Future not orange: British jump racing to get new look in wake of welfare study

Jump racing in Britain will begin to have a distinctive new look from next month when hurdles and fences across the country will start to be changed from orange to white as a result of a welfare-driven study.

The changes come about as the result of research commissioned by the BHA and carried out by Exeter University to make jump racing safer by examining which colours would be most visible for horses.

While guard rails, take-off boards and top boards have traditionally been orange, horses are unable to tell shades of red, orange and green apart which gives them difficulty judging distances to obstacles.

The study, which began in 2017-18 but was delayed due to Covid-19, showed the switch to white furniture increased visibility for the horses and produced an improved jumping performance.

James Given: 'It's a major step forward for the industry'Credit: Steven Cargill

James Given, director of equine health and welfare for the BHA and a member of the Horse Welfare Board, said: "Our vision just isn't the same as horses. It's why tigers evolved to be orange, so that their prey couldn't see them and in a similar way horses can't see the orange on the fences, it's not a standout colour for them.

"Everyone is pulling in the same direction with this project and only a few trainers have expressed concerns, but there are white obstacles across all the Lambourn, Malton and Middleham schooling facilities and some have been schooling over white fences for a number of years, including Philip Hobbs.

"It's a major step forward for the industry to not just be doing the right thing but to show that we're constantly learning, developing and upgrading to find the optimum way to keep our equine athletes as safe as they can be."

Research by Exeter University revealed visibility of jumps and hurdles can be improved for racehorses by changing from orange to white

A key phase of the study was carried out at trainer Richard Phillips' yard in the Cotswolds, where various colour schemes including white, fluorescent yellow and blue were tested by his horses.

"We schooled around 18 horses over different coloured jumps for a period of weeks and months and they were measured on how they jumped," Phillips said.

"We were all slightly dubious to start with about how much difference it would make, but even those on the ground could see a difference between certain colours and we were all in agreement that they seemed to jump the white fences cleaner and with more fluency. We've kept our jumps white since then."

He added: "I'm not at all for change for change's sake, but with scientific evidence behind it it's quite clear horses don't see how we do. Therefore, anything that helps a horse do their job better has got to be good, not only for the horses but the humans and the sport in general. We've got to be looking as a sport to do everything possible to be making it as safe as possible."

White jumps will appear on British racecourses from next month, with Stratford set to be the first meeting to showcase the new obstacles on March 14.

All the changes will be made at the conclusion of the current jumps season, with all British racecourses set to adopt the new colour scheme by December 2022, and point-to-point courses set to follow suit next season. The Levy Board has agreed a grant of £255,000 towards the implementation of the work required at all racecourses, which amounts to approximately 70 per cent of the total cost.

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