Unit of competency details

Unit descriptor 

This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to relate the injuries and performance of racing animals to external conditions and present options for improving performance and safety. The unit requires competence in determining track rating and condition and using basic technology. It also requires the demonstration of skills associated with consistent identification of a range of animal welfare issues related to the exercise of racing animals on trial, training and racing tracks.

This unit of competency operates in workplace environments of racing administration, stables, kennels, racecourses and public areas.

Licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements may apply to this unit. Check with your State Principal Racing Authority for current license or registration requirements.

Application of the unit 

This unit of competency supports racetrack supervisors, stewards and other industry personnel in identifying a range of racing animal welfare issues that may be related to track design and condition, and presenting options for improving external conditions.

Competencies attained in this unit apply to the greyhound, harness and thoroughbred codes of the industry. Consequently when performance criteria are applied they will relate to either the greyhound code or harness code or the thoroughbred code and statements of attainment will reflect this distinction.

This unit can be contextualised for other industries while also maintaining the integrity of the unit.

Prerequisite units 

Employability skills 

This unit contains employability skills.

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge section and the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

Relate animal physiology to environmental conditions.

1. Animal cooling mechanisms  are researched and efficiency is related to ambient temperature and humidity.

2. Influence of other climatic conditions  on animal performance is identified.

Relate animal performance to common racing illnesses.

3. Digestive distress  is related to track and environmental conditions.

4. Respiratory distress  is related to track and environmental conditions.

5. Nervous distress  is related to track and environmental conditions.

Relate animal injuries and performance to track design and surfaces.

6. Track camber and tightness  of turns are related to performance injuries.

7. Track density and track materials  are related to performance injuries.

8. Grading, mowing and watering techniques are related to animal performance.

9. Impact of weather on track surfaces and animal performance is discussed.

Measure factors that may affect animal performance and discuss options for improving performance and safety.

10. Track density and moisture content are measured and results interpreted using standard industry tools  .

11. Ambient temperature and humidity are measured and results interpreted using standard industry tools.

12. Track rating is determined using industry standard definitions.

13. Options for improving track conditions for optimal greyhound or horse performance and safety are evaluated.

14. Overall weather conditions  are evaluated to determine whether racing can continue.

15. Justification for adjusting or not adjusting track or environmental conditions is presented to stakeholders.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.

Required skills 

• applying OHS and environmental work procedures
• assessing an individual animal's general health status
• communicating with stewards, racing officials, and licensed and registered personnel using assertive communication techniques to gather, interpret and relay information relating to track and environmental conditions and animal welfare
• conducting continuous improvement processes
• consulting concisely and effectively with colleagues and team members
• evaluating advantages or disadvantages of a variety of potential solutions to problems
• identifying racing animal behaviour patterns
• operating a range of equipment and technology
• reading and interpreting workplace documentation, including rules of racing
• researching information
• relating to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with varying physical and mental abilities
• using measuring devices.

Required knowledge 

• common racing animal behaviour traits
• communication procedures, including reporting lines within the workplace and wider racing industry
• climatic conditions
• clinical signs related to gastric, respiratory and nervous conditions in racing animals
• clinical signs of lameness in racing animals
• factors that affect hydration status of racing animals
• hazards and potential hazards in the workplace and risk control procedures
• mathematical procedures for estimating, measuring and calculating
• OHS and environmental legislative requirements
• race meeting protocols and reporting requirements
• racing industry animal welfare requirements
• rules of racing
• track construction and design
• track ratings and condition
• types of equipment and procedures for their operation and maintenance.

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit 

The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this unit and include evidence of the following:

• knowledge of requirements, procedures and instructions that are to apply when relating animal welfare to track and environmental conditions
• demonstration of determination of track ratings and condition using basic technology
• implementation of procedures and timely techniques for the safe, effective and efficient application of judgement and skills associated with identifying a range of animal welfare issues related to race meeting operations and rules of racing
• working with others to undertake and complete procedures that meet required outcomes.

Evidence should be collected over a period of time in a range of workplace-relevant contexts and include dealings with an appropriate range of situations.

Context of and specific resources for assessment 

Competency must be assessed in a racing workplace that provides access to the required resources. Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints. It is to comply with relevant regulatory requirements or Australian Standards requirements.

Assessment of the practical components of this unit will be by observation of relevant skills.

The following resources must be available:

• industry-supervised access to a range of racetracks, race meetings, trackwork and kennels or stables relevant to the applicable racing code
• supervised access to racing or race-retired animals with illnesses and injuries outlined in the range statement
• materials and equipment relevant to assessing candidate's ability to relate animal welfare to track and environment conditions, including:

• DVDs or videos of animal locomotion
• standard industry tools
• veterinary reports, scans and x-rays

• work instructions and related documentation.

Method of assessment 

Assessment methods must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the Racing Training Package.

The suggested strategies for the assessment of this unit are:

• written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge
• observed, documented and firsthand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks.

