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Horses Electrocuted In Paddock At Newbury

 
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mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK

PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:26 am    Post subject: Horses Electrocuted In Paddock At Newbury Reply with quote

Two horses were electrocuted in a paddock at Newbury races on Saturday. It's suspected that underground cabling got wet which resulted in the deaths of the horses.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/9395743.stm
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MadeinSurrey



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
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Location: The Beautiful South

PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The actual state of play is that there are "fears" the poor animals were electrocuted - investigations are still going on.

Given that this happened at 1.15 yesterday afternoon, and has been all over the news since then, I'm not sure why you decided to post your comments nearly 18 hours later Mark?
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Eric Shone



Joined: 06 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw this on BBC news 24. Very sad, but I laughed out loud when the anchor commented on the story (reported on by the sports bozo) saying:
"must have been a shocking scene" Laughing
Couldn't help but laugh.

Completely straight face by all involved too!
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John W



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm a bit sceptical about the 'electrocution' theory; electricity flows to earth and so any damaged cables the current would dissipate and cause a fuse blow somewhere. Yes I know jockeys reported electrical tingling and even a scorched rein, but I'm still sceptical. Shocked

Another theory, not mentioned on the news of course, would be that the horses were doped/poisoned.
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mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That would be shocking to the horse racing world if doping or poisoning was found to be the cause. Metal shoes the horses were wearing could have caused problems.

It's an interesting theory Inspector clouseau. Laughing
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Eric Shone



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mark occomore wrote:
That would be shocking to the horse racing world if doping or poisoning was found to be the cause. Metal shoes the horses were wearing could have caused problems.

It's an interesting theory Inspector clouseau. Laughing


Very Happy
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Fred



Joined: 04 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It does seem a bit odd that an underground cable could effect them in this way without any direct contact. But aren't horses much more sensitive to electrical currents than humans? I don't know how much this effects things.
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ruddlescat



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't understand why the whole meeting at Newbury was abandoned because the area affected was confined to one of the two paddocks which the horses normally parade in before the races

Surely it would have made far more sense simply to cordon off the affected area and allow the remaining races to go ahead as normal either scrapping the parade of having it in the paddock which was unaffected

A distinct lack of common sense yet again Sad
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ColinB
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fred wrote:
It does seem a bit odd that an underground cable could effect them in this way without any direct contact. But aren't horses much more sensitive to electrical currents than humans? I don't know how much this effects things.


Those underground cables have been in situ for over 30 years so I think they're clutching at straws to be honest.

BTW Mark - if you hope to ever scoop the BBC with news stories then you'd better tell your agency staff to be a bit quicker off the mark with this kind of stuff! You were very late again..... already the story is yesterday's chip wrapping.
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becky sharp



Joined: 01 Dec 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ColinB wrote:
Fred wrote:
It does seem a bit odd that an underground cable could effect them in this way without any direct contact. But aren't horses much more sensitive to electrical currents than humans? I don't know how much this effects things.


Those underground cables have been in situ for over 30 years so I think they're clutching at straws to be honest.

BTW Mark - if you hope to ever scoop the BBC with news stories then you'd better tell your agency staff to be a bit quicker off the mark with this kind of stuff! You were very late again..... already the story is yesterday's chip wrapping.
Was still headline news on the 11 o'clock news tonight Colin...
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ColinB
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

becky sharp wrote:
Was still headline news on the 11 o'clock news tonight Colin...


....... that's probably because it was a slow news day today (no demos in Cairo to report) and perhaps a minor update on the story that was running for most of Saturday.
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becky sharp



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very Happy

They obviously thought it still newsworthy enough...
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mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think they use old Newspapers to wrap up Fish and Chips anymore.
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ColinB
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mark occomore wrote:
I don't think they use old Newspapers to wrap up Fish and Chips anymore.


