# Where racehorses go to retire



## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

WARNING. This video footage is extremely upsetting

YouTube - Slaughterhouses - Where Racehorses Go To Retire

I have posted this to highlight the barbarism that goes on in certain countries.


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## charlie9009 (Nov 24, 2008)

That is horrible, but unfortunatly it doesn't suprise me  When will people stop thinking of animals as money making machines and just "dispose" of them when they have no more use? People who race horses, greyhounds or anything else should be made to take responsability for their animals when they retire! Not just put them in rescues, or worse, what is happening in this video!


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## LadyRedLainey (Apr 7, 2009)

I can not watch the video, those things just make me cry so much. It is disgusting how animals are treated because they hit a certian age, or they have 'no use'  anymore!


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## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should post this or not, but we should know what is going on in the world.

I did not watch the video as such, the beginning was bad enough


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## Chrysler (May 3, 2009)

This is just sick. 
Having said this, I was aware that these things go on... all over the world and not just with the thoroughbreds. 
Same goes for pacers in germany and other countries.


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## Apollo (Feb 16, 2009)

There are no words to describe my horror at seeing this. I knew this sort of thing happened to all animals and that is awful and horrifying already but what these people (the owners and the people who do this), I hope that they get closed down and out of work. I love horses, ever since I was a child and this is just cruelty at the highest level of horror....indeed there is no level to describe what this is...

I wish that I hadn't watched the video and I am so glad that I didn't watch it all the way through. I think that animal rights activisits must combat this sort of slaughter immediatley. Otherwise these great animals of noble stock and origin (indeed all animals who go to slaughter houses and die in this cruel way) will fade...perhaps if those who require to eat meat; maybe they should look upon figures in the meat industry who attempt to make those of the animals who die die quickly and painlessly as possible and live a good life as much as they can.

Back to the video and also the horses; whilst race horses are a part of the history of sport and thus even a minor part of history, I do not understand _why_ their owners feel the need to send them to Japan to kill them once they hit a certain age to be too old to race. If they didn't want them anymore, they could have traded them for stud or placed them in a horse sanctuary for them to live out their days in peace and happiness..not kill them....I rather want to _kill_ these people now..

...and we call ourselves the dominant species..._humans_ **** sapiens...bah...we are nothing but uncultivated swein...


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

I wont watch the video but I am aware what happens. Just want to say that slaughtering of race horses etc really is getting less common so pressure from us kind of people is helping. There are also many places and people out there who own retired/ex racers too, so :thumbsup: to all of you guys!


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## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

Tinsley said:


> I wont watch the video but I am aware what happens. Just want to say that slaughtering of race horses etc really is getting less common so pressure from us kind of people is helping. There are also many places and people out there who own retired/ex racers too, so :thumbsup: to all of you guys!


Together we CAN make a difference


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## MoodyMare (Jun 15, 2009)

Being a horse lover and owner i cannot even think about watching the video but i am very well aware what goes on in the horse racing industry, it is very sad but sadly horse racing will never go away- no matter what. There are so many Thoroughbreds that end their racing career very early for various reasons and it would be nice to think that they could ALL go to rescue centres but sadly the majority of centers are already overflowing as it is, there are also a few people out their that are willing to retrain an ex-racehorse to become a riding horse but this takes a very experienced and dedicated person which again there are very few. Another option would be for the horse to go through the sales, most of which end up going to the meat-man or some heartless dealer in which the horse would end up going from one bad home to the next, i don't believe going to a stud farm is a sensible option either - aren't there enough horses as it is?. 
I have always been against horse slaughter but i would rather see a horse humanely destroyed than live a life of misery being passed from dealer to dealer and end up with somebody like the recent case of Jamie Gray (Amersham) where many horses were found dead and many suffering. 
What i would like to see is better regulations regarding the transportation of horses destined for slaughter, they should NOT have to travel many miles in cramped conditions, perhaps this is what we should be campaigning for??

