AN ANIMAL campaign group has condemned the use of starting stalls in the racing industry following the death of a young North Yorkshire trained horse.

Animal Aid has released footage of the five-year-old gelding breaking his leg before the start of the race in the stalls, when he was spooked and reared, catching his leg in the stall gates.

At the start of the 2.35pm Ladbrokes Portland Handicap at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting on Saturday, September 10, Mukaynis was among 21 horses loaded into the starting stalls.

Trained by Kevin Ryan at his stables in Hambleton, near Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire, Mukaynis was reportedly startled by a stall handler running in front of the stalls just before the start.

Animal Aid horseracing consultant Dene Stansall said he watched as he reared and caught his leg in the gas, breaking his left foreleg.

Mr Stansall said: “Once freed, Mukaynis was seen with his leg hanging and swinging, held by mere skin and with the bone exposed. Minutes later, Mukaynis was shot with a silenced handgun.

“It took quite some time to load the horses into the stalls and by the time this particular horse entered, there was plenty of noisy activity. With this, the horse panicked and reared, trapping his left foreleg in the stall gates. A jockey was heard to shout: “He’s broke his leg.” Minutes later, the vet tried to inject the horse but the horse was trying to get away. They shot him. Race-goers were in tears as the poor animal was loaded onto a trailer and taken away.”

Mukaynis was owned by Quinn and Co, and out of a total of 11 British runners he had four wins and accumulated £36,345 in prize money.

Animal Aid has campaigned for 15 years against the racing industry, for which it believes horses are an expendable source of revenue and prestige.

The charity considers Catterick Racecourse to be the worse racecourse in the country for horse safety and welfare.

Mr Stansall said: “Starting stalls present particular dangers. Each year injuries are suffered, some of them fatal.

“Animal Aid argues for an end to their use. But, for as long as they do remain, a number of minimal improvements in their design and deployment are essential.”

They include a quick-release system at the front; no wheels or other obstacles below the canon bone level of a horse; and enough padding in the structure to provide genuinely adequate protection.

Robin Mounsey from British Horseracing Authority said: “The incident involving Mukaynis was a very sad, but exceptionally rare occurrence. The horse received instant attention from one of the several vets on-course at the time, but the nature of the injury meant that the horse could not be saved.  

“Horses are at risk whatever activity they are involved in. British racing is amongst the world’s best regulated animal activities but, as in any sport, it is impossible to eliminate risk entirely. There are risks involved whether horses are taking part in activity on racecourses – where stringent safety criteria are in place – or at home exercising, or turned out in a field.

“Animal Aid’s agenda is not just to eliminate the use of starting stalls, it is to ban all horseracing. This is despite the fact that this would have a catastrophic impact on the thoroughbred as a breed, effectively wiping it out, and depriving the 14,000 horses in training at any one time from levels of care and a quality of life that is virtually unsurpassed by any other domesticated animal, making them among the healthiest and best looked after two per cent of horses in the country.”

Mr Ryan was not available to comment, but secretary at his yard said: "It is very sad for everybody here because we all loved him, he was a really nice horse. It was a terrible accident, just awful."