Do Horses Enjoy Racing?

Yes, horses enjoy racing and are well-looked-after animals.

Running and jumping come naturally to horses as you see horses doing this in the wild.

It’s also very interesting that when a horse unseats its jockey during a race, it will continue to run and jump with the other racehorses.

British and Irish Horse Racing are committed to ensuring that the highest levels of animal care and welfare exist.

There are concerns over the animals being used in sport, which is understood and respected by many in the horse racing community.

Horse Racing Trainers work with the racehorses every day and develop strong bonds to understand their traits and moods.

Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare, states that his organisation “does not accept the claim that horses are unwilling participants in sport. The notion that sport is bad for horses needs to be challenged”

There would be zero thoroughbred racehorses without horse racing in the UK and Ireland.

Horse Racing brings far more life to the horse population than it takes away when you look at the statistics involved.

No racehorse can be made to race and if a horse does not want to race, it won’t, and very occasionally we see a horse plant its feet and refuse to move.

Horses happily take part in a race in most cases.

Have Protestors Ever Been To See The Racehorses At The Stables?

Most protestors have never even visited the stables to see how well looked after they are.

The welfare of the racehorses is key and the horse racing trainers and horse racing jockeys actually love horses.

The animals are unbelievably well cared for.

Is horse racing cruel for the horses?

There have always been animal welfare concerns with horse racing as it exposes horses to a significant risk of injury when jumping fences.

But all sports is dangerous at a high level.

Animal rights protestors do not understand that horses are half a ton of animals on small legs and suffer more catastrophic injuries in the field, than on a racecourse.

Horse Welfare in Horse Racing

Horse racing in Britain is among the world’s best-regulated animal activities.

Equine welfare in British horseracing is the responsibility of everyone in the sport.

The horse welfare responsibilities include:

• Racecourses
• Associations that independently govern and regulate racing
• Stable staff whose role it is to care for the 20,000 + horses who race over the course of a year
• British horseracing is run by people with a deep love of horses

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