Heart monitors for horses, shaded pens for bulls part of rodeo safety at Calgary Stampede

Bill Graveland · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Tents are being acceptable up to supply shadiness for bulls and broncs and immoderate chuckwagon horses are to beryllium fitted with tiny electrocardiograms astatine the upcoming Calgary Stampede.

After scorching vigor astatine the rodeo past summer, Ed Pajor, a prof of carnal behaviour and payment successful the University of Calgary's module of veterinary medicine, says the animals could usage a break.

"We saw things similar accrued respiration complaint successful immoderate of the bulls. We saw immoderate bulls drooling. These are signs that the animals mightiness beryllium experiencing immoderate discomfort owed to the heat," Pajor said astatine a quality league Tuesday.

The assemblage is moving with the Stampede to survey immoderate of the animals this year. They'll specifically look astatine whether bucking bulls and broncos volition beryllium happier and healthier if they person a shady spot to bent retired close earlier the competition.

"It seems similar a beauteous straightforward question," said Pajor, adding if shadiness is beneficial, the Stampede would person to determine whether to put successful much structure coverings successful the future.

Additional probe astatine the rodeo is to absorption connected the bosom wellness of horses successful the chuckwagon races.

Dr. Renaud Léguillette, with the university's veterinary school, specializes successful equine wellness and performance, and works intimately with chuckwagon horses during the Stampede.

His probe includes identifying successful equine humor a baseline for troponin — a macromolecule released erstwhile the bosom musculus is damaged — to way underlying cardiovascular oregon different wellness issues.

"The extremity of our probe is to forestall cardiac accidents during the chuckwagon racing owed to a cardiac problem," said Léguillette.

"There are immoderate horses who person much electrical enactment issues erstwhile they contention oregon person a harder clip to retrieve from the races."

At the Stampede, outrider horses and horses pulling the wagons are to beryllium fitted with electrocardiograms earlier and during the races.

Léguillette said the devices and the humor tests tin amusement what horses are astatine a higher hazard of cardiac apprehension and that accusation is passed connected to chuckwagon drivers.

"I telephone it similar a greenish light, an orangish airy and a reddish light. The reddish airy horses, I volition decidedly person a treatment with the drivers ... they are precise responsive, acrophobic and volition marque the close decisions."

An authoritative with the Stampede said probe successful this country could payment an full industry.

"We cognize determination is an constituent of hazard successful each sport. Our extremity is to make the safest conditions possible. That's wherefore each of this probe takes spot ... to region each of those elements of risk," said Kristina Barnes, the Stampede's manager of agriculture and occidental events.

"Can we region wholly that constituent of risk? No. But thing that we tin power we surely will."

The 10-day solemnisation of occidental culture, which runs from July 4 to 13, has agelong been a people of carnal rights groups. The Vancouver Humane Society wants the rodeo information of the Stampede eliminated.

"We're seeing deaths astatine the Calgary Stampede astir each azygous year. It's truly not a substance of if different carnal volition dice astatine the Stampede ... it's when," said Chantelle Archambault with the group.

"Last year, determination were 4 carnal deaths. It besides marks astatine slightest 109 animal deaths astatine the Stampede since we began tracking fatalities successful 1986."