ENHANCED STAFF TRAINING PUTS RACEHORSE WELFARE FIRST

As the biggest contributor to equine health and welfare in Britain, with over £60m invested into projects since 2000, British racing takes its responsibility to racehorse care seriously.

With 14,000 racehorses in training in Britain at any one time, alongside many more in breeding, pre-training and second careers, ensuring the best possible standards of care for its equine athletes is of paramount importance.

Led by British racing’s Horse Welfare Board (HWB) in partnership with world-leading veterinarians including the BHA veterinary department, the sport has begun a roll out of online training modules specifically targeting key areas of equine care for racehorses. The modules equip front-line staff with the latest, up-to-date veterinary advice and best-practice, to enhance their knowledge and provide a continuous approach to training opportunities for racing’s staff.

10,000 individuals are employed in equine-facing roles across the 500 training yards and 660 stud farms in Britain. Whether a groom, yard manager or work rider, racing’s staff provide dedicated, round-the-clock care to horses, ensuring they lead the very best lives, alongside wider support teams including veterinary surgeons, dentists, equine physiotherapists and chiropractors.

From the importance of access to water, gastric ulcer management, worming and heat stress, to the principles of training and learning, the new training looks not only at physical health but also enhancing a horse’s positive mental state, including modules on natural equine behaviour, body language and communication.

The new modules complement other welfare training available within the sport, including the Thoroughbred Breeder’s Association (TBA)’s TB-Ed programme aimed specifically at breeding, and the sport’s aftercare provider Retraining of Racehorses (RoR)’s training and education seminars, webinars and clinics.

Ensuring the best possible quality of life for Thoroughbreds was a key outcome of the Horse Welfare Board’s five-year strategy ‘A Life Well Lived’, released in 2020, with specific recommendations for the sport to deliver improved and more aligned training programmes across the industry.

"Welfare doesn't sit still” commented Baroness Minette Batters, Independent Chair of the Horse Welfare Board, referencing the ever-changing landscape of veterinary research and development of new techniques, “so it is vital we keep everyone in the sport up to date with the latest in equine care and wellbeing. This wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of the Racing Foundation, to whom we are immensely grateful.”

Available entirely free to anyone working within racing via the sport’s e-learning platform, Racing2Learn, it’s all part of British racing’s commitment to continuously raise welfare standards for racehorses.

Find out more about how racing’s investment into welfare benefits all horses here.