Is this welfare gone mad?
Many in the Australian racing industry breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday when the much loved and respected Queensland-based trainer Desleigh Forster had an animal cruelty-related charge overturned on appeal and the six-month ban imposed previously on her for her alleged actions relating to the use of a prohibitive stockwhip set aside.
However, she was fined $1,000 for possession of a stockwhip and $6,000 for the use of a stockwhip. On face value, some may argue she got off pretty lightly being left out of pocket $7,000, but the reality is that the damage this whole ordeal has done to her emotionally and reputationally is untold.
The case has also left many of her fellow trainers and others working at the coal face with thoroughbred’s day-in, day-out somewhat nervous about what they can and can’t do when it comes to safely handling and controlling what are, at times, potentially dangerous and unruly flight animals.
Forster stated she had only “flicked the whip to make a noise to get the horse to enter a swimming pool”. This, according to a veterinarian who gave evidence on the matter, was not animal cruelty. His evidence was accepted by Queensland’s new Racing Appeals Board, who then duly set aside the animal cruelty charge.
It’s hard to believe this salt-of-the-earth horsewoman, who is widely noted as putting her horses first and herself a distant last, had to face such charges in the first place.
There’s irony in what is written in the long-standing bio on her official website. It says: ‘Desleigh trains from a calm and relaxed atmosphere at on-course stables at Eagle Farm and it is this environment that helps to ensure the happiness of the horses which is paramount in achieving success.’
Thoroughbred Breeders Australia president Basil Nolan, who put forward a reference for Forster in the case and provided her with personal counsel throughout, said what she has gone through is unnecessary.
“It was way out of kilter and, the thing is, if you know Desleigh, there is a no more caring person for an animal than Desleigh. The horses come first, second, and third and she comes about fourth,” Nolan told ANZ Bloodstock News.
Forster was unavailable for comment yesterday, but Nolan said she was ‘enormously relieved’.
He added: “It has had an enormous effect on her. She went to pieces yesterday afternoon and that’s just stress, isn’t it, and pressure she didn’t need to go through, really.”
Forster had been training on a stay of proceedings pending yesterday’s finding by the Racing Appeals Board. Now the question is, will she recover from this?
“I hope so, because she’s a very talented trainer and a trainer who has a great love of horses. I think sometimes we don’t realise mental health and what sort of effect that this type of thing can have on you,” said Nolan.
No stranger to challenging racing authorities himself, the owner of the horse at the centre of the stockwhip saga is Allan Endresz, who has jumped to her defence.
“The Ezybonds No 1 syndicate currently has five racehorses in work with Desleigh Forster, including Private Banker who was the horse allegedly mistreated,” Endresz told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The animal cruelty charges hastily dished out by QRIC [Queensland Racing Integrity Commission] were frivolous and without foundation. As owners, we are 100 per cent supportive of Desleigh and have nothing but the highest regard for her care, absolute dedication, training methodology and deep love for each and every horse we own. They are her life.
“We are blessed that she gave us the opportunity to share her life experiences in the interests of our horses and their racing prospects. The biggest disappointment in this entire saga, was the way in which QRIC handled this matter from start to finish. There were never any concerns on our part about animal cruelty. We knew this was nonsense from the outset.
“It’s a very sad state of affairs. We look forward to seeing what Desleigh does best; caring for our horses and giving our horses very opportunity to win races. She is a wonderful horse person.”
Endresz is part of a huge legion of supporters Desleigh has had since the charges were laid in late March.
Champion trainer Peter Moody, who, like Forster, hails from outback Queensland, expressed his own concern at the beginning of it all via his Twitter account. He stated he thought that the decision to ban her was “all to appease a minority with zero understanding. Shame.”
I don’t condone animal cruelty at all, but it has to be asked, is this welfare gone mad?
Forster was found guilty under article AR 231 (1) of the Australian Rules of Racing, in that a person must not commit or commission an act of cruelty to a horse, or be in possession of any article or thing which, in the opinion of the stewards, is capable of inflicting cruelty to a horse.
In determining a guilty verdict in relation to animal cruelty, stewards took the strictest interpretation of the law, which in relation to stockwhips under AR 231 (4), says: “A person must not use a stockwhip on a horse in any circumstances relating to racing, training or pre-training, regardless of whether the horse is registered.”
Clearly, Forster should not have been in possession of a stockwhip, but the law, and the interpretation of it, appears to be unclear as to whether the use of the stockwhip for its sound amounts to animal cruelty – and perhaps does not allow for a decision that embodies enough common or practical horse sense, the outcome of which has the potential to destroy livelihoods, reputations and people’s mental health.
What is perplexing is that in hundreds of races staged around Australia each week, a whip is used by jockeys to urge horses to the finish line.
However, it’s not ok to use the sound of a whip to help safely guide and control a recalcitrant racehorse through an important aspect of its daily training routine?
The whip, whether it be a stockwhip, lunge whip, dressage whip or crop is an age-old training aid that’s been used by horsemen and women all over the world for centuries.
Now that the charges against Forster have been dropped, trainers across the nation are left to muse about this case and what it all means for them. It could leave them potentially confused about what’s right or wrong and nervous about the possible dire consequences of their actions.