In February 2020, the Welfare Board published its five-year strategic plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing.

The strategy focuses on the ambition that every horse bred to race should lead – and be seen to lead – “a life well-lived”. The strategy includes traceability for horses bred for the sport, a strong focus on safety and wellbeing, a more confident and proactive approach to communications and the industry’s biggest ever data project.

The announcement can be seen here.

Download the document here:

20 recommendations and 26 specific projects were put before the Members Committee, which comprises horsemen, racecourses and the BHA.

The strategy focuses on four key outcomes:

The strategy focuses on four key outcomes:

1. Best possible QUALITY OF LIFE, relating to the encouragement and furthering of best practice in all aspects of health, care, husbandry and disease control.

2. Collective LIFETIME RESPONSIBILITY, incorporating, for example, traceability across the lifetimes of horses bred for racing, and initiatives fostering greater understanding, encouragement and effective enforcement of responsibility

3. Best possible SAFETY, the understanding and analysis of multiple risk factors and the continuing reduction of reasonably avoidable injuries and fatalities.

4. Growth and maintenance of public TRUST

The strategy also identifies the value of data in informing veterinary care and the prevention of injury and illness. It articulates the ethical case for horses’ participation in sport and leisure and the need for better use of high-impact communications to tell racing’s story. It also commits to develop a Code of Ethics to provide a transparent framework for decision-making around all aspects of a racehorse’s care and wellbeing.

The BHA continues to work with racecourses and their turf consultants to ensure the racing surface is as safe as possible, through a combination of research and guidelines as to how the ground should be prepared. Our Inspectors of Courses monitor faller rates at every racecourse in the country, and have the ability to make further modifications if evidence supports it.

We are constantly working to make the racing environment safer and have made improvements in recent years to hurdles, fences and other elements of racecourses, to ensure they present as low a risk as possible based on monitoring and analysis of statistical evidence.

The BHA partners with a number of organisations as part of our continued commitment to fund veterinary research which will benefit the health and well-being of all horses, but particularly those who race. Primarily this has been through the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), which has supported nearly 500 individual research projects since its foundation in 1963.

Since the year 2000 around £56m has been invested by the sport in veterinary science, with veterinary funding distributed to a wide variety of research areas.

Previous research projects have ranged from investigating jetlag in horses to identifying and reducing the risk factors for injury in racing, to a project which has investigated the colours that horses see best and resulted in a change to the way we colour our fences and hurdles

Other partners include the Thoroughbred Health Network, an information source for trainers and vets, which translates veterinary research into easily understandable tips to maximise the health of horses in training, and the EquiBioSafe app, which helps to improve standards of equine welfare through raising awareness of disease prevention. The BHA Equine Health and Welfare Department also conducts research in-house.

Racing has also partnered with the Royal Veterinary College in the development of the “Racing Risk Models”, which have gathered a baseline of data from 14 years’ and which provides powerful data and advanced statistical techniques to better understand the risk factors in racing that lead to long-term injuries, falls and fatalities in racehorses.

This data is added to on an ongoing basis to continue to build an overall picture as to what contributes to risk, and set in place projects to address risk factors.

This has led to projects being launched to look at issues such as fallers, ‘tight’ tracks, the impact of field sizes, ground and going, race value, horse age, country of origin, and maiden and novice races, which – through a process of engagement and consultation with the industry – are likely to lead to further enhancements in the welfare and safety in the future.

Further information on all HBLB-funded research can be found here, with more information on the Thoroughbred Health Network available here 

The raceday veterinary team is made up of both BHA Veterinary Officers and Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons. The BHA vets are regulatory vets – their main priority is to oversee the welfare of the horses on course and ensure that the standards and Rules laid down by the BHA are maintained. This includes ensuring that all racehorses are appropriately vaccinated and free from infectious disease, and the carrying out of pre-race examinations.

The Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons are accredited by the BHA and employed by the racecourse. These vets provide immediate first aid and veterinary treatment for racehorses, working closely with the equine ambulance teams to ensure that any horse which suffers an injury is treated promptly.

