Two of Australia's most respected vets have defended the racing industry's horse welfare practices after anti-racing groups used the unfortunate events of the Melbourne Cup to promote their views.
The deaths of Admire Rakti and Araldo were the main talking points on Australian social media in the aftermath to the Melbourne Cup while the RSPCA demanded "a full and transparent investigation into both incidents".
Racing Victoria chief vet Brian Stewart says "it's the Holy Grail of my existence" to identify horses that are at risk to fractures like the one Araldo suffered following Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.
Araldo was involved in a "freak accident" when returning to scale shortly after the $6 million event. He was spooked by a patron waving a flag and subsequently fractured his pastern before being euthanised.
Animal welfare groups have launched at the racing industry claiming horses aren't treated properly – something that industry people, who devote their lives to horses won't tolerate.
"It is undeniable that we have fatalities in racing. They're very low, they're not common," Stewart told RSN.
He discussed the difference between a horse injuring itself as the result of running on an uneven surface compared to "bone fatigue fractures".
"My mission in life is to learn more about why horses develop these bone fatigue fractures," he said.
"They're not the result of stepping in a hole or something like that, it's the end stage of bone adaption where you get stress fractures and they let go during a race."
There's been no mention from horse welfare groups about the large amounts of study vets around Australia and the world do to learn more about horse injuries and how to prevent them.
"We'd love to be able to identify horses at risk (to bone fatigue fractures). I've been doing this for a very long time and I can't do it and don't know anyone who can," Stewart said.
"We're putting a lot of money into the University of Melbourne possibly with the racing laboratory here to try and develop a method of identify horses that are at risk and to have some sort of screening test that would allow us to identify these horses that might be susceptible to these fractures.
"It's the Holy Grail of my existence – to be able to facilitate developing something like that, that will enable us to pick up the very early warning signs and prevent them."
Stewart also stated that deaths such as the one Admire Rakti suffered are "extremely rare".
Welfare groups should also note Stewart was responsible for Cavalryman's scratching, a move that surely suggests the horse's well-being comes before racing and turnover.
RSN then interviewed an emotional Tom Brennan from Flemington Equine, who discussed the care Araldo had on a daily basis.
RSN's Shane Anderson has known Brennan for years and describes him as a "tough Queenslander" but Araldo's death clearly left him upset.
"We've had a fair bit to do with this horse. He was a bit of a favourite," Brennan said
"Mike (Moroney) flew me up to Sydney when he first arrived in Australia and I said to him this is the nicest international I've seen.
"I said this could be the horse we've been looking for. It was very tough yesterday."
Brennan is used to giving bad news to people about their horses but said "yesterday was a little tougher than usual".
He wouldn't hear of the suggestions that horses aren't cared for.
"Mike's assistant trainer, Matt Hoysted spent hours on that horse every day. Just loves the horse, did everything with that horse," he said.
"It was all to prepare him for yesterday and then we have a freak accident and end up losing him.
"Mike said 'just save him' and umm yeh.." – the interview then ended with Brennan in an emotional state.
The racing industry gives a home to thousands of horses every year. These horses are looked after as well as, if not better, than the average house pet.
No one in racing likes the events of Tuesday the same as we don't like hearing of fatal car accidents but we all keep driving.
