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A Day in the Life of a Racecourse Vet
We are proud at Avonvale to provide the veterinary team who look after the racehorses on race days at Warwick Racecourse. But what does this involve? Read on to find out more about the duties of a Racecourse Veterinary Surgeon.
At every racecourse on raceday, there is a veterinary team made up of both a team of Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons and a British Horseracing Association (BHA) vet.
The BHA vet’s duties are mainly regulatory – overseeing the welfare of the horses on the course, and upholding the standards and rules of racing such as ensuring all horses are appropriately vaccinated and free from infectious disease, carrying out pre-race examinations, and overseeing postrace testing for prohibited substances.
The Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons (RVS) are a team of two (in the case of flat racing) or three (in the case of jumps racing) highly experienced equine vets employed by the racecourse to provide immediate first aid and veterinary treatment for racehorses, ensuring any horses that are injured receive prompt and appropriate attention. In order to qualify as a RVS, vets must be more than 5 years qualified, work in solely or mainly equine practice and undertake an intensive training course, run by the Association of Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons (ARVS) which they must then attend at least every 5 years. The team is led by a Senior Veterinary Surgeon (SVS) who will have many years of experience of racecourse veterinary work.
On raceday, we must be at the racecourse at least one hour before the first race. We ensure our treatment boxes (one at the stables and one at the pre-parade ring) are fully stocked, collect our radios and racecards from the weighing room, and grab a quick bite to eat. We then catch up with the BHA vet, to find out if there are any horses which may require special attention, such as horses which have a history of overheating in past races or horses reported to be ‘poor-movers’. We make contact with the horse ambulance drivers, with whom we work very closely. They will collect the case containing the compression boot and splints from the veterinary treatment box to have in the ambulance. This is a kit containing a newly designed boot, closely resembling an equine ski boot, which can be quickly applied track-side to horses with lower limb injuries, in particular suspected fractures, to aid their safe transportation off the course. The clerk of the course, who is responsible for coordinating all the teams on raceday will run through a radiocheck to make sure we are all in communication.
We gather in the parade ring as the horses are brought in and led round. As the jockeys come out, the team splits, with two vets taking to their cars to follow the runners in the convoy, and one vet remaining in the paddock until all of the jockeys have mounted and the horses are on their way to ‘post’ (the start). One of the vets will be on standby at the start in case of any incidents such as a horse getting kicked, or a jockey reporting any concerns. In these circumstances the starter will ask the veterinary surgeon to examine the horse in question and decide whether it is fit to start the race. The BHA veterinary officials have a register of horses who are noted to be ‘bad movers’ and any horses that are reported to have a poor action will be assessed on course before being allowed to run. follow the horses around the centre of the course. The convoy includes two veterinary surgeons, doctors, two ambulances and groundstaff. The horse ambulance remains stationed in the centre of the track ready to be deployed if necessary.
If there is an incident such as a horse fall, it will be called out on the radio by the first emergency responder to witness it. One of the vets and one of the ambulances will then stop immediately to attend, whilst the rest of the convoy continues alongside the galloping horses. Screens are positioned at strategic points around the course, as well as being carried in the groundstaff vehicle, and where there is a significant incident involving horse or jockey, these will be erected around the casualty. When screens are erected around a horse, this does not in any way indicate that a horse has been fatally injured, but it allows the vet to assess the horse calmly. If necessary, the groundstaff will erect bypass signs to divert the race if another circuit is due to pass the site of the incident. In the vast majority of cases where a horse has fallen, they will simply be winded and need some time to recover before being encouraged to their feet. The vet will carry out an assessment of the horse’s cardiovascular status (the colour of their membranes and pulse and heart rate) and their skeletal system (including examining their neck and limbs) before deciding that it is safe to encourage them to their feet. Horses with injuries will be transported by ambulance to the vet box at the stables for further
Avonvale team in the preparade ring
assessment and treatment, using the air boot or splints where necessary. Oxygen is carried by the vets on course to provide to the horses where indicated. In the rare incidents where a horse has sustained a catastrophic fracture, and there is no possibility they can be saved, euthanasia is performed by lethal injection. If a horse needs to be transported by ambulance back to the vet box for further assessment and treatment such as flushing a wound or applying a support bandage, the third veterinary surgeon will meet the ambulance there on arrival. We have one of our state of the art portable,wireless Xray machines onsite for the duration of racing, should there be any need to carry out further assessment of an injury. Onward transport by horse ambulance to our veterinary clinic or the trainer’s vet practice can then be organised where necessary.
When the horses have finished their race, the vets will watch each horse as it enters the paddock or winner’s enclosure, looking for any small wounds or any signs of lameness. These may then be dealt with at the vet box at the unsaddling area or if necessary taken to the treatment box at the stables for further assessment. Vets and groundstaff are also on standby to attend any horses that are showing signs of heat exhaustion. Particularly on warm days, but even on relatively mild days, some horses are prone to overheating, which can make them wobbly and uncomfortable.Those horses which have shown this problem in the past are highlighted to the vet team by the BHA vet pre-race for careful scrutiny post-race.
The treatment involves rapid and rigorous cooling by application of buckets of water, along with administration of painkillers where necessary.
Trainers with any concerns about their horses postrace can request a vet to attend at any point by speaking to the racecourse staff at the stables, who will immediately radio for a vet to attend. Trainers who feel that their horses did not run well can also request to have the horse ‘scoped’ post-race. This is an endoscopic examination of the horse’s airway carried out by the racecourse vets, looking for evidence of infection or of bleeding into the airway of the horse, which can sometimes happen when horses are galloping and jumping, and contribute to a poor performance. Any treatments given to horses at the racecourse are documented on official forms, copies of which are given to the trainer of the horse and the BHA vet. At the end of racing, the vet team will ensure that there are no more horses requiring attention before catching up with the horse ambulance team and the clerk of the course for a debrief.
The smooth running of a race meeting requires well-coordinated teamwork between groups of highly experienced and well trained individuals, all working together to ensure the welfare of the racehorses and jockeys is always paramount.
Post race examination
Fracture support kit
Fully equipped horse ambulances driven by highly experienced personnel form an essential part of the emergency response team Vet team cars
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Naomi de Pennington MA VetMB CertEM(IntMed) MRCVS
Naomi is a director of the Avonvale Equine Practice. She has been part of the veterinary team working at Warwick Racecourse for nearly 20 years and the Senior Veterinary Surgeon there for many years. As well as a passion for racing, racehorses and performance horses, Naomi has particular expertise in stud and foal medicine, gastroenterology, cardiology and ophthalmology. She is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as an Advanced Practitioner in Equine Internal Medicine. Outside of work she is a very keen amateur cyclist, competing regularly in time trials and the occasional road race, and can also often be found at local parkruns on a Saturday morning trying and usually failing to keep up with her speedy young daughter!
l Avonvale Veterinary Practice Ltd, Ratley Lodge, Ratley, Banbury, OX15 6DT. www.avonvaleequine.co.uk 01295 670501
