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These 82 comments are related to the topic:
Now I know what Feck means by cruelty over the jumps
Now I know what Feck means by cruelty over the jumps
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Replies: 82
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Zippit. Your orginal post was about horses not wanting to jump not about whether NH will finish. I too am an owner and love horses and would never harm a fly. But having been around horses forever i believe I do talk from experience as a rider and owner. Bookmakers perse only watch them usually.
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hate the thought of banning anything in racing but gun to my head i would say ban the GN
its a pale imitation of what it once was and is just a magnet for tree huggers/animal rights activists who will not be satisfied until horse racing is banned |
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maybe thats the answer,ban the national.Then those that are against Horse racing might be satisfied with that and leave us alone.
Would be a shame but personally i would survive without the National,and all the time the threat of losing racing altogether is looming,i would try almost anything to preserve it. |
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zipper talks about himself in the 3rd person I note. The fish thinks this is a sign of early onset dementia. Common amongst footballers but of course they spend a lot of time heading a quite heavy ball.
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I wish Feck could have me hung drawn and spliced. Please let this thread go or I will have no choice but to phone betfair and get it pulled.
A lot of interesting view-points but the thread title is wrong. Lots of good forumites given their view, but the thread title is wrong and my mistake. |
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I think we would all be better off if we accepted that at times racing horses is cruel, we know it is really, but then horses used for police work is cruel. Dogs sniffing for bombs is cruel, putting rabbits in a hutch is cruel. Everything to do with an animal has or could be seen to have an element of cruelty. Racehorses have a far better life than many other animals and I think racing should stand up for itself.
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There was a good idea from another forumite that ive expanded on
Yep, the national isnt the race it was, Master Oats i think was the last Gold Cup winner to race in it and nowdays its just a limited handicap with compressed weights Id tell Aintree to rip up a lot of the National course, limit it to around 25-30 runners and model it a bit on Cheltenhams cross country, make the Chair a Bank and make the course a bit more turning so they cant go that fast Call it the "New National" and jazz it up, its one race a year and isnt imo, worth all the negative publicity, we all close our eyes and pray that our sport isnt ruined by events in this race every year now  |
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The do good society we live with at the moment are responsible for the sad state of our country. Bring back Corporal punishment for toe rag kids, throw the inherently lazy off the White Cliffs of Dover, and those that interfere with our horse racing should be put in a padded room and the key thrown away.I am totally pissed off with the meddling ****s!!!!
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I have followed racing, day in day out, for years ...
But I take Grand National day off - because the General Public pile into 'my world' - for JUST the day ... So I leave them to it. I have no interest in the race, whatsoever - because it does not have ANY bearing, FORM wise, on any OTHER races in the calendar. However - I, and YOU - are now being compromised - in something like 8000 FLAT races per year - by the effect of these new rules - mostly because of some 'perceived' public perception - based upon that over-rated inconsequential (in the greater scheme of things) gallop around Aintree. |
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I've long wondered whether it would be better (though not for the levy) if te race was not on TV. Aintree have done a terrific job making the track fairer. I believe their policy of incremental safety adjustments is right. If they banned the race or reinvented it as a 'safer' race, that would IMO be a tacit admission that NH racing is in a general way cruel in itself. Making that admission would be the thin end of the wedge and very dangerous IMO. The BHA are discovering what a mess that leads to, with their ill-judged whip rules. Additionally, once you make a bold statement (such as banning the race or reinventing it) you cannot go back - as the BHA now discover with the whip rule - if they 'up' the quota, the anti-brigade will accuse them of hypocrisy (if they thought it was correct to introduce a strict new whip rule on welfare grounds, how can they now think is acceptable to dillute the rule?).
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stewart.
i understand ur discomforture but dont get this pulled  there are some excellent contributions on here and its still got 'legs' i reckon |
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Fair points.
Another way of looking at the race is to change the qualifying rules so that we have genuine long distance chasers,or at least proven good jumpers. Not sure we can risk a repeat of this years race. |
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Reckon if we had say a limit of 25,all of which had proved themselves capable of jumping well and staying at least 3 and half m, we would still have an enjoyable race and with a much smaller risk of harm to those competing in it.
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Reckon if we had say a limit of 25,all of which had proved themselves capable of jumping well and staying at least 3 and half m, we would still have an enjoyable race and with a much smaller risk of harm to those competing in it.
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I was at fontwell today, the race the bailey grey won was awful to watch the placed ossed plugging up the straight on the last lap.
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Apparently this whip review started well before this years National, you would have thought that Darley would have already told jockeys to be more careful. The reforms apparently are not on welfare grounds, if you hit a horse 6 times thats fine but 7 is cruel.
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The race is restricted to 6yr old and upwards. I remember Cyfor Malta winning the John Hughes as a 5yr old (shorter trip). I know some quite sensible people who argue the race should be restricted to 7yr olds and upwards, limited to 30 runners and run on no faster than genuinely soft ground to reduce the speed they go at (which is the biggets problem IMO).
