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I like summer jumping but where there is a fair degree of certainty about high temperatures several days ahead I would hope they would abandon or postpone.
What about countries that are much hotter than the Uk? Their horses survive, a supremely fit horse should be able to run. I saw something on Facebook saying that a particular riding stables was closed for the duration of the heatwave, I thought thatv that was for the pupils and staff the actual animals shouldn’t be affected.
Are horses in other countries more accustomed to that kind of heat?
Is it more the jump in temperature then the temperature itself?
And how many 3m+ chases do they have in hot countries?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I don’t think extreme heat is necessarily a reason to cancel/reschedule meetings. It’s part of a jockey’s remit to ride the race in accordance with the conditions on the day. It could be argued that heavy ground is more energy sapping for horses than a hot day with quick ground.
Summer jumping is too frequent nowadays but that is a topic for another thread.
TakeYourTime, how would a jockey ride a race to mitigate the effects of excessive heat? I can’t really see how the situation is comparable to racing on heavy ground, where overheating and heat exhaustion are a much lower risk.
On heavy ground I believe it should be obvious to the jockey when their horse is too tired to continue. In contrast, by the time a horse is showing signs of heat distress, I suspect matters could be far more serious.
A record 38.9 was recorded at Cambridge Botanic Garden exactly three years ago.
I just wonder what the plants thought about it ?
Error …. 38.7…gladiatorial heat !!!
It was 38.7, as the BBC weather presenters have reminded us frequently over the last few days. And it was recorded on 25th July.
They’re going to be heartbroken when the mercury limps to 34 and no further.
Marlingford, it’s quite simple. Don’t tear off at a silly speed. Conserve energy. Ride the race at a pace you know the horse will last home. Jockeys often aren’t the brightest but this is basic stuff even for the least intellectual.
Thanks for the reply TakeYourTime, but I don’t see how that would necessarily prevent horses from overheating while racing in very hot weather.
Jockeys have a conflict of interest as they often have to push their charges to their limits in order to win. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect them to say “it’s very hot today, I’ll take things a bit easier”.
I think that the consequences of being pushed to your limits on heavy ground in midwinter are likely to be less dangerous than in blazing hot sun in midsummer.
Do they reduce a horses water intake before races? ( to prevent colic I presume?). So are they running in hot weather slightly dehydrated. I know I’ve seen them sponging round a horses mouth prior to a race.
Well at least they are looking at various options
The weather warning has been extended to Tuesday.
Stratford has one race in excess of 3m – Newton Abbot has THREE.
Another THREE at Cartmel on Monday and TWO at Southwell on Tuesday.
If racing gets through to Wednesday’s forecast relative cool out without a heat-related equine fatality it will be a minor miracle.
These predominantly betting shop fodder meetings should, quite simply, not IMO be taking place.
They abandon if it’s frozen or waterlogged ground, or mid meeting because horses are slipping on overwatered bends, so why not at least commit to abandoning if the temperature hits a certain level?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"ID – Totally agree – heat exhaustion is much more of a horse welfare issue than the potential for slipping on a bend and those incidents invariable result in the meeting being abandoned. We have very little (to no) experience on just how horses will react to extreme physical exertion in extreme heat conditions…so surely anything you can do to mitigate the risk in the first place should take priority even if that means abandonment.
They bend over backwards over the public perception of the whip but that would be a drop in the ocean over the furoe directed at the sport if we were to lose a horse to heat exhaustion and the argument for racing would have been…well we provided sufficient access to water all around the course and had mist fans to cool the horses down so we did all we could………and the simply response to that would be….well everything accept abandon racing due to the extreme heat!
Interesting comments from Charlie Fellowes….
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"The totally inept BHA do absolutely nothing. What a shambles of an organization that is, supposed leaders of the sport. Fixtures cancelled at Bath and they are swiftly switched to Southwell, pathetic.
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