Ethical Issues In Horse Racing And The Need To Reform It
That horse racing is a popular sport is known to everyone. For the spectators, the experience of witnessing the full galloping horses throwing up the ground mud in the process is a spectacle worth watching. And, they have been watching the same for centuries. The sport is all about the strength and stamina of the horses to race and the skills of jockeys to make the horses perform at their level best. What is entertainment for a vast majority of the lovers of this sport could be an altogether different real story for the chief actors of this sport, the race horses.
It is true that the horses meant for the races are very well cared for right from their birth. However, the ever growing greed for the money might compel the trainers and the owners of these horses to be more demanding from them, overlooking their physical and mental state. It is due to the unethical conduct towards the race horses that the animal rights activists call for the reforming of the horse racing sport to make it more sensitive to the requirements of the main player-the dutiful race horse. They call to make the reforms process to be centred on the animal needs rather than on the human greed.
Here are some of the reform measures which are specifically pointed out in this regard:
- Wait till the third year: The horse racing shall not be forced on the horse from the second year of the birth, as is usually the practice now. The skeletal and physical development of the horse is not good enough in the second year when the training usually begins. This makes the horse more prone to injuries.
- Do away with the flogging: The whipping of the horses, in the training and especially in the harness horse racing events, shall be banned outright. The logic that the horses need to be disciplined or be shown the right direction using these whips does not carry much weight. Rather, the fear of the whip might compel the horse to keep running even if it has got injured.
- Stop the racing on the dirt surfaces: On the dirt surfaces, the horses have to overcome a lot of frictional force to gallop ahead. It is quite demanding on the toes of the horses and increases the chances of getting injured. When the synthetic tracks are available for running, then why shall there be an obstinate delay in banning horse racing on the dirt surfaces.
- Limiting the number of races in one season: For any biological body, there has to be a period of cooling off in which the body recuperates from the cellular wear and tear it has suffered due to the strenuous physical activity. The same holds true for the body of a horse as well. Putting a limit on the number of horse racing events in a season and also giving sufficient time interval between any two of them does a lot of good to horse’s body.
Many more reform measures can be cited which are basically aimed at preventing harm physically and mentally to the horses.
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