Horse racing Cancelled due to heat

[Horseantics]

Two horses collapsed and racing was cancelled yesterday as temperatures hit 33C.

Stewards at Worcester race course had to pour 800 gallons of water over the horses to revive them and then ran out of water

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4469275.Races_abandoned_due_to_water_shortage/?ref=mr#show

 

[PapaFrita]

That's awful for the horses (although article only mentions one horse) but I find it rather perplexing as well... racing/polo/eventing continues in much hotter countries than the UK with no adverse effects- is it a case of people not knowing how to cope with the hot weather or how to cool horses effectively or not having the right facilities?

 

[kildalton]

I think you're right. You should know !

 

[kerilli]

it sounds as if it was the temperature in the stables that was the problem, more than the racing. if it was 85 degrees inside the stables, horses would have been starting dehydrated and overheated...

 

[Gonetofrance]

They ran out of water, that's why they cancelled........ they used it ll up on the first horse that collapsed on the track........

 

[MHOL]

http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gmg/op/view.m?id=117693&tid=34&cat=horse-racing I heard on the radio it was two horses aswell but both have recovered

 

[Lobelia_Overhill]

[ QUOTE ]
is it a case of people not knowing how to cope with the hot weather or how to cool horses effectively or not having the right facilities?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd imagine that's the problem we're not used to such heat, and it didn't build up gradually over weeks - it just suddenly got hot and everyone was caught unawares...

 

[TarrSteps]

[ QUOTE ]
That's awful for the horses (although article only mentions one horse) but I find it rather perplexing as well... racing/polo/eventing continues in much hotter countries than the UK with no adverse effects- is it a case of people not knowing how to cope with the hot weather or how to cool horses effectively or not having the right facilities?

[/ QUOTE ]

Bit of all that, I think. I've had this discussion a couple of times over the last few days. The biggest difference I notice is that stables/barns are not built to be cool here so there's no respite for the horses. Temperatures like this are not at all unusual in the summer in Southern Ontario (and the change is often quick) but because the temperatures are so extreme barns are designed with more attention to air flow, insulation etc to keep them warmer in summer and cooler in winter. At the very least you can stash the horses inside in the heat of the day. The same applies to barns at the track - while the outside heat may be just as extreme the barns stay relatively cool. Also, misting fans and other aggressive cooling measures are much more common.

All those things cost money, though, and mean differences in standard horse keeping regimes. It's a bit like everyone complaining because there were so few snow ploughs for London last winter - it's not really justifiable to lay out that sort of cash for something that's hardly ever going to be necessary. The flip side though is you can't expect "business as usual" in extreme situations. Frankly, I'm surprised they continued to race in this weather.