actions . It’s very difficult to articulate as I’m not sure why I feel uncomfortable with the Grand National, I just know it does make me feel uneasy.
You say the protesters were responsible for Hill Sixteens death, Maybe you’re right, it’s impossible to know what would have happened had there not been a protest. So who in your opinion is responsible for the deaths of the other two horses at aintree this year ?, deaths that occurred before the protests took place.
They can still carry the same weight, just add weights to them to ensure their weight is the same. knowing when to stop and when to start , I thought you said they are bright, and herd animals who run around in a field whether humans are present or not. Either it’s natural, in which case they’d do it naturally and therefore jockeys aren’t needed, or it isn’t, you can’t have it both ways.
Ashton It's hard for me to articulate why your view makes me feel uneasy. As for Hill Sixteen I defer to his trainer.
Of course his trainer doesn’t have an interest in blaming others for the death, hardly a balanced view is it ? And whose fault was the other two deaths ? ,
Horses die at the grand National all the time, whether there are protests or not. That’s a fact. If it is to continue more needs to be done to mitigate the risks to horses. The RSPCA have suggested for a while that the field is too big. The number of horses racing should be reduced greatly, maybe down to 20, and the fences should be lowered and made less wide. That way those that want to attend, and those that enjoy a flutter can still enjoy the spectacle, but with less risk to the horses. What is there to dislike about this suggestion?, win win
Its about time some severe laws were introduced to make these idiots think twice. Put them in jail for a year and fine them £25,000 and see if they want to re-offend.
In their wisdom, our 'wimmin', in our absence, decided it would be kinder to drown the Pigeon and put it out of its misery. So they filled a bucket with water, put the Pigeon in it, and of course it promptly floated, causing more hysteria ! It finally died before we got home. Probably of boredom or from being mistreated !
And these people, including the ones who toppled Colstons statue and got away with it, are virtually all from the same fairly privileged backgrounds and clearly have nothing better to do other than cause others disruption or inconvenience. They probably don't even need to work, so a nice long jail sentence would do them the world of good.
i have some sympathy with some protestors, well not so much for the individuals but what they protest against ... Check out their so called leader! does not have a clue about horses! in his quickfire Q & A he added them as an after thought to pollution and ecological etc concerns Ashton ... they are quite brainy and some do actually "run their own race " I used to go to a couple of racing stables. OGBOURNE MASEY/ W MARSHALL / [L PIGGOT! was there on occassions ] .. there is phraseology called horses for courses! also needs to lead from start / comes with a late run/ etc thats why they need a pilot / jockey .. now that doesnt matter whether racing or trekking or just an hours ride around the toepath's . I used to have a horse called midnight she was extremely fast, when they all about a dozen suddenly took off .. maybe a fly got one! she could be 20yds behind when they started, at 150yds she had gone a few yards [ 10? ] ahead but nearing the 200 yds got overtaken by most field was 260 yds long [ often they would circuit the field at almost full gallop that was about about 700 yds!] she would occassionally give a squirt and take the front .....
sometimes a lack of experience / knowledge is dangerous [ no disrespect to you Ashton ] but having handled ridden {RP SAYS HAS SHARES IN A HORSE SO LIKELY KNOWS MORE BACKGROUND ] Horses are not clones, they all have their own personalities and these need to be channeled. What is a GIVEN is that when wound up [ humans and all ] you respond differently, your mind not always on the button. You get aggravated say cant get nut off or something is stuck..!? .. you get aggravated and as you go and do something to sort it you can see it coming you are about to whack your thumb with a hammer blow! Horses are trained to do things in a methodical way and when this is disturbed it may have a consequence Horses from a foal upward I have broken them in taught them commands saddled for first time rode them from walk to fast canter [ never galloped them! bottled out , well never galloped them at full speed really ] AN immense lot of work goes into prepping for the start .. be it gates or tape! at the start they line up at the point neaar where the tape is an some if not all in the 5 mins they get there trot up to the first fence. [ not always] some will line up behind the others as the tape going up frightens them [ distracts them ] Like humans the adrenalin pumps as they wait to start and all want to get on with it! The protesters didnt just affect Hill SIXTEEN IT AFFECTED more than 8 [ since the fences was modified an average of 2 horses in this race has fallen at the first 2 fences ..... Watch a few races where horses fall, more often or not it is because it was caused by other horses getting tired/ crossing their path or simply they misjudged it [ horse or jockey ]... 99.99% of all falls may result in a horses death. It is not the fall that actually kills them it is the vet .. unlike humans who you can put to bed operate on etc etc some bones that break are long term painful experiences for the animal so put down. Now dont think all fallers with a broken are put down ... they are not owners love their horses and if able they do mend the breaks and a few have have a few years later gone on to win a race or get placed regularly...
Its about time snooker was targeted as its racist as it gets. no way the black ball should have to go last.
You obviously have more knowledge than me on the training etc of horses than me. There is an investigation going on to see if things can be improved by people even more knowledgeable than you, RSPCA also have knowledge of these things and are suggesting fewer horses an lower fences, so it’s not quite so cut and dried as you make out. Without proper knowledge to know the answer on how best to prevent it, the fact so many horses die suggests there are improvements to be made.
