EQUINE WELFARE
Veterinary Notice
At Sedgefield Racecourse, nothing matters more to us than looking after the Horses and Jockeys. We agree with recognised animal welfare organisations that horses have the right to a decent and fulfilling life. Our role as the racecourse, is to minimise any risk to Horse and Jockey.
We take every conceivable step to minimise the chances of horses incurring injury whilst here with us. However, regrettably there are occasions when something goes wrong and the horse and jockey part company
Like all racecourses in Great Britain, Sedgefield Racecourse is licensed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The BHA sets and polices the standards for Equine facilities and Veterinary care at all Racecourses in Britain.
The BHA also provides their own Veterinary Officer at each meeting to ensure that these strict standards for racecourses – covering the number of Veterinary Surgeons on duty, the stabling and Veterinary facilities are being met.
At Sedgefield Racecourse, we employ top class Veterinary Surgeons and deploy them around the track, parade ring and stable yard to ensure that should any horse need Veterinary assistance, a Vet will be on the scene literally within seconds of an incident.
Their first priority is to make a diagnosis of any injury that has been sustained. To provide a calm environment to treat the horse, members of the Groundstaff team will erect Green screens around any horse that requires attention. The same applies to injured riders, when screens are used to ensure that their treatment can be done in privacy. As soon as the assessment of the injury has been made, a horse ambulance will be called to the scene and will transport the horse back to the stable yard or to the local Equine Hospital, where further treatment can be undertaken.
We are dedicated to minimising the risks and to dealing quickly with any incident that does occur.
To learn more about Horseracing’s work to protect the horse, please visit www.britishhorseracing.com
Horseracing in Britain also has its own charity. Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is British Horseracing’s official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing. The Roles of Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) are:
- To raise funds from within the Racing Industry to help support the charitable retraining and rehoming of former racehorses.
- Helps provide facilities for the care, retraining and rehoming of former racehorses.
- Promotes the adaptability of racehorses to other equestrian activities.
- To run a well established programme of competition sponsorship, and clinics to educate and improve riders handling former racehorses.
The ultimate goal is to achieve a balance between the number of horses leaving Racing and the number of enthusiastic, and suitable, new homes.
To find out more about ROR click here; www.ror.org.uk
If you have any concerns about the welfare of racehorses anywhere, please email info@britishhorseracing.com.
