Horse racing is one of the world’s oldest sports. But this hasn’t stopped horse racing from benefiting from some incredible technological breakthroughs. In the endless search to produce better runners and ensure horse racing safety, an entire industry has sprung up that aims to use technology to improve the racing experience.
From technologically enhanced stables that feature everything from equine spas to special artificial running surfaces, to devices that can provide real-time data on how horses are performing, it’s an area that’s only going to grow in the coming years.
Much of this technology gets used in the training yards. Given that racehorses have to perform at the limit of their abilities, it’s no surprise that many runners suffer from injuries that range from hairline fractures to strained tendons. Diagnosing these injuries early is key to ensuring the racehorse’s long-term health.
This is why a company called Kurtsystems created a very futuristic training unit. These cabins feature motorised units where horses are attached to an overhead rail and go through a series of exercises that help them develop the muscles necessary to successfully race. The training units are able to hold up to 10 horses at a time, and the horses are then allowed to move at speeds ranging from a gentle trot to a canter.
Not only does this training unit help get a young runner up to full racing speed, but it offers an excellent way to monitor how the racehorse is coping with the exercise. By using fitness monitoring equipment, trainers are able to get a real-time insight into a horse’s physiology and spot any weaknesses early on.
It’s an approach that has also been successfully used at the two stables owned by Sheikh Mohammed at Newmarket. These feature artificial surface gallops and a special sea walker that features a pool of chilled salt water. This pool allows horses to effectively walk off any injuries and strengthen their muscular development. This is a form of cold therapy, and it has proven to be excellent at helping a racehorse that may be having issues with its joints.
Such innovations have proven to be pivotal in helping Sheikh Mohammed gain an excellent winning record with his runners. This means that many racing fans who are looking to use some of the strategies featured at betting resources such as www.horsebetting.com will be well served by checking out how each racehorse is trained.
Increasingly science is at the heart of how modern racehorses are trained. Alongside innovations like interval training, many trainers will examine how a runner’s heart rate varies to understand the levels of effort that is being put into a racing performance. Plus a racehorse’s weight is a critical factor in judging how well they will perform. Most runners will have an optimal weight, and getting a racehorse to this weight for a big race is something that will require plenty of effort.
The medical diagnosis for racehorses has also come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Innovations in breathing assessment have worked wonders in taking the guesswork out of diagnoses. Plus some medical experts have now been able to put endoscope cameras inside a horse that provides critical data about what’s going on inside the throat of a runner while galloping. When combined with advancements in X-rays and MRI scans that identify muscular and skeletal issues, it has helped trainers make informed assessments about whether their horse should run in the next big race.
When it comes to the actual race, there have been a number of smart saddles developed that provide trainers with a massive amount of real-time data. Such saddles will include a microchip that details everything about a horse’s stride, gait, acceleration and so on. Brand’s like Equimere have produced wearable sensors that even use artificial intelligence to analyse how a runner’s condition improves or deteriorates over the track. The trainer can then use this data to create specialist programs to improve the next training session. All of which has shown that the sky’s the limit when it comes to how technology can improve the horse racing experience.