Irish trainers urged to ensure horse walkers are up to standard with inspections on the horizon

The Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) has urged its members to check all horse walkers are in compliance with European safety standards as inspections could take place soon.

The communication follows a note by the Irish Health and Safety Authority (HSA) that some walkers available on the market may not meet the requirements of a European directive on machinery.

The notice stated: "It has come to the attention of the Health and Safety Authority that some walkers/exercisers available on the market may not be in compliance with the requirements of the European directive 2006/42/EC on machinery."

Stakeholders should ensure their walker is affixed with a CE mark, and if such a mark is not present then the manufacturer should be contacted immediately. The advisory notice states that any offending walker should be removed from use until it is brought into compliance.

Feidhlim Cunningham, chief executive of the IRTA, says that some trainers are sure to be affected and that all members should inspect their walker.

Cunningham said: “Once the HSA put out a safety alert like this they normally follow it up with inspections, so it's important to make our members aware of the importance of checking their machinery.

“You’d hope that most walkers will be compliant and those that are not will be able to be rectified. 

“It will be a headache for some but you’d hope that it won’t be too much of an issue. I couldn’t say how many people are affected yet as nobody has had any issues with it, but this week members will be looking at their models and seeing if they are affected."

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