Your report on the Gordon Elliott controversy, which says it has caused “incalculable” damage to the sport of horse racing, lacks all perspective (Talking Horses: no one is likely to be satisfied once Elliott gets punishment, 5 March). Of course Elliott’s action was in very bad taste, but the horse he was photographed sitting astride was dead and there was no cruelty involved.
A few days earlier another report featured a harrowing photo of 11-year-old Sadia Ibrahim dying from starvation in Yemen (War and famine could wipe out the next generation of Yemenis, 1 March). How sad it is that the controversial photo of Elliott probably generated far more outrage in the popular consciousness.
Anthony Hartnett
Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland
• The anger stirred up by the media over a horse trainer sitting on a dead horse pales into insignificance when one counts the number of horses euthanised on the race track because they’ve probably been too frequently raced. Racehorses and their jockeys risk their lives every day of the week for the benefit of the gambling industry and the rich and famous.
Kenneth R Jarrett
Bournville, Birmingham