A number of new protocols have been put in place recently for the raceday veterinary teams. These include improvements in the recognition and treatment of horses which overheat after racing, and in the diagnosis (both on and off course) of horses suspected to have experienced irregular heartbeats following a race.

The BHA is also increasing the number of pre-race examinations that take place, and have introduced “Suitability to Race” examinations for horses known to have suffered an injury or which have previously been noted as lame. These take place on the trainer’s yard, and include a detailed examination and review of the horse’s veterinary history by both a BHA regulatory vet and the trainer’s vet.

The BHA’s Equine Health and Welfare team has produced an information pack for trainers to help explain why and how horses are examined by BHA Veterinary Officers on the racecourse.

As part of our ongoing commitment to make racing safer for horses, we regularly review our Rules in relation to veterinary research, adapting them and implementing new Rules where necessary.

The BHA is constantly reviewing its rules and procedures to ensure that they as effective as they can be in the safeguarding of equine welfare.

Examples of recent changes to the rules to safeguard welfare include:

– Enhancing the rules and penalties around ‘interference’ – i.e. riding in a careless or improper manner which risks interfering with another horse – in order to act as a deterrent against riding which could put the welfare of other horses or riders at risk

– As part of the independent Horse Welfare Board (HWB)’s strategic plan, A life well lived – a new strategic plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing 2020-2024, a recommendation was made that a public consultation should be conducted by the BHA regarding the use of the whip in British racing.

A full consultation was held with the public and racing industry in 2021. In June 2022, the BHA published 20 recommendations as part of a FULL REPORT  relating to the use of the whip in British racing.

Read more about the whip in British horseracing

– Implementing a “zero tolerance” policy on the use of anabolic steroids, and an internationally-agreed threshold on the amount of cobalt which may be present in a horse’s system on raceday (cobalt is an essential and naturally occurring substance in horses, but at elevated levels may have a performance-enhancing effect as well as potentially impacting on a horse’s welfare).

Whilst racehorses as a breed are capable of running over sustained distances in warm temperatures and regularly do so in countries such as Australia and Dubai, it is important that proper precautions are in place during periods of hot weather in Britain. 

In the video below, BHA Veterinary Officer Sally Taylor explains how horses are kept cool and comfortable while racing in hot weather, using Leicester as an example:

Conditions are always monitored closely by those present at each fixture, whether they are BHA staff, racecourse staff or participants.  Should there be any concern regarding the effect of the weather on the horses, BHA Stewards have the ability to take action to ensure their welfare is protected. 

Guidance for hot weather provisions are below, however moves can be made by those on a raceday outside of these guidelines, to ensure that the safety of our equine participants is not compromised.

Preventative measures for those present on a raceday which should be implemented if ambient temperatures move towards 30oc, which are as follows:

For racecourses: 

         Where possible (fixture list allowing) courses should work together with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) regarding Race Planning issues, particularly the avoidance of long distance races during hottest time of day, limiting races to shorter distances

         Measure ambient temperatures regularly in the stables, pre-parade ring, parade ring and winners enclosure.

         Include extreme temperatures in going reports to promote trainer awareness, to help them consider dehydration and rehydration issues

         Make access to the stables available earlier in the day or the night before to allow trainers to travel horses at cooler times of the day and advertise this.

         Provide facilities for horses to be washed down on arrival and before the start during very hot weather

         If possible, provide shaded areas for cooling off before and after racing.  If no natural shade is available consider erecting a ‘tented’ roof with no sides.

         Identify key locations where water may need to be available for cooling horses – these may include, but are not limited to:

       Stables

       The pull up area

       Where the horses leave the track

       The unsaddling enclosure/area

       The Winners Enclosure

       Parade Ring

         Provide easy access to copious amounts of water in large troughs, with buckets, sponges and scrapers adjacent, and ability to rapidly refill, in all horse areas. Consider use of ice (place in troughs) and fans to assist cooling.  Consider mobile bowsers and bulk supply.  For biosecurity reasons, horses should not drink directly from the water troughs and buckets which can be washed out after use should be used to take water from the troughs for drinking.

