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I am absolutely horrified at the prospect of horse-racing in Taiwan and don’t even want to imagine how the horses will be treated – I saw the official animal warden of the national park in Kenting giving wild horses coca cola to drink on a TV show the other week – and he’s the expert? :s
Or am I being cynical, and sugary drinks with caffeine are actually good for horses?
well in one sense i don’t think you would need to worry, first of all it won’t be happening soon, secondly a full compliment of professional horsepeople would have to be brought in to train and ride the horses.
in another sense sugary drinks and caffeine would actually laughably be the least of a race horse’s worries as they are regularly and illegally plied with all manner of substances, up to the limit of probable detection, by the worse kind of the professional horsepeople i mentioned above, to make them run a second or 2 faster. that would be the kind of thing you would worry about here, i would have little confidence in the ability of local authorities to oversee things properly, not that racing commissions elsewhere always do a great job, still i can imagine the crooked mess that would probably quickly be brewed up here.
Without a doubt! It would open up a completely new dimension to animal abuse and suffering on the island, as well as making horseburgers the next Portuguese egg tarts (or was that donuts?). Is it actually safe to eat a horse that’s been on streoids all its life, or would they have to be dumped in the mountains when they’re too old or lame? Stray Dog may have to start thinking a bit bigger . . . 
actually one of the sadder aspects of the us horseracing industry is that washed up horses with no racing or breeding value are often sold to be butchered for meat in europe. there are a couple of groups that try to find homes for them.
[quote=“magnolia”] I saw the official animal warden of the national park in Kending giving wild horses coca cola to drink on a TV show the other week – and he’s the expert? :s
Or am I being cynical, and sugary drinks with caffeine are actually good for horses?[/quote]
Actually, it does seem odd, but I read somewhere that in the wild many horses do prefer Coke.
As for the prospect of race horses being mistreated in Taiwan (if it ever happens here), I’m sure you’re right. I enjoy betting on the horses (in the US or HK, etc), but I always feel a little guilty because so many people claim the horses are seriously abused even in those “more developed” nations and it’s hard to deny it if one does even the most basic research on the subject. But you’re right, surely in Taiwan the abuse would be even worse. 
[quote=“Mother Theresa”][quote=“magnolia”] I saw the official animal warden of the national park in Kending giving wild horses coca cola to drink on a TV show the other week – and he’s the expert? :s
Or am I being cynical, and sugary drinks with caffeine are actually good for horses?[/quote]
Actually, it does seem odd, but I read somewhere that in the wild many horses do prefer Coke.
As for the prospect of race horses being mistreated in Taiwan (if it ever happens here), I’m sure you’re right. I enjoy betting on the horses (in the US or HK, etc), but I always feel a little guilty because so many people claim the horses are seriously abused even in those “more developed” nations and it’s hard to deny it if one does even the most basic research on the subject. But you’re right, surely in Taiwan the abuse would be even worse. [/quote]
I’ve been talking about this with my TW boyfriend today, and while I had to concede to him that there is a level of abuse I tacitly accept in horse racing my own country (the UK; I also used to bet), he is also quite sure the levels in Taiwan would reach new heights. Like duh, he said!
I’m also very suspicious of the line in the article that says horse racing in Taiwan would “require an amendment of the Animal Protection Act” – why am I convinced that any such amendment would certainly not be in the animal’s favor? I’m gonna have to get me one of those “Save a horse, ride a Taiwanese” t-shirts that someone has posted about in the Open Forum. Or just pray it never happens! 
The Sport of Kings
Horse meat is very healthy. Excellent meat.
yes race horses that are not up to par are sent to the slaughter house and eventually eaten. What is wrong with that ? If you are not a vegetarian then it is no different to eating a cow or a pig.
Why not horse meat ?
What does the SO say 'bout that ? 