BMC Veterinary Research编辑顾问克里斯·普罗德曼（Chris Proudman）教授领导大国家兽医团队，并聊了有关马福利的改进

Professor Chris Proudman, Head of theUniversity of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine，很快将萨里（Surrey）换成阿恩特里（Aintree）的赛马场，在那里他将成为负责在世界上最著名的障碍赛中竞争的马匹健康和福利的团队的一员大国.

随着全国狩猎赛季的结束，Aintree大国全国节将于4月3日（星期四）开始，赛车令人兴奋，周五的女士日和周六的大国民本身。

大国民充满了历史，在冠军中加冕了获胜的马冠军。这是英国赛马日历中最长的比赛，覆盖4.5英里的距离，并通过一系列苛刻的围栏测试了马和骑师的技能和耐力贝克的布鲁克,The Chair和theCanal Turn.

但是，大国民是一项关于是否真正考虑参与马匹的健康和安全的观点。

Proudman教授一直在兽医团队中参加为期三天的全国节日，已有15年以上的历史，并将成为11名兽医团队的一员，确保节日期间马匹最高标准的马福利和兽医护理。

结合更严格的法规（涵盖课程灌溉，围栏设计，着陆区，起步程序和宽松的马匹），兽医知识的重大进展已得到重大改善多年来，在Aintree。现在，当可怕的屏幕出现时，这不再意味着对其面纱隐藏的任何马匹最糟糕的事情，而是现在是一项隐私措施，而兽医则在赛道上提供了彻底的评估。

赛马的福利至关重要

在赛车开始之前，每匹竞争的马都必须通过允许比赛才能进行彻底的兽医检查。The英国骑马权威兽医官员也照顾马一致格fication, sampling for anti-doping control and enforcement of the rules of racing.

During the event, a team of experienced racecourse vets are stationed around the course so that they can be immediately on hand to attend any incident. Aintree racecourse has its own on-site first aid facility where state of the art diagnostics, including X-ray units, a solarium and video endoscopy come as standard.

An important part of the veterinarian’s work at the racecourse is separating minor injuries from the more significant ones that may require further investigation at the University’sEquine Hospitalat Leahurst on the Wirral.

通常，大国民将看到许多马匹落在具有挑战性的围栏上。常见的伤害是切割和发际线骨折。值得庆幸的是，严重受伤很少，但是由于Aintree和附近的马医院的高级医疗设施，马现在的生存机会比以往任何时候都更好。

Educating People

Proudman教授目前是赛马场管理，兽医团队和媒体之间的联络，多年来为马提供了兽医治疗。随着社交媒体在全球范围内为人们提供声音，赛马场的不正确信息可以很快引起激烈的辩论，这使英国最负盛名的体育赛事之一成为一个坏名字。那么，如何向人们保证马匹的健康和安全至关重要？

Professor Proudman confirmed that his role “is to educate the media and horseracing followers about how seriously Aintree Racecourse and the racing industry take the issue of horse welfare. I will be telling the story of meticulous preparation of fences and the racing surface, of massive investment in watering technology and of careful risk-assessment of every horse entered in the race.”

“Since I first started working at Aintree, the welfare of horses and the standard of veterinary care have increased significantly. The industry invests heavily in welfare research. During the past ten years, theHorserace Betting Levy Boardhas invested £25 million in research into racehorse health and welfare. The outcome of this is that we can now train horses more safely and effectively, we can create racing conditions that minimise the risk of injury and we are better able to protect horses against debilitating infectious diseases.”

他补充说：“这是非常激烈的三天。世界各地有超过6亿人观看大国民，这是一项具有丰富而有趣的历史的活动。对于欧洲最好的赛马来说，这是一个艰巨的挑战，但是这是一个公平的挑战。获胜者被正确地称为值得的冠军。”

继续研究

However, as Professor Proudman confirmed, the fun and games of the Grand National Festival don’t stop there and research into sports horse injuries, such as improving racetrack design, are by no means exhausted. The University of Liverpool often collaborates with Aintree racecourse to conduct research between the two facilities. The University of Liverpool’s Equine Hospital is one of the busiest in the UK, specialising in oncology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics and neurology. Also, back at the University of Surrey, where Professor Chris Proudman now resides, there are plans to launch a new world-class兽医学院今年。这是围绕人与动物健康固有联系的主题构建的，这将有助于进一步推动兽医医学。

Similar to the vets in attendance at this year’s Grand National,BMC Veterinary Researchis also committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all animals is taken into consideration, especially in research studies. Furthermore, the benefit of being an开放式journal means that anyone can access and read all of the excellent research being published inBMC Veterinary Research, helping to provide a greater and more widespread understanding of current developments in veterinary research and animal welfare.

Our top tip for the Festival may not be the winner of the ‘big race’ itself, but is instead that we should remember the hard work and specialised research that has gone into making the Grand National not only one of the most famous horse racing events of all time, but that the safety, health, and welfare of all participating horses has not been overlooked for the sake of entertainment.