Adele x


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## bird (Apr 2, 2009)

MoodyMare said:


> Being a horse lover and owner i cannot even think about watching the video but i am very well aware what goes on in the horse racing industry, it is very sad but sadly horse racing will never go away- no matter what. There are so many Thoroughbreds that end their racing career very early for various reasons and it would be nice to think that they could ALL go to rescue centres but sadly the majority of centers are already overflowing as it is, there are also a few people out their that are willing to retrain an ex-racehorse to become a riding horse but this takes a very experienced and dedicated person which again there are very few. Another option would be for the horse to go through the sales, most of which end up going to the meat-man or some heartless dealer in which the horse would end up going from one bad home to the next, i don't believe going to a stud farm is a sensible option either - aren't there enough horses as it is?.
> I have always been against horse slaughter but i would rather see a horse humanely destroyed than live a life of misery being passed from dealer to dealer and end up with somebody like the recent case of Jamie Gray (Amersham) where many horses were found dead and many suffering.
> What i would like to see is better regulations regarding the transportation of horses destined for slaughter, they should NOT have to travel many miles in cramped conditions, perhaps this is what we should be campaigning for??
> 
> Adele x


Its not just racehorses that this happens to, its just that racehorses recieve more publicilty you can look at horses in riding schools privatly owned etc.


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## hutch6 (May 9, 2008)

This is what goes on in slaughterhouses all over the world be it a sheep, a pig, a cow, a chicken, a farmed deer, a donkey, a goat or any other animal that walks through the door. The only difference here is that it's a horse and in our culture we are not used to seeing horses being kille dfor cosumption so it makes you feel a little different. Humans have consumed horses for millenia and in some cultures their whole lives evolve the life of the horse through birth, work and death. 

Typical PeTA video though sending out the message of "Stop Horse Racing". 

OK so we stop horse racing, the slughter houses get rammed full with horses now they are no longer needed. Then we stop horse jumping as that's a cruel sport too, so again the slaughterhouses are rammed full with horses that are surplus to requirement. Then we stop eventing, dressage, polo etc and again the slaughter houses are rammed. We lose the blood lines that go back hundreds of years which are the lines that hold the money which ensure their will always be love for horses in the world from horse lovers that can be seen riding around the coutryside on beautiful beasts, horse breeders who care about the gene pool, stables and trainers.


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Ive had about 6 ex-racers. All came directly from the track. Cant say they are particularily hard to train and hack out. I started riding them when i was 13.

The sad fact is, that like dogs, the supply of horse heavily outweighs the demand. Because of human greed, thousands of animals will die each year. Its a very sad part of being born a horse, where unless you are able to serve purpose, you are discarded.


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## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

Nonnie said:


> Ive had about 6 ex-racers. All came directly from the track. Cant say they are particularily hard to train and hack out. I started riding them when i was 13.
> 
> The sad fact is, that like dogs, the supply of horse heavily outweighs the demand. Because of human greed, thousands of animals will die each year. Its a very sad part of being born a horse, where unless you are able to serve purpose, you are discarded.


Sadly, this seems to be the attitude of a good percentage of the human race


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Nina said:


> Sadly, this seems to be the attitude of a good percentage of the human race


What exactly do you mean?


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## Acacia86 (Dec 30, 2008)

Apollo said:


> ...and we call ourselves the dominant species..._humans_ **** sapiens...bah...we are nothing but uncultivated swein...


I agree with everything you said in your post. But i wanted to outline this particulary.

Humans are the reason for ALL the animal cruelty in the world. Simple. We decided to race horses, we bred them to do so, we made it a so called 'business' we then slaughter them. :cursing: (after all we invented, spears, knives, guns traps etc. We were actually a PREY species, not predator. Now we are the biggest predator  )

The same with any domesticated animal. We have done all this.

Nice species aren't we?? Its now down to our generation and beyond to fix what serious damage our ancestors did to animals livelihoods/welfare etc

Even when humans first came around we were actually omnivores. We had no real reason to start slaughtering animals for consumption. We could eat meat but not actually as well as we could with vegetation.
I have nothing against eating meat however, so long as you know where it came from and that it was raised and cared for as it should be...allowed to do what comes naturally etc

I do agree with one comment however......in the UK we think it is wrong to eat horses which is why this hits a raw nerve. A lot of countries do yet don't always eat lamb for instance. I personally don't agree with it!

But the fact these thousands of horses get this end because their RACING career is over. That is sick.


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