YOU wouldn’t quite say that the dust has settled on the equine flu outbreak - vaccination protocols remain a subject of considerable unrest - but on the surface at least things have calmed down a good deal since this time last week which offers a chance to reflect on some aspects of what took place.

Firstly, one couldn’t help but feel that the authorities in Britain could have done a better job in explaining what equine flu is. For those with just a passing interest or indeed no interest at all in the sport, the immediate shutdown of racing last week seemed to herald the outbreak of a plague with the potential to decimate the equine population.