70 ITBF attendees from 21 of 27 member countries were present at the 2024 ITBF Conference in Tokyo. This was hosted by the JBBA (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association).
NZTR Head of Welfare and Sustainability Justine Sclater, who attended as a speaker was provided with the opportunity to attend both the Japanese Oaks and Derby, a trip to Hokkaido visiting breeding farms Northern Horse Park, Shadai Stallion Station, Darley Japan, JBBA Stallion Station and JRA’ Training and Research Centre. Justine listed the following as key takeaways from the conference:
Hokkaido
Despite the extreme winter temperatures, the Japanese thoroughbreds are wintered outdoors with an emphasis on nutrition and body condition their horses cope extremely well with the cold.
The JBBA’s approach to stallion welfare is one that she particularly admired, not only are their stallions ridden daily but also their older retired stallions remain on the farm and are used for training purposes and their longevity is celebrated. They paraded alongside their current stallions line up and photos were taken with old favorites Makfi and Johannesburg* now in his late twenties.
JRA’ Training and Research Centre – tour and presentations and the takeaway point was less human intervention when foaling mares research had shown that this approach meant the foaling was less stressful, the foal bonded therefore less rejection occurred, and took less time to stand and suckle. This research franks NZ’s natural approach to breeding and raising thoroughbreds.
New Zealand is at the forefront internationally when it comes to raising our horses naturally. This was supported by research presented during the ITBF Conference. Empirical evidence shows that best practice is to have horses that are foaled, raised, and live outdoors which prevents illness and disease.
Other Key points
- Disease Reports were received from all ITBF countries, and the main concerns were EHV and Rotavirus.
- Parasite and antibiotic resistance
- Gene doping and editing, why control is necessary now in the racing industry
- Japan has ensured the horse is the key focal point of their industry – the horse is the ‘Hero’ and is celebrated in all aspects of racing and breeding. Betting revenue is channelled directly to the racing authority and shared between the entire industry including the breeding sector. This has seen an improvement in the quality of horses and training of people. Breeders’ Premiums have played a significant role in reinvestment by breeders, in turn creating an improvement in the quality of horses bred. There were huge crowds on course at both the Derby and Oaks in Tokyo. There were queues of fans lined up to purchase merchandise of their favourite horse – plushy toys, t-shirts, caps, mugs etc.
- Parasite resistance and Equine Herpes Virus outbreaks are of international concern.
- ITBF members voted unanimously to continue to stand resolute against the use of all artificial breeding methods.
- Newmarket has introduced a program to ensure horses were cremated and euthanised at no cost to the owner.