bone health | Horse Racing Free Tips

University of California Davis released new research in the journal Scientific Reports exploring the relationship between training and bone health in racehorses in the US. The study reports that high-speed and intensity exercise may be associated with more damage and reduced robustness in injured lower leg bones in racehorses.

Among the findings, UC Davis's Sarah Shaffer and her colleagues explored the relationship between exercise and bone damage, while examining the proximal sesamoid bone (a bone in the lower leg) during the necropsy of 20 racehorses. The authors examined the fractured and intact proximal sesamoid bones from 10 horses who had suffered fatal fractures. They compared the bone mineral density, bone volume, and microdamage in this sample to intact proximal sesamoid bones of 10 control horses. Case horses had a bone lesion with high levels of microdamage and low bone volume. These observations were used to estimate the rate of remodeling occurring in the sesamoid bones.

The authors also modeled the relationship between bone damage and remodeling, and exercise intensity, time off from exercise (layups), and exercise levels between two and 10 months before the racehorse died. For injured horses, damage at the lesion site was associated with high-speed workouts in the four months prior to death, as well as greater time between races while the horse was in active training. Frequent high-speed exercise before death was also associated with lower bone density at the lesion site. However, at other locations, higher rates of remodeling were associated with more cumulative races in the 10 months prior to death.

To view the complete study, click here.

The post Study on the Impact of Training on Bone Robustness in Racehorses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are investigating whether mile-long trot sets might protect foals from leg fractures later in life. Leg fractures can happen in any horse, but lower leg fractures are of more concern in horses that race or jump competitively. Most fractures occur in horses that are between two and 10 years old.

Dr. Annette McCoy, Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery at the UIUC College of Veterinary Medicine and member of the research team, notes that mild exercise early in life stimulates bone growth in horses – particularly in areas prone to fracture — though how is not completely understood. McCoy will see if parallels can be drawn from human medical studies, which have shown that kids who exercise are less prone to injury as adolescents and adults. The bone changes the human subjects experience from exercise seem to be sustained over time.

McCoy and her team will study 12 Standardbred foals housed on the university farm beginning when they are eight weeks old. The scientists will perform a baseline CT exam to measure bone density and volume on the forelegs of each foal. The foals will then be split into two groups: one group will complete an eight-week exercise plan where they trot rapidly over 1,500 yards once a day, five days per week; the second group will serve as the control and will not be exercised. In a previous study, McCoy found that foals living outside were relatively inactive nearly 85 percent of the time.

At 16 weeks old, the foal's forelegs will be scanned again to compare bone development. At 12 months old, a final CT scan will be performed. A computer model will predict the effects of exercise interventions on bone properties.

Tag: bone health

Study on the Impact of Training on Bone Robustness in Racehorses

New Study Will Help Determine Exercise Effects On Bone Health