Horse racing
These are the most common injuries related to horse racing, as shown by injury claims.
Safety solutions
WorkSafe expects employers to have safety solutions in place to protect workers from the most common sources of injury.
Horse racing
These are the most common injuries related to horse racing, as shown by injury claims.
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Injury Hotspot skeleton diagram, text information below.
Hazards and solutions
- Hazard 1
Disease
- 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 2
Handling 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 3
Lifting 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 4
Other
- 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 5
Reporting and training
- Establish and maintain a register of injuries.
- Encourage employees to report workplace injuries / accidents / illnesses.
- Hazard 6
Slips 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 7
Track 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.