Horse Racing is Sick! Sick I Tell You!

[KC Shox]

Anyone watch HBO's Real Sports tonight? They had a story on horses in the racing circuit and what happens to them when they become a financial burden to their owners. When they don't perform they are sold to a guy called the "Meat Man". He turns around and sells the horse to Euro and Asian meat market buyers. The U.S. bans horse slaughtering because it was too inhumane, but these horses are then shipped off to slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico and killed barbarically because these civilized countries still allow it. Canadiens are too cute, I like how they kill baby harp seals for their fur too. That's a different story.

How are they killed in Mexico you ask? Are they humanely killed? Not! A horse is put in a small pen, where a man with a knife slices at the back of the horse's neck attempting to sever the spinal cord to paralyze the horse. And trust me, the video shows a guy slicing at a horse's neck several times before he finally gets it done. Nice! How would you like someone slicing on your neck over and over until they finally get it right and slice your spinal cord?

At least in Canada, they try to get the horse's attention and when they do, POW! Rifle shot to the forehead.

All the glamour and romance during Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes is bullcrap. Behind the scenes, thousands of horses are being killed after 2 or 3 years of life because they aren't fast enough.

If people want to eat horse meat - I got no problem with it. However, these U.S. stable owners have a responsibility to ensure that these animals are killed humanely instead of just washing their hands of the slow horses for $250 bucks. Euthanize them properly, put them in freezer then ship them off. Don't pack them in semi trailers designed for cows and pigs, drive them thousands of miles across the border and use barbaric killing techniques that make them suffer horribly.

Humans can be so disgusting.

[BenWSU]

[ABC]

I like how the Italians get rid of their horses.

[WuShockFan]

Real Sports also had a story a few months ago about how rampant bulimia and anorexia are among the jockeys in horse racing. The guys are already freakishly small, but they starve themselves and throw up everyday in order to make the weight. Locker rooms have special places for them to throw up.

I have to say though, to KC Shox, I don't see the difference between killing horses for meat and killing cows and pigs for meat. Just because you live in a culture where horse meat is not commonly eaten, you think it's worse to do this to horses, but see nothing wrong with doing the same thing to cows. I don't see the difference. I've seen cows slaughtered and it ain't pretty. They cut the neck also and the cow kicks and grunts and blood spews everywhere. Or they force them into the pen and quickly shoot them in the head before they know what's going on.

If you're a vegetarian, I get your point. But if you eat hamburgers and hot dogs, gimme a break.

[KC Shox]

Real Sports also had a story a few months ago about how rampant bulimia and anorexia are among the jockeys in horse racing. The guys are already freakishly small, but they starve themselves and throw up everyday in order to make the weight. Locker rooms have special places for them to throw up.

I have to say though, to KC Shox, I don't see the difference between killing horses for meat and killing cows and pigs for meat. Just because you live in a culture where horse meat is not commonly eaten, you think it's worse to do this to horses, but see nothing wrong with doing the same thing to cows. I don't see the difference. I've seen cows slaughtered and it ain't pretty. They cut the neck also and the cow kicks and grunts and blood spews everywhere. Or they force them into the pen and quickly shoot them in the head before they know what's going on.

If you're a vegetarian, I get your point. But if you eat hamburgers and hot dogs, gimme a break.

I too have seen cows slaughtered. My father is employed with the second largest beef packing company in the nation and I once (regrettebly) took a tour of the slaughter facility. What I observed was humane killing. The cows are pinned and are knocked unconcious by that drill gun hammer tool.

For those who don't understand why they are knocked out and not just immediately killed, the cows are knocked out so they don't feel pain but keeps them alive in order to keep the heart pumping. When the cows are tied up and their throats slit, the beating heart pumps out the majority of the blood in the cow.

If you read my post before, I said I have no problem with people eating horsemeat. What I have a problem with is killing horses in a fashion that was designed to kill cows. A horse's neck is 3 feet long and it sways back and forth in a pen designed to keep a short necked cow stable. This makes if very difficult for a man trying to stun the horse with the drill hammer and repeated attempts are often made. A lot of times the horses were not unconcious when their throats were cut, now that is inhumane. Understand kiddo, if you are going to kill the horses then do it humanely.

There is a reason why the United States banned horse slaughtering in the country, because there are no facilities or accepted ways of humanely killing them and the way they were killing them was deemed inhumane. And from what I observed I would agree.

I am a meat eater, I have no problem with the slaughter of cows and pigs as I've seen first hand how they are killed. Heck, I'd try horsemeat once to see if I like it. If I tried a shark I can try a horse.