Attitudes to horse welfare are changing - and racing needs to stay one step ahead

Society is forever changing and, as it evolves, the racing industry needs to be one step ahead. In my role as independent chair of the Horse Welfare Board, I’m very aware of the general public’s view and how it has changed over the years. 

I spent 40 years as an equine practitioner and I have had several roles where I’ve been more involved with the public, such as president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and chairman of World Horse Welfare. This has brought home to me how much the public value horse welfare and how important it is to them.

That was not the case 40 or 50 years ago, but society has become more urban and less rural and, with it, the sensitivities to animal welfare have become heightened. Research and polls carried out by various organisations over the years have shown that people want to see improvements in welfare in racing, ranging from safety during a race through to treatment after retirement.

Horses will always have accidents, so it is up to us to safeguard them by removing all avoidable risks. We are doing a lot of high-profile work on track safety, for example by looking at the design of the hurdles, the padding on the hurdles and the positioning of them. 

Part of our job is also to keep talking to everybody in the industry and bring them onside. Communication is such an important part of the work we are doing and we need to take people with us. A lot of progress has been made – the Levy Board has invested significant funds into veterinary research to find the best way to both treat horses and look after them, and the Racing Foundation also supports a range of equine welfare initiatives. 

I have never come across anyone who does not want to improve horse welfare, and the industry itself has made enormous strides to achieve this year on year. 

On that note, it was great to see the jockeys adapt so well to the new whip regulations at the Cheltenham Festival. To see the whip used a lot less frequently and a lot less aggressively reflects positively on the riders, who should be congratulated. I was afraid the racing at Cheltenham, which was absolutely first-class, would be ruined by petty arguments and I was delighted that wasn’t the case.

That will have been reflected in the general public’s view of what they watched – and they watched excellent racing. Roll on Aintree’s Grand National meeting.

Barry Johnson is chair of the Horse Welfare Board

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