FOR anybody working with horses the Irish winter weather presents plenty of difficulties. Whether it be trying to keep horses fit and exercised in rain, hail, sleet and snow or simply keeping them fed and watered in freezing conditions – it’s not easy.

However, horse care and management extends well outside the walls of the yard as many know. This week I spoke to Mr Val O’Connell, Clerk of the Course for Limerick Racecourse, who discussed his role and responsibilities in caring for horses during winter.

In horse racing, the clerk of the course is the person responsible for turf management and race day preparation. The clerk of the course also has a duty of care to both horse and rider, when I asked Val about how he manages the ground conditions during winter and what factors he has to consider when deciding if the track is race-worthy he said: “Safety of both horse and rider is paramount.

“Ensuring the ground is consistent and that there is no false ground is extremely important in caring for the horse. Waterlogged, inconsistent ground will put severe stress on the horse’s body and will most likely result in falls and injuries” explains Val.

“If we have raced three to four weeks prior to a race meeting and there has been significant rainfall in between we will need to produce fresh ground so that the track recovers and doesn’t become waterlogged. It is imperative that there is no water lying at the fences. All of our fences and hurdles are portable so we can move them prior to racing and ensure better ground for both horse and rider. All race tracks are inspected two days prior to racing. When the weather is particularly bad we will call for further inspection on the morning of the race to make sure we have an accurate assessment of the ground conditions for trainers, riders and owners.”

As Val describes – the condition of the race track can have a major impact on the safety of both horse and rider. However, water is not the only element that the Clerk of the Course has to contend with, frost and high winds can also cause havoc.

“Frost hasn’t been an issue so far this year,” says Val “but we have had to deal with high winds. Strong winds cause two main problems the first being the security of the fence wings, this problem is easily rectified. However, the second problem is far more serious, strong cross-winds can be extremely dangerous for horse and rider when jumping as it can hamper the rider and have an effect on the direction of the horse when jumping.

“If we were to get frost, one night wouldn’t be too bad. We have a good covering of grass and this would help prevent the frost from having a major effect on the ground. If we were to get two nights of frost I would start to worry, hard ground wouldn’t be suitable for the jump horses and it would be too dangerous for the jockeys.”

Limerick Racecourse, Greenmount Park, Patrickswell, Co. Limerick

Tel: 061 320 000

Email: info@limerickraces.ie