Evidence is required to be demonstrated over a period of time, therefore where performance is not directly observed any evidence should be authenticated by supervisors or other appropriate persons.

This unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other units of competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.

Guidance information for assessment 

Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

RANGE STATEMENT 

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the performance criteria is detailed below.

The range statement provides details of how this competency can be used in the workplaces of the racing industry to relate animal welfare to track and environmental conditions. Workplaces include greyhound kennels, harness and thoroughbred stables as well as greyhound, harness and thoroughbred racecourses, training tracks, administration buildings and public areas.

Aspects of animal cooling mechanisms  that may affect performance include:

• behavioural indicators
• care of animals at race meetings, including:

• allowing access to water before racing and after travelling long distances or sweating heavily
• ensuring animal has access to water after racing
• ensuring animal is hosed repeatedly after racing, and scraping or towelling after each hosing
• allowing animal to stand in breezy, shaded area

• greyhounds are unable to sweat, cooling is by way of evaporation of moisture from the lungs and air passages
• horses cool by sweating unless suffering anhidrosis
• increases in humidity reduce evaporation effect and reduce ability of animal to maintain appropriate body temperature
• increased muscle breakdown caused by heat stress resulting in myoglobinuria and/or severe body breakdown
• loss of water from animal's body by evaporation in effort to maintain body temperature results in dehydration
• monitoring of hydration level at race meetings following travelling, excitability, heavy sweating and access to water prior to racing
• overheating may lead to heat exhaustion or stroke
• temperature data logging systems
• warm down, cool off, fitness level, rectal temperature and water cooling points, including:

• belly
• head
• legs
• neck.

Climatic conditions  may include:

• altitude
• cold and fog
• high humidity
• prevailing air pollution level, which may exacerbate climatic conditions
• wind and wind chill.

Digestive distress  may include:

• conditions that may result in suboptimal racing performance, including:

• colic
• dysphagia
• stomach ulcers.

Respiratory distress  may be evidenced by:

• bleeding or exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPD)
• chronic coughing or pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia (PLH)
• heart rate before and after race
• inflammatory airway disease (IAD)
• upper respiratory inflammation
• reactive airway disease (RAD)
• recovery time after exercise
• respiration rate and aerobic performance
• thumps or synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (SDF).

Nervous distress  may be indicated by:

• diarrhoea, possibly due to gastrointestinal disturbances associated with travel to race meeting
• dysphagia
• exertional rabdomyolisis (tying up)
• muscle cramps
• shivering
• overheating
• dehydrating
• twitching or kicking.

Impact from track camber and tightness  of turns on performance injuries may include:

• bone and soft tissue injuries, including:

• arthritis
• bowed tendons
• bone chips
• bursitis
• muscle damage
• shin soreness
• strained fetlock joints
• suspensory and check ligament
• tendonitis

• greyhound or horse reaction to different surfaces, cambers, inclines, turns or slopes
• harness camber compared to thoroughbred camber
• turn radius, camber and speed entering the turn.

Impact from track density and track materials  on performance injuries may include:

• hard surfaces near chutes and crossing may cause more severe injuries
• impact caused by turf roots of kikuyu and cool season grass
• track density based on:

• track materials
• track drainage and irrigation
• underlying track geology

• track materials, including:

• cinders
• dirt
• grass
• rubberised dirt
• sand
• synthetic grass

• range of surfaces for different training regimes and workloads
• thatch and mowing height.

Grading , mowing and watering techniques  relate to animal performance by:

• excessive grading in wet or heavy conditions may impact on animal's exercise intensity
• lack of watering causing dusty conditions may cause respiratory distress
• track condition and rating (e.g. fast, good, dead, slow or heavy going) may exacerbate animal's existing injury and relate directly to new injuries
• uneven track marks due to rushed grading may cause impact on animal's action
• uneven dragging may cause 'false footing'
• uneven rolling may cause 'bridging', resulting in 'false footing'.

Standard industry tools  may include:

• barometer
• moisture meter
• penetrometer
• rain gauge
• thermometer
• wind speed measurement.

Considerations when evaluating options  for improving track conditions may include:

• achievable and realistic actions on a given race day
• long-term renovation of track
• short-term management of track.

Track conditions for optimal greyhound or horse performance  are defined as:

• industry-agreed track conditions to suit majority of starters, not an individual greyhound's or horse's preferred conditions.

Weather conditions  evaluation as set down in:

• guidelines for racing animal welfare
• rules of racing.

Areas to be considered when presenting justification for adjusting or not adjusting track or environmental conditions  will include:

• animals
• general public
• image of racing
• options that are feasible or not feasible within time available, budget or resource constraints
• options that provide the opportunity to improve potential performance or increase or decrease risk of illness or injury.

Unit Sector 

Greyhound, harness and thoroughbred racing codes

Co-requisite units 

Functional Area 

Racing common