WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A HORSE IS INJURED ON A RACECOURSE?

At the heart of racing is the pursuit of equine excellence. Through expert training, meticulous care, and skilled riding, racing strives to provide every horse competing in Britain with the opportunity to perform to the highest levels of its ability. 

Witnessing this come to fruition is a thrill and is what keeps participants and fans alike gripped, as they follow the careers of horses they have taken to their hearts. The sport, however, does not hide from the fact that the risk of injury exists whenever a horse competes, and it is for this reason that high class care stands ready to be deployed for horses at every race meeting in Britain. 

What does this specialist care look like at racecourses? How is it administered? And what are the different factors that can impact the treatment a horse receives?  

Injury on the racecourse 

Much like human sports stars, horses are susceptible to a variety of injuries when competing. At every race meeting a skilled veterinary team asses the horses over 14 separate vet check points pre and post racing.

Checks begin at a horse’s arrival to pick up any potential issue that could become more serious were a horse allowed to race. If an issue is identified at this stage, a horse will not be allowed to race and will be withdrawn. Take a look at this one-minute video following a vet on raceday.       

During the race itself, as well as the Stewards and other raceday officials overseeing proceedings, a team of experts track the horses around the course in fully equipped medical and veterinary vehicles and are ready to act immediately should anything happen. Under the BHA’s own protocols for staging a raceday, a vet should respond to an injured horse within 60 seconds of an incident. 

If a horse sustains an injury, the jockey, if not already dismounted as a result of a fall, will stop the horse from running as quickly and safely as possible, dismount and attempt to reassure and calm an injured horse until the expert team arrives. 

As the vets begin to assess the horse to understand the nature of the injury, racecourse staff erect screens around them. Often misunderstood as being a sign of the worst-case scenario, this is in fact standard procedure to provide privacy and a calm environment for the professionals to do their job as effectively as possible. 

The raised adrenalin levels which horses experience during competition act as a natural analgesic immediately after injury, this aids in horses remaining calm and allows the vets to administer any required medical pain relief to keep the horse as comfortable as possible.  

Moving an injured horse off the racecourse 

Having reached a conclusion regarding the injury and administered any treatment that may be required, the vet team’s focus now turns to moving the horse from the course and back to the racecourse stables via the specially adapted horse ambulance. In most cases, this will involve some sedation of the horse to ensure they remain calm and cause themselves no further damage by becoming agitated when being transported. The vet can also provide the appropriate support in the case of an injured limb, including with the use of specialist fracture support boots which are provided at every racecourse. 

Off the racecourse, should the vets treating the horse off be of the view that the injuries are not treatable and that it is in the best interests of the horse to be put down, then they are equipped and trained to take this action immediately, to avoid the horse suffering any unnecessary distress. They will use a humane injection to put the horse to sleep. Firearms are not used to euthanise horses on racecourses. This step was taken in less than 0.18% of racecourse incidents last year. 

The racecourse stables and onwards 

Once a horse has returned to a suitable location within the racecourse stables, the party caring for him or her will be joined by further on-course vets and possibly representatives of the connections of the horse, for example the trainer. 

Assessment continues, as well as any further treatment that may be required, as discussions among these individuals turns to next steps for the horse. Alongside the veterinary expertise on offer, racecourses also provide first-class veterinary facilities and equipment to aid the treatment of injuries, ranging from solariums for the treatment of minor muscle injuries through to state-of-the-art fracture support boots which provide a significantly enhanced degree of comfort and chance of rehabilitation for injured horses.  

Working in consultation with the horse’s ‘home vet’, vets on the racecourse will make a decision on the horse’s suitability to be transported. Two options are available at this stage: sending the horse back home to continue with further care or having the horse taken to a referral hospital to continue to receive further medical attention. 

In the case of the former, those on the racecourse will clearly communicate to the home vets, via official documentation, what injury has been sustained, what treatment has been administered and what course of action should continue to be taken upon the horse’s return to the yard, in order to ensure the best possible recovery outcome for the horse. 

In a worst-case scenario an injury might not be treatable, or it may not be in the best interests of the horse in terms of quality of life in the longer term for treatment and recovery to be attempted.  

Should the difficult decision be taken that a horse should be put down, racing has a code of practice for euthanasia which sets out how this step should be taken, with consideration for the horse’s welfare and dignity being at the forefront. Racehorse anatomy is not the same as human anatomy and some injuries, such as a broken leg, which are perfectly treatable for humans are sometimes not for horses. Visit our FAQs page to read more about why some injuries cannot be treated.  

The process of injury treatment is the same no matter the horse or race meeting. From the very highest level at Royal Ascot or the Cheltenham Festival to the every-day contests at Southwell or Wolverhampton, all those involved in British racing strive to ensure that every horse racing in Britain receives the same standard of care and, from that, the outstanding quality of life that our sport delivers to its equine stars.

Reducing avoidable risk 

As with any sporting activity, the risk of injury can never be zero, but British racing works continuously to identify and reduce any avoidable risk. As a result, the overwhelming majority of horses complete individual races, and indeed their careers, without serious injury. 

In 2023, 10,019 races took place involving 87,619 runners. From this number, 158 fatal injuries were sustained (whereby a horse died as a direct result of injuries on a raceday or within 48 hours of raceday). This equates to a fatal injury rate of 0.18% across all racing, with the five-year rolling figure currently at 0.20%. In terms of long-term injuries, the five-year rolling average for flat racing is 0.11% and for jump racing is 0.49%. All these figures and more are published by British racing on horsepwr.co.uk.   

There is significant focus in racing to reduce fallers, injuries, and fatality numbers even further. The condition of the racecourse, including the state of the ground and composition of fences and hurdles, plays a vital role. So too do the Rules of Racing, which not only prohibit horses from racing under the influence of prohibited substances but also govern how riders should go about partnering their horse in a race, from the use of the whip to when they should pull a horse up. 

British Racing’s A Life Well Lived equine welfare strategy lays out the latest projects the sport is investing in to reduce risk and improve safety. Fully funded, and with a dedicated team, projects range from the use of data and statistics to identify and address safety hot spots, to partnering with top universities and research scientists to find breakthroughs, to detailed 360-degree analysis of every single fatal injury that occurs.