         A mobile bulk supply of water should be available for use or top up where needed.

For BHA/Racecourse Staff on the day:

         BHA Veterinary Officers should review their raceday data for horses that have suffered previous problems with heat and share this information with their Racecourse Veterinary colleagues;

         The BHA Veterinary Officer should work with the Clerk of the Course to closely observe horses in the winners’ enclosure and the flexibility with the official “horses away” announcement should be utilised.

For Trainers and their staff: 

         Have drinking water available at all times on transport and at the course before racing.

         Consider earlier travel, and thus earlier arrival at the course, or travel the evening before the race.

         Take the temperature of the horse on arrival.

         Hold horses in the shade outside the boxes.

         Cool horses on arrival, before and after racing to help reduce the impact of heat

         Ensure enough staff are available to provide extra help.

         Do not withdraw water before racing. Dehydrated horses are more prone to heat stress.

         Horses lose large quantities of electrolytes when sweating.  A reservoir of electrolytes is not stored in the body but these are available from a balanced diet.  Post race, replacement electrolyte therapy may be applicable to heavily sweating horses.  This should not be administered in water.  Inform Veterinary Staff if the horse has had previous problems with heat.

         Apply plentiful amounts of water in unsaddling/winners enclosures.

         Remove the excess water by scraping after each application after allowing the water to absorb heat for around 30 seconds.

         After applying water walk the horse in a breezy, shaded area.

         Keep the horse standing to facilitate cooling.

         Ensure the horse has access to water to satisfy its thirst after the race

         Do not apply any sheets or rugs

         Do not use chemical cooling rugs.

         Ensure Veterinary Staff are informed as soon as possible of concerns that the horse is not normal. A quick response is important in the treatment of heat related problems in horses.

         Signs to watch out for include increased temperature, a shallow, panting respiration, an anxious expression, a rhythmic beating of the diaphragm

For jockeys:

         Jockeys are very aware of the condition of their horses. If they have any concerns that all is not normal before, during or after a race they must take immediate action.

         They may be advised before racing, or instructed after the race to dismount and may also be asked to remove their saddle asap after finishing.

         Ensure Veterinary Staff are informed as soon as possible of concerns that the horse may need attention.   A quick response is important in the treatment of heat related problems in horses.

Then there is treatment guidance for the Clerk of the Course and Racecourse Vets on duty if horses are suffering heat related problems:

           A plentiful supply of iced or cold water must be available at key locations along with mobile water supplies to be deployed around the course as required (as identified above).  These supplies should be used immediately when heat related problems are suspected.  Racecourses should provide mobile water supplies to be deployed around the course as required during racing.

           Alternate pouring water onto the horse, especially over shoulders and quarters, and scraping this off after 30 seconds, with periods of walking in the shade.  Cool for 30 seconds and then walk for 30 seconds before repeating the process.

           Keep the horse standing to facilitate cooling.

           Offer cool water to drink.

           If screens are deployed, these should not block or restrict the movement of air around the horse.  Screens may be used to funnel air towards the horse.

           Cold water or iced water soaked cooling rugs may be useful.

           DO NOT use chemical cooling rugs.

           DO NOT place wet towels on head, neck/quarters.

           DO NOT hold ice packs on head/neck etc. but ice packs applied to the jugular vein may be beneficial.

           DO NOT apply any sheets, including sponsors sheets, until it is clear the horse is not at risk.

           In the more severe cases, effective medication is available from the Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons and should be administered without resistance from the horse’s connections.

           If the Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons administer any drugs to horses to help combat heat related problems, they must inform the BHA Veterinary Officer as soon as possible, in case it is being tested, as well as complete a Veterinary Treatment Form (VO19).

Finally, if the temperature on track continues to rise a review should be held as to whether racing can continue, taking into account the following factors:  

       Time of Day

       Race Programme

       Temperature on the racecourse

       Temperature in the parade ring

       Temperature in the racecourse stables

       Level of wind/breeze and its effect on the temperature

       Humidity

       Water Availability