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Horse racing
These are the most common injuries related to horse racing, as shown by injury claims.
Injury Hotspot skeleton diagram, text information below.
Hazards
- Hazard 1Disease
- Develop and implement appropriate policies and procedures to ensure good hygiene (eg hand-washing, disposal of waste).
- Ensure good ventilation.
- Consider immunisation where appropriate.
- Hazard 2Handling horses
- Ensure safe distances are maintained from other horses when riding or leading horses.
- Provide appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing for employees to wear while in vicinity of horses (eg high visibility safety vest, leather or steel capped boots).
- Provide appropriate helmets (eg with nylon interlocking chin straps to secure helmet) that are approved by the Australian Racing Board and ensure they are well-maintained, less than five years old (date of manufacture should be clearly labelled) and discarded if they sustain a severe impact.
- Develop and implement appropriate policies and procedures to ensure rider safety (eg every rider, when mounted, should wear a properly fastened safety vest that is Australian Racing Board approved. Riders must not smoke or use phones or other electronic devices whilst mounted on a horse).
- Ensure tack is maintained in good condition (eg rein grips, bridles, girths maintained).
- Ensure horses are properly bridled and saddled when ridden. While being led outside stable premises, horses should be bridled where possible, with the bit attached to a lead for leading.
- 10 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 5 per cent of the injuries were to a persons face.
- 14 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hand / fingers.
- 7 per cent of the injuries were to a persons forearm / wrist.
- Hazard 3Lifting and handling materials
- Provide appropriate equipment (eg height adjustable work platforms or stands, wheelbarrows, trolleys) and ensure they are used properly and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.
- Train employees in the selection and use of any mechanical equipment and aids and safe handling methods (eg work is done between shoulder and mid-thigh height and with the elbows close to the body).
- Arrange for stock to be delivered to storage areas, where possible.
- Order stock in smaller sizes (eg bags of 20kg instead of 40kg).
- Ensure the weight of feed bags, bales and buckets that are manually lifted are below 20kg.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 14 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- Hazard 4Other
- Provide health and safety education such as stable induction to workers.
- Highlight chemical / electrical safety.
- Guarding is provided to in running nip point on hoppers, mixers, chaff cutters, augers, and exposed belt drives.
- Emergency stops are accessible to operator on treadmills and walkers etc.
- Swimming pools are maintained and safety equipment is in place. Use should be monitored.
- Hazard 5Reporting and training
- Establish and maintain a register of injuries.
- Encourage employees to report workplace injuries / accidents / illnesses.
- Hazard 6Slips trips and falls
- Ensure indoor floor surfaces in work areas and walkways are level, non-slip or slip-resistant and kept dry and clear of clutter and obstructions.
- Regularly tidy and remove clutter so it does not accumulate (eg hoses rolled up, tacks neatly put away).
- Ensure efficient drainage of indoor / outdoor ground surfaces.
- Ensure float and ramps are clean with non-slip foot grips.
- Ensure appropriate lighting in work and stable areas.
- Conduct regular workplace inspections and report / remove any identified slip, trip and fall hazards.
- Ensure employees wear appropriate footwear (eg non-slip).
- 10 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 14 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hand / fingers.
- 7 per cent of the injuries were to a persons forearm / wrist.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons leg.
- Hazard 7Track riding conditions / environment
- Develop strict track-work policies and procedures (eg wearing of safety gear, track-work times, codes of conduct, consideration of weather conditions, injuries etc).
- Provide a track induction for riders / trainers.
- Provide safety warning lights and ensure they are affixed to helmets when horses are ridden in the dark.
- Ensure training occurs in daylight or if in pre-dawn hours, track supervisors are able to clearly observe horses / riders on track.
- Establish consultation / issue resolution procedures for track safety issues that include jockeys, trainers, race course management and stewards.
- Provide adequate lighting for float parks and stripping shed areas.
- Corner poles and fence posts on track should be padded.
- Ensure all training track sessions are supervised to ensure safety measure compliance (eg safety gear / tack quality / condition checks).
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons head.
- 10 per cent of the injuries were to a persons knee.
- 13 per cent of the injuries were to a persons shoulder.
- 14 per cent of the injuries were to a persons back.
- 6 per cent of the injuries were to a persons hand / fingers.