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`A meeting today at the JC with interested parties failed to agree on a ban on remounting but tightened up some guidelines for riders. RSPCA expressed themselves “disappointed”.<br>Topic has been pending after Ruby Walsh remounted and rode a finish last season on a horse subsequently found to be injured.<br>Other trainers e.g. Hen Knight expressly forbid their jocks from remounting as a matter of policy.<br>We are left with jockeys facing adrenaline charged snap decisions on whether to remount after a fall.<br>They are not vets. How can this be good for the image of NH racing given its critics from the animal welfare lobby?
(Mergeremounting Edited by Lingfield at 6:39 pm on Sep. 29, 2005)
I would have liked to see the practice completely banned although I know some riders argue that they are capable of telling if a horse is injured.
But it seems to me that not all injuries show up straight away. Also, other things being equal, a horse that has fallen is more likely to be injured than one that hasn’t. If both those statements are true then on balance I think it would be better to take the decision completely out of the jocks’ hands.<br>
(Edited by kenjude at 11:49 am on Sep. 30, 2005)
I completely agree. I’m no horse expert, but even I can see that in a split second, there’s no way a jockey can tell for sure that a horse isn’t injured, so to be on the safe side, thinking of the welfare of the horse, it makes sense to ban it completely. It puts the jockey in a difficult position too, because he’s then forced into making that decision on the spur of the moment, always knowing that it may be a wrong one and that he’s maybe made the injury worse, as was the case with Ruby Walsh. The jock shouldn’t be put in that impossible position.
if a horse fall you dont remount so there is no grey area
ive fallen off horses i am schooling and remounted but that is not at racing pace which is a totally different matter.
<br>Surely this illustrates exactly that there is a grey area?  Very few falls will be like Kauto Star’s.  Many falls where a jockey would consider remounting to be feasible and worthwhile are soft falls or unseats, where prizemoney is easily available. ÂÂÂ
If a horse is hacking round at the back, 3rd of 3, no chance with the leaders and just has to jump the last to get the money, they are not going to be travelling at racing pace.  Nor will a horse be going racing pace if they are the only one left in the race.  A blanket ban does not take any of these scenarios into account – situations where any everyday experienced horseman would be happy to check the horses over, hop back on and trot over the line.
Jockeys need to be told in the strongest terms that they will face huge penalties if an injured horse is remounted, and given clear guidelines that remounting should only be in the softest circumstances.
But a blanket ban? If we always wanted to be  ‘just on the safe side’, racing would not be allowed at all.
A legitimate view Sal.<br>I’m not part of the horsey set, just follow racing.<br>Is there such thing as a soft fall for over half a tonne of horseflesh travelling at say 3o mph or so?<br>Why is remounting banned in 3 day eventing? What`s the difference?
One of the most basic reasons is that 3de is a test of skill rather than speed.  If the horse falls it is eliminated as it has failed to display the correct amount of skill – just as they are eliminated if the rider is unseated twice or after 3 refusals.  If a horse is fast enough (or lucky enough) in a race to pass the post first despite refusing 3 times then he is still the winner – the method of completion isn’t questioned.
In addition fences in 3des are much more solid than the average chase fence and are trappier, involving several parts.  Although the horses fall at slower speeds they are more likely to be jumping at awkward angles and down drops and are more likely to land on another solid obstacle.  (see example on link). The number of high profile rider deaths and injuries in 3des last year is an indication of the level of risk involved. ÂÂÂ
http://www.sport-horses.org/pictures/pictures_crashers_4.shtml
Couldn’t the ban just apply to rejoining the race, rather than be applied to jogging back to the stables as well?
Yes, sorry about my use of language. Ban was referring to the BHA rules, rather than to any punishment that had (not) been applied.
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