It was hot, very hot at the Ascot races not long ago (30+ degrees Celsius). The horses were racing as usual. And somebody picked up the fact that one horse developed a nosebleed after a race. They tweeted a picture of that horse juxtaposed with a picture of one of the glamorous ladies watching the race. It was an uncomfortable juxtaposition because on the one hand the humans are dressed up smelling nice and eating fine quality food and drinking champagne. On the other hand, the horses are running their guts out after having been banged up in stables for weeks.
I can’t show the image of the hose with a nosebleed as it will upset advertisers and some readers. So, if you want to see it, please click on the link below. You will stay on this page and the image will open in a new tab/window with no advertising.
During a horse race, often the horses run at an abnormally fast pace for an abnormally long time, something they wouldn’t do in the wild. They are driven on and whipped to give the impression to the horse that they are being attacked by a prey animal. This spurs them on even harder. Under these circumstances, they can develop a nosebleed which is called epistaxis in medical terms. This is particularly so if the temperature is high.
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A veterinary website tells me that racehorses are prone to nosebleeds. They say that when horses race extreme respiratory effort is exerted. Their blood pressure increases. This is severe hypertension of the tiny blood vessels in the lungs. There can be stress failure of these capillaries which allows blood to enter the lungs. From there it is blown out with their breath and you end up with blood around the nostrils which is very apparent.
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The point is this: horse racing is arguably cruel and an abuse of the horse. Their lives are unnatural. They are abused in this way to entertain people. Like a lot of abuse in the animal world at the hands of humans it is for human entertainment which is the stark juxtaposition of distress in one animal and pleasure in the other.
Below are some more pages on horse racing.
