Is National Hunt horse racing cruel?

No

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by Kate Manning

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National Hunt is the term used in England and Ireland for Steeplechasing. This sport involves horses racing over various distances and over obstacles - either hurdles or brush fences.

There is an ongoing debate surrounding national hunt racing, as some people think it is a cruel sport. However, much of the time, people who claim this do not look deep into the world of steeplechasing, the training methods, the good conditions that the horses are kept in and the excellent way they are treated.

National hunt racing is a very popular sport in England and Ireland, and currently in England there are 44 tracks that cater to national hunt racing, out of 60. This number does not include Ireland's racecourses. The sport would not be popular if its athletes were treated unkindly or cruelly at all. Outside of the UK, steeple chasing is a popular sport in many other European countries like France, Germany, and Austria - Australia and America, although in the US, the sport is centered mainly in the North East, in states such as Virginia and Maryland.

Behind the scenes, horses get 24/7 care, whereby they are exercised in a morning on the gallops, usually located at the trainers own farm. Afterwards, they are cooled off, bathed, groomed and often turned out. Some may go back to the stalls depending on the trainers schedule for their horses. They are fed three or four times a day, in order to maintain their strength and health, since they exercise and race off many calories. Horses will have their own personal groom, who looks after only a few horses each, so they can give each horse ample attention. They muck the stalls out and groom, keep the horses warm or cool depending on the weather, turned them out to pasture or put them on stall rest if they had suffered an injury. A great percentage of the time, horses are treated as royalty because, as everyone knows, if it wasn't for the horses, there would be no racing.

When it comes to the steeplechase racing itself, animal activists focus only on what they see. They think a horse is whipped to run faster, pushed to jump over obstacles that hurt them, and treated only as entertainment. This is not the case. Horses in National Hunt races are running at a steady pace, usually an open canter for most of the race. Since the races are a minimum of 2 miles, they need to preserve their energy. Running at top speed would not do very much for them, and only tire them out sooner.

A horse will always start out its racing career in a national hunt bumper race. This is a flat race for potential steeplechase horses. It teaches them the ways of the race course and gets them used to things. Next they will become a novice hurdler. The hurdles are no more than 3 feet in height and fall over easily, so a horse can practically run straight through them without being hindered. The point of them is to teach the horses to jump at a faster speed. A horse will either then go on to become a hurdler for their entire career, like horses such as Istabraq or Sea Pigeon, or they will go on to become chasers. This means they will graduate to 4 foot brush fences, which require the horse jumps a little higher, but the race is generally run at a steadier, slower pace. Some horses go on to become champions at chasing, such as the famous Arkle or more recently Best Mate and Kauto Star.

Those opposed to the sport see jockeys using whips and claim they are hitting the horses to make them run faster, pushing them beyond their limits. This is not true. The point of a whip is to flick the horse on the rump to increase their speed, however, they are not hit hard and there are regulations surrounding the use of a whip. Jockeys might get suspended or ordered to return to schooling, if the stewards feel they have used the whip wrongly or too much, or with unnecessary force. The jockey always rides with the horses best interests in mind. Mistreatment will only result in a likely loss of the race and then penalties and punishment for the jockey afterwards.

Some people state that many owners use their horses for jump racing because they are geldings, have no breeding value and therefore are disposable. This is far from the truth! The reason that many steeplechasers are geldings is because having a horse gelded greatly improves their concentration and temperament. This makes them ideal candidates for jumping because they will pay closer attention to the job at hand. Being geldings also means there is no reason to retire them to stud early on in life, and therefore many get to pursue their careers for many years, often retiring at 12 or 13 years old. As each season comes round, people become fond of seeing familiar horses running, which causes them to become sentimental to the public, and champion horses often become 'people's favorites' such as the late, great Desert Orchid and Red Rum.

Horses may fall at jumps. They may also sustain an injury, but this is not uncommon in any sport. Should we therefore call every sport cruel? In national hunt, there might be many falls, but 9 times out of 10 the horse will get up and keep on running. Often, they will keep on running and jumping with the field. This is not because they are 'trained to'. No horse is taught to keep going in they lose their jockey in a race! They enjoy the race and are also herd animals, so they wish to stay with the other horses. Some may go around the jumps and others over them. Sometimes, you will see a loose horse go back to the stables once the race reaches the grandstand area again!

The fact that they are running at a much slower speed than on the flat and the fence generally breaks their fall means they usually get up unharmed. This is not to say that the sport is not without its fatalities, but many sports are. On the flat, when a horse falls, is usually means they have broken a leg or torn a ligament. They are also traveling at 40 mph, which makes the fall much more severe. Changes are made all the time to improve the safety of obstacles and courses and the number of fatalities in races has decreased greatly.

Many, if not all, national hunt trainers have their yards open to the public. (Usually by appointment) people are able to go and look around the facilities of the trainers farm and meet the stars of the sport. In racing centers such as Lambourn and Newmarket, they hold open days, whereby the public gather and watch exhibitions, meet their favorite horses, jockeys and trainers, participate in charitable events and so forth.

The horses are peoples' livelihood, and therefore they are treated with the utmost respect and kindness. Horse racing is said to be the sport of kings, and the kings in National Hunt are the equine athletes.

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