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A cautious welcome to the BHA's new whip rules
27.09.11 We (RSPCA) have cautiously welcomed the British Horseracing Authority (BHA)’s new rules, published on Tuesday, 27 September, which are intended to limit whip-use and greatly increase penalties for jockeys who break the rules. These measures were included in our recommendations, in our submission to the BHA’s review of the whip, which was announced in April 2011 following concerns about jockeys’ use of the whip during the Grand National. RSPCA and all the rest of them jumped on board following the GN and used it to tighten the screw on the BHA |
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Buddelia- I agree I thought one of the things they would do was to reduce the field to 30, in the long term that will cut the number of deaths if not the percentage, but a couple of things strike me about this year and 1989s race. 1 dead horse covered by taupalin, overhead shot of green screens. There was uproar in 89 when Julian Wilson said as they approached Beechers 2nd time "they are having to avoid a dead horse" that caused an outrage. As did Dark Ivy on the front of the Sunday Papers. These apart I dont remember massive reaction to the race even though McKelvey died after being the subject of a feature on The One Show. Where was the outrage for Eudipe, Smiths Band, Hear The Echo, etc?
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why don't we take the fences out and make it 2 miles whilst we are at it?
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come off it
its been a mecca for animal rights protests for years!! |
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Yes for protesters, but this year the media went for it just as in 86 and 89
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Elise,its not what we want,but it may be that we have to face some decisions we dont like to safeguard the future of the sport.
Sometimes in life we have to do things we dont like,and like it or not we do now live in a society that does not tolerate harm to animals,and has an ever growing army of supporters with, it seems, a fair amount of clout. |
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so you think if they got rid of the national that would be the end?
get real man |
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Cannot understand how the national has lasted so long
Many jockeys blamed the 1993 farce on the antics of the protestors |
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Does not tolerate vruelty but is happy to eat them by the million tonne. The general public are not in any position to throw stones.
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They are a small minority buddeliea,many of whose REAL agenda is the end of racing full stop. I think the BHA have gone far enough with the introduction of the air-cushioned stick and the 2009 rules which were themselves mainly about public perception. A lot of these people are fanatics who will not go away. They will just demand one concession after another until there is nothing left.
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Spot on SS,go to Dale Farm and St Pauls and 1.01 these smelly layabouts are signed up to the ban racing cause.
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elise
I tend to agree with those on here thinking the unthinkable about the nationalon this one although I share your concerns. It is so much in the spotlight that if it didnt take place It may help if this annual media and protest circus was ended. It nearly did go under of course when mrs topham passd away |
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But the point is they have the clout and the support.
I dont want to pander anymore than any of you,but i will if it means we still have the sport i love. |
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System crashed. next sentence supposed to read - The BHA should have spent longer (if anything) educating the general public.
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Fair enough wolf, but if I get a 'complaint' I can assure you it will be pulled, owing to the main culprit being me.
I spoke to Feck a few months back and asked him why he didn't post so often during the jump season. He gave his side of the coin, I gave mine. I just hope he doesn't bear a grudge as I only used his name as an example. |
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I would sacrifice the GN as well. This is the shop window for racing and put's out the wrong message in my opinion.
Under the current rules I do not see myself backing any horses until the new flat turf season begins. Might lay a few that need the persuader but that's about it. Also emailed the courses I used to hold a jump's membership at and explained that I will not be renewing due to the current rules. |
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Every year it just seems to attract more and more adverse publicity before and after the race
There is or should I say was no greater race in the calendar Unforynately it has become a stick to beat the racing establishment by all manner of anti racing groups I almost dread the annual jump racing bashing beanfeast now |
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stewart
not sure whether feck bears a grudge or not but I could make an educated guess he is certainly like a dog with a bone on this issue. once he sinks his teeth in he is unlikely to let go  |
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wolf, just when I didn't need to be put under pressure.
 I can't remeber us having a bad word between us. I've also said that 99.99% of punters on here would gladly swap bank books with the man. (I'd be first in the the long standing line) At the end of the day, nobody wants to see cruelty, but I saw a few beasts today being pulled up knackered. |
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people collapse after marathons but they recover and so do horses.
I don't like to see them knackered either but these are normally pretty fit and strong animals who will be fine the next day. |
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Feck - apologies if you have answered these questions elsewhere, but do you eat meat or wear leather?
no- but if you open the zip on his gimp mask he will give it a good suck. |
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If you don't like NH racing just get off this site.... I do not like boxing,motor sports ( surely more dangerous than horse racing, or does it not count if they are human ??) or rugby but I feel no desire to trouble the people who enjoy those sports. I also find golf and cricket tedious, should I invade their forums and tell them so ?? No need to poke my nose in to their sports or how they are run as I have not enough knowledge to do so !! Funny that people with no knowledge of our sport feel that they know best... utter clowns!!
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said it before
I think i might go on the RSPCA forum and advoocate animal cruelty just to annoy everybody |