Ruse et al 2015 Animals Jump Horse Safety.pdf (851.79 kB)
Jump horse safety: reconciling public debate and Australian thoroughbred jump racing data, 2012-2014
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 13:35 authored by Ruse, K, Aidan DavisonAidan Davison, Kerry BridleKerry BridleThoroughbred jump racing sits in the spotlight of contemporary welfare and ethical debates about horse racing. In Australia, jump racing comprises hurdle and steeplechase races and has ceased in all but two states, Victoria and South Australia. This paper documents the size, geography, composition, and dynamics of Australian jump racing for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons with a focus on debate about risks to horses. We found that the majority of Australian jump racing is regional, based in Victoria, and involves a small group of experienced trainers and jockeys. Australian jump horses are on average 6.4 years of age. The jump career of the majority of horses involves participating in three or less hurdle races and over one season. Almost one quarter of Australian jump horses race only once. There were ten horse fatalities in races over the study period, with an overall fatality rate of 5.1 fatalities per 1000 horses starting in a jump race (0.51%). There was significant disparity between the fatality rate for hurdles, 0.75 fatalities per 1000 starts (0.075%) and steeplechases, 14 fatalities per 1000 starts (1.4%). Safety initiatives introduced by regulators in 2010 appear to have significantly decreased risks to horses in hurdles but have had little or no effect in steeplechases. Our discussion considers these Animals 2015, 5 1073 data in light of public controversy, political debate, and industry regulation related to jump horse safety.
Funding
Australian Research Council
History
Publication title
AnimalsVolume
5Issue
4Pagination
1072-1091ISSN
2076-2615Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial SciencesPublisher
MDPI AGPlace of publication
SwitzerlandRights statement
2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Repository Status
- Open