In Istanbul, the Jockey Club of Turkey runs a state-of-the-art hospital for hundreds of horses at Veliefendi Hipodromu, the country's oldest racetrack. Grooms and trainers there work with vets and nurses while owners wait anxiously, hoping their prize runners, often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, will recover quickly and run faster than ever. Reuters photographer Murad Sezer visited the hospital several times a week over two months to capture the following scenes of admission, treatment, prescription, and surgery.
The Weird Logistics of Horse Surgery
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Read moreA racehorse is hoisted up before its operation at Veliefendi equine hospital in Istanbul on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse is escorted by its grooms as it waits for an anesthetic in the induction and recovery box at Veliefendi equine hospital in Istanbul on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreAn x-ray is taken of a racehorse's leg at Veliefendi equine hospital on March 27, 2015. #
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Read moreThe head of veterinary surgery Hulya Hartoka (right) points at an x-ray of a racehorse as she speaks to the owner at Veliefendi equine hospital on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreVeterinary technicians perform shockwave physiotherapy on a racehorse at Veliefendi equine hospital on March 17, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse waits for an anesthetic in the induction and recovery box as a veterinarian (right) prepares for an operation on March 4, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse loses consciousness after being anesthetized in the induction and recovery box on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse begins to lose consciousness following an anesthetic on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse begins to lose consciousness following an anesthetic in the induction and recovery box on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse undergoes castration at Veliefendi equine hospital on March 30, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse is hoisted up before its operation on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse is positioned ahead of its operation on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse inhales an anesthetic during an operation at Veliefendi equine hospital on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreThe veterinary technician Gokhan Boyraz shaves a racehorse's leg as he prepares it for keyhole surgery to remove bone fragments on March 3, 2015. #
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Read moreThe head veterinary surgeon Hulya Hartoka (left) cleans up a racehorse's joint during the removal of bone fragments on March 4, 2015. #
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Read moreThe head veterinary surgeon Hulya Hartoka stitches the leg of a racehorse following keyhole surgery to remove bone fragments on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreThe head veterinary surgeon Hulya Hartoka (left) and the veterinary surgeon Dursun Dogan bandage the leg of a racehorse following keyhole surgery to remove bone fragments on April 6, 2015. #
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Read moreA racehorse is escorted by its groom during treatment at Veliefendi equine hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 17, 2015. #
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