Yes Mark. Thank you. Rolling Eyes
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Rachel
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ruddlescat wrote:
I don't understand why the whole meeting at Newbury was abandoned because the area affected was confined to one of the two paddocks which the horses normally parade in before the races

Surely it would have made far more sense simply to cordon off the affected area and allow the remaining races to go ahead as normal either scrapping the parade of having it in the paddock which was unaffected

A distinct lack of common sense yet again Sad


That would assume that they knew the exact cause- for all they knew at the time it could have been people in the crowd with those new style (leaves no trace) TASER guns.
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ruddlescat



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

According to Radio 5 Live they knew the cause at around 1.15pm because they did cordon off the problem area and they knew the problem was confined to that particular place

Whilst the whole thing was very shocking (sorry no pun intended) it really only affected the horses running in the first race at lunchtime and should not have been allowed to disrupt the whole meeting

I'm not blaming the stewards who were at Newbury but it's just another example of our completely mad attitude in this country towards health and safety created by the nanny state

As for Tasar guns I think you will find they're virtually impossible to get hold of and even authorised police officers have to account for every occasion when they are removed for use so the authorities are aware where every such weapon is at any given time
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Rachel
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ruddlescat wrote:
As for Tasar guns I think you will find they're virtually impossible to get hold of and even authorised police officers have to account for every occasion when they are removed for use so the authorities are aware where every such weapon is at any given time


Laughing and in the real world?
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mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ColinB wrote:
mark occomore wrote:
I don't think they use old Newspapers to wrap up Fish and Chips anymore.


Yes Mark. Thank you. Rolling Eyes


I just wanted to make sure you knew this Rolling Eyes
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ruddlescat



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would imagine that they would have standard security procedures at Newbury and most other racecourses to prevent people smuggling in things such as guns and other weapons which could present a risk to the general public otherwise those places would be prime targets for terrorist attacks

It's apparently quite easy these days to get hold of illegal guns if you know the right people but to the best of my knowledge nobody has ever been found to have smuggled any such weapons into a race meeting in this country at least and since Tasars are much fewer in number and strictly regulated there would be even less likelihood of anyone being able to smuggle such an item in

I know we don't live in a perfect or ideal world but it's surely a matter of balancing what to me seems a miniscule risk against the massive cost and disruption of having to cancel a major sporting event at such short notice especially when faulty electrics had already been identified as the likely cause of the problem in a very small area
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Rachel
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rudds, Tasers are two a penny in the states, even cheaper in China, you can get them that look like everyday things people carry around with them, phones, torches, cameras, keyrings etc. If you pay a bit more they even work as the decoy , ie the phone is phone as well as a Taser. How many people do you see at racecourse with a phone or a camera?

heres' one for about £30.

http://www.beststungun.com/immobilizer-cell-phone-stun-gun.html
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ruddlescat



Joined: 16 Sep 2010
Posts: 18010
Location: Near Chester

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My word I bet those devices could come in very handy on occasions but I'm guessing they'd probably deliver somewhat less than a lethal charge

Certainly less than what would be required to cause death to a large animal such as a horse

Anyway we'll just have to agree to differ on this one but I really don't see this particular American gadget crossing over to Britain in a big way

Anyway getting back to the original point I'm sure the whole incident must have been very upsetting for not only the owners of the two horses killed but also their trainers jockeys and stable staff because I'm sure that working with the horses over a period of time they must develop quite a close bond rather like an ordinary family does with its domestic pets
Hopefully this kind of thing will be a one off event never to be repeated Sad
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Rachel
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yep, we'll agree to differ. Smile
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ColinB
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mark occomore wrote:
ColinB wrote:
mark occomore wrote:
I don't think they use old Newspapers to wrap up Fish and Chips anymore.


Yes Mark. Thank you. Rolling Eyes


I just wanted to make sure you knew this Rolling Eyes


Yes, Mark. Thank you again. You're obviously unaware of commonly-used expressions. Rolling Eyes
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RockitRon



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 7646

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hope that other racecourses are checking their paddocks for the condition of any buried cable, considering that they regularly aerate the ground to a depth approaching two feet.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8321483/Power-cables-removed-after-horses-die-at-Newbury-racecourse.html
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mark occomore



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was mentioned on ITV news this evening. A postmortum should reveal the cause this week. Then we can move onto the next story. Laughing
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