Does anyone else get upset when they're watching horse racing and a horse falls?

I never watch horse racing, but yes, if I happen to see a horse or any animal fall.

I am still not over Barbaro. I cannot watch that, ever. The strain put on the animal’s skeleton by the demands of the sport seem like cruelty to me when it is all for the amusement of people and the false god of money.

Having adopted my ex-racing greyhound, I can tell you that their bodies when they come off the track are in sad shape. the things that happen to them when they are racing are very cruel.

Oh, yes, it kills me to see a horse down. We went to a county fair last summer where there were chuck wagon races. They’re great fun, but a horse got loose, ran onto the track & was hit by a wagon. It was awful. But in the end, he was okay with just some cuts & he got up & walked away. The suddenly silent crowd erupted into applause. Most people care deeply for horses.

Using animals for sport or entertainment is abuse. I don’t support horse racing. When I see a horse fall on the news, I hope the rider gets stepped on. I don’t want him to die, but I want him to share that horses pain.
My kids were pissed that I wouldn’t take them to the circus. I explained that it’s not right to force animals to perform, it makes them sad.

Naturally! Whenever it happens. I’m also bothered when people are disconnected enough that they wouldn’t sympathize with the horse.

@Marina & @elijahsuicide Horse racing may seem cruel to you because you’ve never seen a Thoroughbred’s heart. I agree, yes, that the demands placed on the horses at such an early age are hard, but those horses LOVE to race. The ones who don’t have the heart retire early. The majority of trainers will not continue to race a horse who doesn’t want to win.

I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life rehabbing Thoroughbreds off-the-track for second careers. I know breeders and I frequent the race track. A lot of the trainers and breeders treat these horses like their children. Some do not, and those trainers are looked down upon.

Yes, I am saddened when horses fall during a race, but I am also saddened when jockeys fall. The jockey is only being paid to ride the horse, for that one race… it isn’t their fault if the horse has been pushed too hard in training or happens to loose it’s footing.

I know that the horses love to race and I know the jockeys love what they do also, but I still hate it when anyone falls in a race.

My aunt used to have a rehabbed Thoroughbred who spent much of his free time running around the pasture and trying to coax his pasture-mate to run also. She taught him to jump and would ride him with the hunt so he could still get the adrenalin kick he loved.

Who doesn’t get upset?

Growing up in a Horse Racing family I can tell you that it is ALWAYS sad and distressing when a horse is injured or breaks down. It bothers me that somehow there is this notion that the people who work in the horse racing industry are not affected by it. I can tell you that my family has cried over the loss of a beloved horse. Over 40 years we lost two horses. Also, Horses breaking down and being euthanized is NOT an everyday occurance. It may seem like it because when it happens it tends to make news because like a plane crash it is a rare occurance. There are good trainers and there are bad trainers just like everything in life. I can tell you that the horses in my father’s care are living like kings! They are not abused. Thoroughbred Horse Racings origins go back to as early as 1727. It is the sport of Kings. Racing is in there blood & they are atheletes.

This is worse. And this. The jockey in that video is barely able to hold her head up anymore, has severe brain damage and will never recover. The horse she was riding is dead from what I understand.

I always feel very sad for the horses. I hate watching horse races.

I think everyone does.

@asmonet

Geez that second video, gosh that’s just awful! :(
That collision honestly looked worse than a car crash.

I’ve never liked horse races. I like horse shows though (I’ve done them) and jumping and all, but never the horse races. I think it’s too risk for both the jockeys and the horses.

I hate horse races and I always feel worse for the horse than I do for the human. Regardless of whether or not the horses like to run, they wouldn’t be put into that kind of dangerous situation in the first place if people didn’t use animals for sport.

@asmonet jeez… You shouldn’t be allowed to race in those conditions in the second video anyway.

horse racing is not going away anytime soon. Too much $$ in the business.

I love horses and I have 3 rescue animals. They are beautiful creatures. Horse racing is not generally a dangerous sport. Accidents with the beasts are not common. It’s not like NASCAR where at least one car is wrecked in every race.

@asmonet. I have to tell you, that activity in the first video seems just asinine to me. I’m probably in the minority but I don’t see the need to use wild horses for that activity. Seems cruel to me.

As far as the second video, horrific. It sent chills down my spine seeing the pre-impact and then the collision. Very sad.

I’m tempted to watch the video, but considering I have slight OCD, I don’t think it would be a good idea.

@DrasticDreamer

I don’t see how you being obsessive compulsive would affect you seeing videos.
Now if you had pretty bad anxiety? Maybe.

Because gross/bad things get stuck in my head – the obsessive part of OCD.

@DrasticDreamer that happens to me too, I don’t think it’s OCD, it’s just an extreme thought that shocks you. Shocking images DO stay in the mind. That’s almost the whole point of the news. “TODAY FIVE PEOPLE WERE STABBED TO DEATH! and now the weather!”

I also worry more about the horse.

@everyone:

Yeah, the worst part about that second video is I first saw it when I was hanging out with my friend. We were talking about legitimate wacky fears that would probably never happen. Mine was that I would be riding a horse and it would ram full sped into another one. Then the Discovery special on that jockey came on at the exact moment I finished, that clip started the show.

I freaked out.

@cage You’re right, but I am slightly OCD. I do other things, like counting syllables on my fingers, too. And images can stay in my mind for weeks and longer.

Yea I always feel bad when they fall. Because when they break a leg, its almost always the end of the line for the horse.

I hate rodeos. Horse racing is okay, but rodeos are horrible. I always root for the bull to stomp on the cowboy’s head when he falls off.

Yeah, but I also get upset when I see Olympic skaters or bicyclists pile up, or a QB get his knee snapped, or a NASCAR guy do a triple flip.

I feel bad, yes. :(

Many people get upset at horses falling during races. For that very reason lots of people only watch flat racing, and some horse racing websites only cover flat racing and not the jumps. In the UK a few jump races have been sabotaged by animal rights activists, but that sort of thing doesn’t tend to occur over the flat.