Not Another Melbourne Cup Day!
November 3rd 2008 21:00
Photo supplied by MBurger. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
It’s that time of the year again. For many people it’s time to take a punt and to stop work and watch the race in the afternoon. For me, it’s time to grab some food from one of the offices where a large TV set will be set up so people can watch the race, and come back to my desk and continue working. I am definitely not dressing up.
A lot of my rebellion is to do with my dislike of tradition. I also dislike gambling and anything I consider frivolous. Call me boring but I think there are much more important things going on in the world.
It doesn’t help that last year I had a terrible Melbourne Cup day. My ex neighbour and I were planning on going to a club that was hosting a Melbourne Cup party where a DJ we both liked was supposed to be playing. The event was advertised as being free to the public. I even rang the club to confirm this as I didn’t want to dress up for nothing and they said yes and agreed to put our names on the door list.
On the actual day, it started raining in the afternoon. My neighbour said given the bad weather, she couldn’t be bothered with dressing up and going to a club so I decided to go alone. When I got to the club it turned out the Melbourne Cup party was invitation only. Annoyed at being misled, I went home, tottering in high heels and a simple cobalt dress. That was the only time I was tempted to participate in any Melbourne Cup celebrations. When my neighbour heard what had happened to me she was furious and said the club could be done for false advertising. At the same time, I was glad I didn’t pressure her into coming with me.
A year later and wiser and getting too old for the club circuit, I’m going to have a quiet one and stay home.
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Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
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Techbreak
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
Nice to hear from you!
I'm actually in Sydney and already my office has been having Melbourne Cup events and the race hasn't even started!
My team is down one person so my workload has almost doubled so I definitely don't have time to do anything except work.
What scares me is the amount of money people spend today. Wouldn't it be better going to a charity?
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Thats the tip of the ice berg. Racing 2 year old horses is the equivalent of racing 5 year old children. A horse is not an adult until its 5 - their knees are not set and their lungs and muscles are not developed. I am always saddened but never surprised when I hear of another heart attack or broken leg. They quite simply do not care about the welfare of the horses.
I went to the Hunter Valley on a breeding tour, and I visited about 6 studs. I asked every stud manager, how many horses do you breed each year? They all answered between 3 and 6 thousand (and they said units, not horses) and then we went to the January and Easter Sales. There were maybe 5 thousand horses sold at each sale. Less than a thrid become racehorses.
Heres the hard question - what happens to the missing numbers? Processed in whatever way is most profitable. Glue, chewing gum and resturaunts. Its that cash that pays for their super stables and paddocks.
Oh, and did I mention the breeding pool for thoroughbreds has gotten so shallow that 80% of foals born need leg surgery to even walk? The whole industry disgusts me. I could go on because the crimes they committ against horses are abominable, but I'll be here all day. I get so angry!
I should mention, I dont mind racing itself. Ive raced my arabs and they love it, some horses do love it. But its not fair the way they are bred raised and discarded so fast.....Like fast food.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
I think people who are into Melbourne Cup are sheep. One telling example: almost the whole office had stopped work on Tuesday to watch it. The next day, only about five people (including me) stopped work to see who became president of the U.S.
One colleague didn't share my interest and couldn't understand why I was getting so excited. I told him Melbourne Cup happens once a year every year but it's not every day a black man becomes the first president of the U.S. Enough said.
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
When I was younger, I got into the Cup because for one day of the year everyone was as into horses as me. But its far better to just spend more time with horsey people and think of how that horse that wins is going to get luxury, while the guy who comes last will probably be dog food in a month.
No, whips do not hurt. In racing, when you see the jockey swing the whip forward, he's not hitting the horse. Hitting in front of the saddle is forbidden in any discipline, even racing. The jockey is actually swinging it by the horses eye to show it to him and encourage him to move quicker.
A horse weighs on average between 5 and 600kg. A gelding or mare has an incredibly dense amount of muscle but with very sensitive skin. Think of how when a tag in your shirt gets caught in the wind and flicks your neck - it doesnt hurt, but makes you jump. A whip smack is like that to a horse. They are SO STRONG, I dont think a human can comprehend how strong, that a whip is nothing to them.
A whip should never be used to punish or hit anyway, a whip is an extension of your arm, a directional aid. When lunging and leading it directs the horse in the right direction and gives him something to focus on. With arabs we actually do 'whip training' because they have to pose by putting their nose up to the whip.
Colts and Stallions are another matter. Their skin is thicker, their muscles denser. A gelding the same hieght and width of a stallion weighs half as much - a stallion packs twice the mass into the same space. I have hit my stallion with a whip to punish him and it only encouraged him. They love to fight, its their instinct - fight screw and thats it. On stallions a whip is used to protect yourself!
To actually hurt a horse with a whip or training aid - like a chain - you have to set out to literally hurt them. My mare was severely abused before we got her - whip scars under her neck and all over her rump, as well as being starved and given no water. Theres a scar on her face that looks like a mans ring. That was a concentrated effort over days and they MEANT to hurt her and punish her. For what, I dont know, but she is stubborn. To do that to a herbivore makes no sense - they cant understand why you are doing it. The punishment must fit the crime and it must be instant. You kick me - I kick you back. That kind of thing.
Its very easy to get impatient and agrssive with horses because they are so big and cheeky, but Ive found (years of trial and error) if I start to get angry, stop, think, and approach the situation from another direction. Im the human, they are the horse, I have to 'out think' because I can never Overpower.
Sorry. You got me babbling on my favourite subject. Horse lectures, free!