by Sebastian Talon

Created on: March 10, 2010   Last Updated: March 12, 2010

Is National Hunt horse racing cruel?

So what if it is? I personally don't believe it, but so what if it is?

Anyone who has ever been to a horse jumping competition, from an Open Jumping competition to a Steeplechase, needs to look very closely at the animals, not just their own feelings on the subject. I have never met a horse who didn't love to jump. Not just like it, but love it! Believe it or not, horses are competitive animals. They love to run, they love to jump and they love to win.

So, what happens? A few may get hurt. A very few may be hurt enough that they have to be put down. And again, I say, so what? If they are doing what they love to do, then they have a right to take that risk. And no human has a right to tell them they can't. The truth of the matter is, the human who may be riding that horse is not the one in charge, no matter what they may believe. If that horse doesn't want to run, jump or even walk, there is nothing a human being will be able to do to change that fact. Witness the horse still in the starting gate when the announcer shouts, "And they're off!" Nothing could get that horse to run that day.

How can it be cruel, then, I ask, to let a horse do what it loves to do? Isn't it even more cruel to hold that horse back? To keep it reigned in when all he or she wants to do is have its head and have fun? What right do we have, as humans, to tell a horse that what it loves to do is dangerous and keep them from doing so? The animal DOES have a choice. It can refuse to run, it can refuse to jump and it can and will do so on its own. No horse needs a human to tell it what it can and can not do.

See, this is not such a difficult topic after all, is it? Plain and simple, humans, while having the right to protest anything, should stick to protesting those things that effect humans. Let the animals protest if they have a problem with National Hunt racing. Believe me, they can, and will, with no help from you or I.

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