Incidence of injuries and negative interactions in horses and steers during a competition of “Corridas de Vacas”

Abstract

Corridas de vacas (Cow rodeo) racing is one of the equestrian sports of the Chilean rodeo. The rules of Corridas de vacas sanction negative interactions by riders with horses and steers, and the Animal Welfare Manual for the Chilean Rodeo seeks to protect them. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence of injuries and negative interactions in 50 horses and 234 steers participating in an official Corridas de vacas competition. A single observer carried out a visual inspection from a distance, recording for each animal the falls during the race (n=234), the presence of lameness, wounds or bleeding at the beginning and end of each race, the negative interactions by the rider indicating the occurrence and moment and whether they were removed due to injury. In addition, in the steers, negative interactions by the colero (in charge of picking up fallen steers) were recorded, indicating the occurrence and moment. For each species, the incidence of injuries and negative interactions was calculated as a percentage (%). In equines, the incidence of falls, lameness and negative interactions was 4% each, with no horses being removed. In steers, 51.28% fell in the competition, most of them when they were stopped in the quincha. Lameness, wounds or bleeding and other fortuitous negative situations were observed in 2.14, 0.85 and 2.14% of the steers, respectively. Negative interactions affected 21.37% of the steers, 2.99% carried out by riders and 18.37% by the colero. The electric prod was applied to 13.24% of the steers. No steers were replaced. It is concluded that most injuries in equines and injuries and negative interactions in steers occur at the time they were stopped by the horse.