Horse Racing Ireland has launched a new health, safety and well-being guide for the horse breeding and racing sectors.
The guide is a useful resource for the industry covering key health and safety legislation, detailing best practice, and providing links to additional resources.
The guide has been developed following HRI commissioning Red C Research in Spring 2022 to conduct a survey of a cross-section of members of the industry, both online and by interview, to canvas attitudes towards health and safety and to gauge the levels of health and safety practices in the industry.
The survey results revealed that as many as 41 percent of respondents did not feel well informed on the subject of health and safety and that a culture of risk assessment is lacking in the industry, with only 41 percent confirming that they risk assess at least once a year, and many prepared to admit that they risk assess only in response to a problem emerging.
Only 44 percent of respondents provide their staff with training, and of those, 58 percent would provide only informal training, and many are only training new staff members.
“The results of the Red C Research survey were invaluable to help us create this guide for all of those who feel poorly informed about health and safety issues and don’t know where to turn for information, said Carol Nolan, Director of People at Horse Racing Ireland.
“We hope, as a first step, it will help everyone in the industry, especially trainers and breeders, understand all the legal and moral obligations required and provide practical tools and advice to help meet those obligations.”
The guide was launched yesterday by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Martin Heydon.
“Being from Kildare, I see first-hand the cultural and economic importance of the horse racing and breeding industry,” he said.
“However, there are a unique set of risks when working with animals like thoroughbred horses. People are at the heart of everything great about the sector and I want to commend Horse Racing Ireland for its commitment to this area.”
“I have no doubt this guide will be a useful asset for the industry in strengthening the culture around health, safety and wellbeing in the horse breeding and racing sectors.”
