Grisly glamour

Did you think they were living out their days in lush paddocks?

Unfortunately, these glorious creatures are mostly destined for the slaughterhouse: it is estimated that 40 per cent of race horses ‘leave’ the industry each year due to ‘poor” performance or injury.

More than 25,000 horses each year are slaughtered with the meat being sold for either pet meat or exported to Japan or Europe for human consumption.

The transportation of these horses to an abattoir may take many hours, which can cause a great deal of stress even before they reach their final grisly destination.

While racegoers revel in the glamour of Champagne, frocks and fascinators, behind the scenes many thousands of horses are slaughtered in the pursuit of this pleasure and, hopefully, profit.