In the footage, which quickly disappeared from the public broadcast, the injured horse is seen with his broken leg swinging, and the bone exposed.
One can only imagine the agony and distress poor Flying Verse suffered and, whilst the footage is amongst some of the most graphic and horrific we have ever seen, it is worth noting that around 200 horses are killed as a result of racing in Britain every single year.
Jump Racing is particularly lethal for horses, who are forced to run at speed and jump obstacles. More than 3,000 horses have been killed in Britain as a result of jump racing since 2001.
In the case of Flying Verse, it could be said that the veteran race horse was truly exploited for money. He had been raced 17 times in the past year, up to the time of his fatal injury. A quick search of his name quickly takes you to an article from March 2023 where his trainer is quoted as saying “We’ll plot our way to veteran chases or staying races and hopefully get him up to £100,000.”
Race horses are treated as money-making commodities. You can help by refusing to attend racing events or betting on horses, and taking action here.
