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Absolute death traps, since they seem to be as friendly as a concrete wall. First we lost Marlos Moment a few days ago, now Tai West at Galway today. Both horses broke their legs properly – in fact Tai West could have broken both hind legs. Apart from showing how cruel and barbaric people like to be what is the real purpose in using that kind of hurdles??? If you would lose two human athletes due to those obstacles in a space of six days, be sure that they would be removed for ever – just before the next race. So why is it that we accept them – especially the risks those obstacles carry with them?
Is there any evidence as to whether the "Easyfix" hurdles used in Ireland are better or worse than the hurdles used in France? They are certainly different.
Is there any evidence as to whether the "Easyfix" hurdles used in Ireland are better or worse than the hurdles used in France? They are certainly different.
Are they French style hurdles? Just watched a couple of replays and they look like the normal artificial Irish ones and are labelled as EasyFix. Not that I like artificial hurdles of any kind really as I think they can cause more serious injuries than a normal woven hurdle would. But I can’t see any difference in them from what the Irish have been using for some years.
Easyfix hurdles aren’t French style at all – they’re plastic with brush on the top the fixed brush hurdles at Haydock are French style hurdles.
Important to differentiate between the two – Easyfix do a good job with a lot of their products but though I’m not a fan of spring back hurdles I’m not a massive fan of the Easyfix hurdles either.
Martin
Then the ones at Galway were definitely Easy Fix as they don’t look anything like the ones Haydock use. None of the bush type material on the Galway ones.
If they were some new French design I wouldn’t think the French manufacturer would be very happy to have them stuck in Easy Fix holders which you could see quite clearly on the back of the hurdles.
Although these obstacles are obviously not perfect, I think they are a cut above the awful fixed brush hurdles at Haydock and Worcester. Some of the injuries caused by the hidden solid bottom rail of these have been horrific.
That’s the idea, Admiralofthefleet. I remain to be convinced by their supposed qualities in preparing horses for larger fences.
Their smaller size encourages "bunnyhopping" rather than the shape a horse would make over a full size chase fence. When a horse is fresh at the start of a race, they can judge their bunnyhop jumps quite well. Tired horses sometimes misjudge them and the injuries, in my view, are worse than those seen at traditional timber ‘flight’ hurdles.
A horse that falls at a timber flight is effectively tripped by the obstacle and takes a relatively soft landing in most cases. A horse that misjudges a fixed brush hurdle has its front legs hideously jarred against a solid rail, often causing broken legs.
Maybe the trainers need to train their horses to jump a bit better before entering them in a fixed brush race? They do not respect the conventional hurdles as some of the horses just seem to run over them! I understand what you are saying, but horses who have only ever jumped soft collapsible hurdles are likely to make a mistake over the fixed brush because they do not respect the fixed obstacles.
That is a good point. Maybe some specific training for the fixed brush hurdles should be enforced on all runners.
Perhaps there should be some race stipulations that no trainers without fixed brush hurdle mock-ups at home can enter horses in these races.
That is a good point. Maybe some specific training for the fixed brush hurdles should be enforced on all runners.
Perhaps there should be some race stipulations that no trainers without fixed brush hurdle mock-ups at home can enter horses in these races.
I agree. That sounds like a good idea. Certainly if a horse has been jumping normal hurdles I think the trainer should have to prove that they’ve been schooled over fixed brush before they are allowed to compete in a fixed brush race.
The plastic hurdles at Galway/Sligo etc. are too soft, they’re easy to kick out of the way and don’t encourage horses to make the right shape over the hurdle – neither do the spring back hurdles which you can skip over.
A friend of mine showed me a picture a few months ago of one of her fathers horses who’d put his leg through part of the traditional spring back hurdles and consequently tripped over and fell at them.
Martin
Tempo Du Camp clearly had no chance of surviving today. Though he needed TWO tries to break his shoulder. Blundered the first and landed on the top of the 2nd flight where he had no chance, but to break his shoulder. To make things worse he started limping for another few furlongs until he was caught. This kind of injury is with the normal flight of hurdles rather impossible. Another stupid loss of equine life.
That’s the idea, Admiralofthefleet. I remain to be convinced by their supposed qualities in preparing horses for larger fences…
They are a distinct advantage in educating horses to jump hurdles properly – by way of example, watch the 1999 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle where the French-trained winner bounds over the hurdles whilst the McManus-owned pair that chase him home play football with the obstacles. Strangely enough it was the winner that went on to better things.
They are a distinct advantage in educating horses to jump hurdles properly – by way of example, watch the 1999 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle where the French-trained winner bounds over the hurdles whilst the McManus-owned pair that chase him home play football with the obstacles. Strangely enough it was the winner that went on to better things.
Hors La Loi bounding up the hill like a fresh horse while Joe Mac and Cardinal Hill were driven for dear life might have something to do with that too! It is far easier to jump as a fresh horse. Hors La Loi was no slick-jumping angel in any case. He fell in the Bula, and took plenty of liberties with his hurdles from my memory of him.
Joe Mac also dropped dead after his next run, so never had a chance to go onto better things.
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