Horses suffer in jumps racing
jumps racing kills and injures horses. Patrick Smith's description of the death of Sirrocean Storm in the Galleywood Hurdle at Warrnambool in May 2010 shows the pain suffered by these unfortunate horses:
“You see the horse, leg so badly broken it flies back and forth like a swing, a straight leg turned into a grotesque U shape. You see the horse collapse and the jockey try to tend to it. Sirrocean Storm gets on to its legs with the urgency required. It collapses again. Again the horse is dragged to his feet, “walked” a few metres before he crashes back to the turf.
The horse is then moved on a few metres. Next you see the green screens and from behind them Sirrocean Storm attempts an escape, in an incalculable world of pain and panic. Of course he collapses and the screen is brought around him once more.” (1)
Photos of Sirrocean Storm by Liss Ralston
Horses have a high risk of dying in jumps races
- A study over 15 years in Victoria showed that an average of over 13 horses a year were killed on the track in jump races over this time. The risk of dying in jump races was almost 19 times higher than in flat races. (2)
- The risk of dying in a steeplechase is 2.5 times higher than in hurdles. (3,4)
- In South Australia in the late 1990s, around 4.5 % of starters in jump races fell, 2% suffered serious injury, and 1.3% were killed (5).
- Over 16 years of observation at the Easter carnival at Oakbank, 16 horses were killed, an average of 1 each year (see Dead horses).
- The Jones Review of Jumps Racing in Victoria produced a table of falls and deaths since 2001. (6) The table shows that about 3 in every 100 starters fall and just under 1 in every 100 is killed (see Dead horses).
- In 2009 there were 13 deaths on the track, including Wool Zone, Taken at the Flood and Keepara Lass at Morphettville in SA.
The following horses were killed in jumps races in SA and Victoria in 2011.
- Casa Boy, April 4 Warrnambool
- Hammerblow, April 13, Morphettville
- Squire Rex, April 19, Cranborne
- Java Star, April 23, Oakbank
- Shine the Armour, May 3, Warrnambool
- Ledgers Dream, May 14, Morphettville
- Fasilenko, May 20, Mt Gambier
- Zealous, July 31, Warrnambool
- Guara Grove Beast, August 3, Morphettville
- Fergus McIver, August 28, Sandown
Wide media coverage was given to the panic-stricken Bonne Strand at Warrnambool, who leapt over a 2m fence into the crowd. Seven people, including a young child, were taken to hospital.
At the end of April 2012, 3 horses have already been killed, Jotilla (Sandown, March 28), Virvacity and Art Success (Oakbank, April 7 & 9).Jumps races are arduous events
Jumps races are long events, made more difficult by the jumps. For example, the Grand Annual Steeplechase in Warrnambool (Vic) is 5,500 metres and the Great Eastern Steeplechase at Oakbank (SA) is 4,950 metres. In hurdles, horses jump lightweight frame 'fences' with brush tops, whereas in steeplechases horses also jump higher, more solid obstacles. There are now hedge fences at Oakbank, but hedges didn't stop Virvacity falling and breaking his shoulder.
Not all deaths occur as a result of falls at jumps, but deaths are related to the difficulty of the events. The bones of horses contain a spongy, honeycomb section which is designed to act as a shock absorber. This structure is necessary because large stresses are placed on the legs (7). When galloping at speed, the force on the lead foreleg as it hits the ground is 1.7 times the body weight of the horse; the force is considerably greater when landing after a jump (8). Some of the shock of the hooves hitting the ground is absorbed by the spongy bone, which is compressed in the process (7).
A bone becomes weaker in the course of a race as a result of this micro-crushing. Dr Thomas Tobin has calculated that (9):
" To break a normal cannon bone at the start of a race it takes about 16,000 foot-pounds of force, but the amount of micro-crushing which can take place in a race can reduce this force to about 9000 pounds ."
The stresses on bones in long races over jumps produce a high level of micro-crushing and dramatically reduce the breaking strength of bones. This weakening increases the risk of any small mishap or stumble producing broken bones.
The risk to horses is unacceptable
RSPCA Australia as well as Animal Liberation SA is opposed to jumping races (steeplechasing and hurdling) because the rate of injury associated with these sports is unacceptable.
A Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare in 1991 expressed concern about the danger of jumps racing (10):
" The Committee has serious concerns about the welfare of horses participating in jump races. These concerns are based on the significant probability of a horse suffering serious injury or even death as a result of participating in these events and, in particular, steeplechasing ."
The Committee concluded that there was an inherent conflict between animal welfare and jumps racing which could not be eliminated by improvement to jumps or racetracks. As a result the Committee concluded that state governments should phase out jumps racing.
A horrible fall leads to another death on the track. Photos by Liss Ralston.
Jumps racing in Australia
The last jumps race took place in
Queensland – 1903
Western Australia – 1941
New South Wales - 1997
Tasmania - 2007 (6).
Only Victoria and South Australia still allow jumps racing. Races over jumps are less than 1% of all races in Australia (3). Even in Victoria the industry is in decline. The number of race courses running races with jumps has more than halved since 2001. There has been a steady decline in the number of races and the number of starters in each race (6).
There have been many reviews of jumps racing in Victoria, each one producing recommendations to reduce the risk to horses.
1994 Benton Review
1998 Review
2002 Panel Review
2005 Panel Review
2008 Jones Review of Jumps Racing in Victoria
However, a study of jumps racing from 1989-2004 in Victoria found no change in horse deaths as a result of these changes. More recent changes have also not reduced deaths; 2008 to the present have been disasterous for horse fatalities. The only solution is to follow the lead of NSW and Tas and ban jumps racing altogether.
Jumps racing vs the slaughterhouse
Supporters of jumps racing claim that if there were no such events, horses who were too slow to win on the flat would go straight to the slaughterhouse. The risk of injury and painful death is a poor alternative to the slaughterhouse, where horses end up anyway if they are not used for breeding. As Dr Hugh Wirth, President of RSPCA Vic has said:
“Jumps racing shouldn't be a graveyard for slow flat racers. The whole racing industry has a responsibility to ensure that horses that are bred for racing but are not successful live a long and good life. Just because they aren't fast enough doesn't mean they have to play Russian roulette at a jumps racing carnival.” (11)
Most horses have short careers in jumps; half of them run in 5 or fewer races and only 11% run in more than 20 races. The final race for jumps horses is more likely than other race horses to end in an accident or breakdown (6). If they survive their jumps career, they are still likely to end up at the slaughterhouse if they are not winning money. A racing writer noted that at a recent horse auction in Adelaide, 20% of the horses were sold for slaughter (1).
The only humane solution is to ban jumps racing and for the industry to accept responsibility for rehoming unsuccessful racers.
The choice for horses must not be between death on the track or the slaughterhouse. Photos by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses.
For more information on the racing industry, go to Racing in general.
References
- Smith P (2010). The sickening demise of Sirrocean Storm. The Australian, 11/5/2010
- Boden L, Anderson G, Charles J, Morgan K, Morton J, Parkin T, Slocombe R & Clarke A (2006). Risk of fatality and causes of death of Thoroughbred horses associated with racing in Victoria, Australia (1989-2004). Equine Veterinary Journal, 38: 312-318
- Boden L, Anderson G, Charles J, Morgan K, Morton J, Parkin T, Clarke A & Slocombe R (2007). Risk factors for Thoroughbred racehorse fatality in jump starts in Victoria, Australia (1989-2004). Equine Veterinary Journal, 39: 422-428
- Bourke J (1996). Strategies to limit racetrack injuries. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Queensland, Australia, 263-266
- Letter from the Hon Iain Evans, Minister for Racing, 18/7/2000
- Jones D (2008). Review of Jump Racing in Victoria, Commissioned by Racing Victoria Ltd, at http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/asset/cms/Jumps/jumps%20review%20report_nov%202008.pdf
- Rooney J (1977). Biomechanics of Lameness in Horses. Robert E. Krieger Pub. Co., Malabar, Florida
- Jones W (1989). Equine Sports Medicine. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia
- Tobin T(1981). Drugs and the Performance Horse. Charles C. Thomas Pub., Illinois
- Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare (1991). Aspects of Animal Welfare in the Racing Industry. Senate Printing Unit, Canberra.
- Smith P (2010). Why jumps racing should be banned immediately. The Australian, 12/5/2010
