cross-country | Horse Racing Free Tips

Eventing Study: Specific Factors Increase Odds Of A Fall During Cross-Country Phase

Falls during the cross-country phase of eventing competition can be dramatic, both visually and in terms of the potential for injury to both horse and rider. A Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI)-funded study sought to determine which factors increased the risk of a fall.

Drs. Euan Bennet and Tim Parkin of Bristol Veterinary School spearheaded the study. The duo used data from every horse-and-rider team who started in International, Championship, Olympic, or World Equestrian Games competition between January 2008 and December 2018.

In total, 202,771 horses competed in this timeframe, with 187,602 beginning the cross-country phase. Of these, 1.5 percent reported a fallen horse and 3.5 percent had an unseated rider.

The scientists reported that the following may contribute to a fall:

Horses competing at higher levels
Horses whose previous start was more than 60 days ago
Horses with minimal starts at their current competition level
Horses competing over longer cross-country courses
Horses with more competition in the cross-country phase
Mares were at increased odds of falling compared with geldings

Research into the riders showed that:

Male athletes showed increased odds of experiencing a fall
Younger athletes were more likely to fall
Horse-athlete combinations who recorded a score in the dressage phase that was higher than 50 (i.e. poor performance) showed increased odds of falling during the cross-country phase
Less experienced athletes were more likely to fall
Athletes whose previous start was more than 30 days ago demonstrated increased odds of a fall
Athletes who did not finish their previous event, for any reason, showed increased odds of a fall

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Modifications to reduce the risk of injury to both horse and rider have been suggested. These include adjusting minimum eligibility requirements (MERs) to ensure horses and riders are competing at appropriate ability levels.

The scientists hope the FEI will utilize this research to create evidence-based eventing rules that protect horse and rider safety as well as competitiveness.

A Racing Saddle On The Cross Country Course? Meyerhoff Shows How It’s Done

Bobby Meyerhoff recently finished 16th in the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI4*-S. While his results are impressive, even more awe-inspiring was the saddle in which he rode: Meyerhoff, aboard Lumumba, completed all three phases of competition in a racing exercise saddle.

Meyerhoff first tried riding in the bare bones saddle last fall, on Fortuna, another of his competition mounts. He found that the petite mare, who was often back sore, went much more comfortable in the race training saddle. Meyerhoff says that the saddle allows him to truly feel his horse—all along their back—and forces him to ride better, as there is a very specific area of the saddle where he must ride to stay in balance. He compares riding in the treeless race training saddle to riding bareback, but with stirrups.

Meyerhoff first used the unusual saddle in competition at the Tryon CCI4*-L in both dressage and showjumping, but he competed in the cross-country phase of the Kentucky event in the saddle as well. A formidable cross-country course in a traditional saddle, the weather made conditions even trickier, but Meyerhoff persevered in his unconventional tack to finish with no jumping faults and just 31.2 seconds outside of optimum time.

Study: More Than Half Of Eventers Coming Back From Cross Country With Mouth Sores

Concern over oral injuries from bit use has equine advocates questioning horse welfare in many disciplines, including harness racing and eventing. A Finnish study has shown that horses competing in eventing are at greater risk of developing mouth sores after the cross-country phase of competition.

Drs. Kati Tuomola, Nina Mäki-Kihniä, Anna Valros, Anna Mykkänen and Minna Kujala-Wirth looked into the mouths of 208 event horses at the conclusion of the cross-country phase at eight competitions. They found that 52 percent of the horses had acute oral lesions; of these, 22 percent were mild, 26 percent were moderate and 4 percent of the horses had severe lesions. The team found that oral bruising was more common than open wounds.

Researchers also found that horses competing in particularly thin or thick bits were at greater risk of oral lesions, likely due to mechanics and fit. Additionally, Warmbloods and cold-blooded horses were at higher risk of having oral lesions than ponies, and mares were more likely to have serious lesions than geldings.

The researchers advise that bit monitoring be implemented by horse owners and by competition management to ensure equine welfare. There was no association between lesions and competition placement during the study; high-performing horses are still at risk of oral lesions.

Read the article here.

Horses That Pass In-Hand Inspection May Not Complete XC Phase Of Eventing

A recent study has used a horse-behavior scale to identify high-level event horses at risk of poor cross-country performance. Drs. Sue Dyson and Andrea Ellis completed two studies: one was a preliminary study that used 35 horses competing on the second day of dressage at the 2018 Burghley CCI 4*. The main study used 70 horses warming up for dressage at the 2019 Badminton CCI 5* horse trials and 67 horses warming up for dressage at the 2019 Burghley horse trials.

Each horse was observed for between 10 and 12 minutes by Dr. Sue Dyson while they warmed up. She then she applied the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) to determine if the horse was pain-free and recorded her findings. The RHpE uses 24 behaviors to determine if a horse is experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort.

The behaviors include tilting the head, swishing the tail, staring for more than five seconds, spooking, rearing, bucking, exposing the tongue, moving the ears back for more than five seconds, clamping the tail or opening the mouth and separating the teeth for more than 10 seconds.

A horse that exhibits at least eight of the behaviors is believed to have a musculoskeletal issue. The more behaviors he shows, the more pain he is most likely experiencing. The most frequent score a non-lame horse garners is 2 out of 24; the study shows that a score of seven or more in four- and five-star equine competitors was more reliable to identify horses whose performance may be impaired because of pain.

The duo then compared RHpE scores for the competition horses to final results in terms of dressage penalties, cross-country performance, showjumping penalties and final placings. They found a moderate correlation between dressage penalty scores and the RHpE score; the correlation was much more pronounced in the cross-country phase: 10 of the 17 horses (59 percent) with an RHpE score of 7 or more failed to finish the cross-country phase; 39 out of 117 horses (33 percent) with a score below 7 failed to finish.

The team found no relationship between the RHpE score and showjumping performance. However, there was a significant relationship between total RHpE score and final horse placings, with horses having higher RHpE scores being placed lower than horses with low RHpE scores.

The scientists concluded that top-level competition horses at three-day events can pass the preliminary in-hand horse inspection, but show signs of lameness when ridden and demonstrate the behavioral changes assessed with the RHpE. Though there are many reasons a horse-and-rider team may not complete the cross-country phase of eventing competition, there is a strong correlation between horses that exhibit behaviors on the RHpE and a failure to complete. This indicates that underlying musculoskeletal discomfort may be a contributory cause to not finishing the cross-country phase of eventing.

Read the article here.