IRELAND HAS been in the grip of the most amazing weather conditions since the 1960s, with heavy falls of snow and sub-zero temperatures keeping us in a vice-like grip for the best part of two weeks. That being said, it has been noticeable that the whole island wasn't impacted upon, with the south and west of the country getting off mildly.

The only track racing that has taken place in this country since Thurles on November 25 has been on the all-weather at Dundalk, but Cork did race on Sunday last, December 12, giving many of the bigger yards their first chance to race on grass since then. With Jessica Harrington, Charles Byrne, Willie Mullins, Colm Murphy, Philip Rothwell, John Kiely and Colin Bowe all having runners, their state of preparedness has to be taken for granted.

Sometimes it is easy to forget the work and effort that goes into the racing industry, behind the silks, the leather and the glamour of race day, and just how this can be impacted upon by weather events.

Let's take a large yard for example, with over 100 horses riding out on a daily basis, a yard like Willie Mullins' in Co Carlow or Jessica Harrington's in Co Kildare, and let's look at a smaller yard, with less than 30 horses riding out like Richard Rath in Co Wexford.

With all your horses stabled, these animals have to be kept watered, fed and exercised at this time, and if they hold a racing engagement, they have to be prepared and be race ready, if they manage to race! None of this can be done without staff and with one in five workers not making it to work during the big freeze, yards had to come under pressure.

With many living nearby and some on site, a core number were on hand to carry out as many of these chores as possible. The horse feed, if not in stock and in the yard, had to be lorried on or in some cases it had to be collected by jeep and trailer. The yards had to be secure to walk on for man and beast, while stable hygiene had to be maintained, with mucking out and a plentiful supply of clean running water a must.

Frozen pipes, the bane of all our lives, have been much in evidence at all yards, with many temporary plumbing fixtures put in place, with a prediction that most will be left in place if they work! Now on a run of the mill day, this work is done as a matter of rote, but given the recent events, many yards may have struggled to attend to these basic chores. Bills are mounting up, staff have to be paid, owners want a runner let alone a winner, and yards need to race to earn a crust.

Are you beginning to get the picture? So our staff have made it to the yard most near every day, there is a sufficient feed now in stock, the bedding is in place, the yard is now kept clear of snow and ice - what do we do now? Let these highly-strung animals look out of their boxes, dreaming of Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Cheltenham or maybe even Tramore or Clonmel? Maybe for a day - but then, what is to be done?

It can sometimes seem to the outside world that racehorses should be given the same living conditions as you or I, but in truth they really are an outdoor animal and will be less likely to injure themselves out in the open air than boxed up. The electronic horse-walkers have been a godsend to many hard pressed yards, and a basic, low-grade level of exercise is guaranteed once the horses are given an hour or two on one.

Turn-out into a paddock was not possible, but some of the bigger yards have large indoor arenas that can and are used for these purposes. With some all-weather gallops covered in snow and some hard-packed with frost, the bigger yards did keep them free or were in a position to use other facilities.

Gordon Elliot, based in Co. Meath, had to send teams of his horses to Dundalk in Co. Louth to get a bit of serious work into them to prime them for future campaigns. Many other yards could not manage to get their horse boxes safely out of their own yards and on to roads safe enough to bring them elsewhere for a meaningful gallop. So where to from here?

With big meetings at Fairyhouse, Punchestown and Navan being postponed on numerous occasions, many trainers have had to re-enter their horses, but in the intervening time period, events will have changed a horse's condition and the fact that some may have had insufficient work put into them could and will see the racing campaign changed.

For many trainers, the need to get a race into their horse will now take precedence over where they race. This is a real headache for many, as racehorses are like a finely-tuned athlete and constant chopping and changing of race options and daily routine would not help a runner like Ireland's 400 metre runner, David Gillick, nor any racehorse.

The weather forecast from next weekend onwards seems to be more than a little worrying, and the slightly longer-term forecast as given by our New Zealand forecaster is not great until April, 2011! I know that they actually have horse racing on the snow in St. Moritz, where a special shoe is put onto the racing horses. If this forecast is true, we might just have to do it here. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to skate down the hill on Tramore racetrack or into the straight and face the hill at Navan, but I digress.

The weather impacts in many, many different ways on all sectors of racing affected, with jockeys depending on race riding and riding out for their income, and bookmakers needing live racing to generate money and encourage real people into their high street stores as well as at the track.

Racecourses will have suffered with advertising campaigns gone down the snowy Swanee River, and potential income, much-needed at this time, disappearing into a puff of smoke.

This industry is under enormous funding pressures and this cold snap has done little to assist an industry that employs up to 20,000 people, directly and indirectly. Times are indeed tough and the industry and sport deserves to thrive let alone survive.

It really does need the full support of everyone within it from our top trainers and jockeys to the farriers, feedstuff companies, veterinary surgeons, owners, horse breeders and the general public to ensure it does.

Why not get out to the races the next time they are near you? Why not bring a friend or two, or the family?

Racing returns, all things being equal, at Fairyhouse on the 15th, Clonmel on the 16th, Downpatrick on the 17th, Navan on the 18th and 19th, in addition to Thurles on the same day.

With festivals over Christmas from Leopardstown and Limerick from the 26th to the 29th, Down Royal on the 26th, Punchestown and Tramore on the 31st, and into the new year at Tramore on the 1st and Naas on the 2nd, there must be one near you?

- DICK WHITE