The Grand National festival is the reason for 29 deaths of horses since 2010. And this years victims are the Long Mile and Houx girls.
The injuries those horses face are so brutal that they are the reason for their deaths. The most common injuries are broken backs and broken legs, and they are also killed by people since they are not useful for racing anymore.
The Grand National race is a controversy itself. It’s one of the longest races in the world (4.5 miles) and its brutality is what makes it so famous and controversial.
BEHIND THE RACE
Horses die almost every year during the 3-day race, and since they are seen as replaceable, jockeys don’t have a problem with killing them after sustaining an injury. Almost every broken bone will be used as a justification to euthanize a horse.
Most injuries happen at fences such as Canal Turn, The Chair and Becher’s Brook. Those fences force horses to jump extremely high obstacles and that’s when their legs, backs and necks usually get broken.
IF THAT’S NOT ENOUGH
Before the race even starts, the horses are being put under a lot of pressure during training. They are basically bred to be machines and the track and during training they are pushed beyond their natural abilities.
On the track as we said, the usual injuries are broken backs, legs and necks, but if those injuries aren’t sustained, there is a possibility of their lungs bleeding, heart attacks and other health problems that come from being pushed too hard for what? Human amusement.
A SURVIVOR
After their retirement, which happens when they get too old or aren’t as good at performing as they used to be, they don’t go to live a happy, retirement life. They are still seen as a source of profit. They are used as betting slips, they
are sold for slaughter, and they were also used in dog and cat food (but that type of consumption seems to be a thing of the past).
Every year, the controversy of the Grand National race arises and people seem to be more aware of the problem that this race brings. Let’s just hope that one day we will be able to say – it’s over.
