After pushing back their usual 12:40 p.m. post time to 1:50 p.m. due to heat, a severe thunderstorm forced the Maryland Jockey Club to cancel Laurel Park's live Friday program following the seventh race, with just two races remaining on the card. Racing will resume Saturday at 12:40 p.m. with a 10-race card.
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Due to projected extreme temperatures and expected heat index for Thursday, Aug. 12, Indiana Grand Racing & Casino will cancel the late afternoon racing program.
The decision to cancel was made in a joint effort by Indiana Grand management and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. All entities agreed the safety of all equine and human athletes is always the utmost of importance in extreme temperatures forecasted for Central Indiana. The area is currently under a heat advisory through Thursday, Aug. 12.
Racing will resume Saturday, Aug. 14 with an all-Quarter Horse program beginning at 10 a.m.
Live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is in progress through Monday, Nov. 8. The 120-day racing season offers action Monday through Thursday with a first post of 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Racing begins at 3:25 p.m. on Thursdays.
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While many horses wear leg boots or wraps when working to prevent injury, recent studies report that these boots may increase the temperature leg temperature and harm the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), reports The Horse.
Researchers from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) created a study to determine whether different leg wraps increase the temperature of the leg during exercise. Graduate student Luke Brock explained that the equine lower limb has little muscle below the knee and hock, so it cools itself by taking the heat away from the skin's surface. Using a boot or bandage to the leg creates an insulating effect, which can harm the SDFT.
Heat dissipation depends on leg protection design and application, material permeability, heat produced during exercise, temperature and humidity outside, and rate of ambient air exchange. The MTSU research team compared six types of leg protection: a neoprene boot, perforated neoprene boots, plant-based neoprene boots, cross-country boots, elastic track bandages, and fleece polo wraps.
Each horse wore each type of boot over six exercise sessions, which involved 20 minutes of work followed by 180 minutes of standing recovery. Each horse wore one boot on a foreleg; the other leg served as a control. A special tool was used to measure limb temperature and humidity every minute the horse wore the boot.
The team discovered that the leg not wearing any boot had the lowest temperature. The fleece polo wrap caused the most heat and humidity buildup. All limbs wearing boots rose to temperatures that could harm tendon cells. None of the treated limbs returned to their baseline temperature after the recovery period.
The researchers determined the limb's cooling ability is impaired by boots and wraps, which can damage the SDFT. Before applying boots, the team recommends riders consider the intensity of the workload, the ambient temperature, boot design and material, and how the horse goes.
If a horse wears leg protection, it's best to remove it as soon as possible once the horse is done working, then cold horse the legs, they conclude.
Read more at The Horse.
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Horses are notoriously sensitive creatures, with their face, legs and flanks especially receptive to touch, heat and pressure.
A new study has been completed that measures equine facial sensitivity to touch, pressure and heat; it's hoped that results could help idiopathic headshakers. Horses that suffer from headshaking are believed to be have a hypersensitivity of the trigeminal nerve, reports The Horse.
Dr. Kata O. Veres-Nyéki and her research team measured the facial sensitivity and nerve functions of horses using handheld devices. These testing methods allow the researchers to detect differences in tolerance and also to determine if pain relief measures are successful.
The scientists used 34 Warmblood horses in their study, ranging in age from 1 to 23 years old. They tested how sensitive the horses were to touch using a thin, flexible stick called a von Frey filament. Thermodes, which are medical heating devices, were pressed gently against the horse's face and warmed from 86 degrees F to 141 degrees F to determine how sensitive they were to heat. Pressure sensitivity was tested using a handheld algometer, which gradually increased the pressure placed on a silicone tip.
All three tests were stopped when a horse reacted in any way to the contact; this included twitching, blinking reactively or moving the head away. Age did affect horse's tolerance level to all three tactics, with horses becoming more tolerant as they aged. It's suspected that this is due to cumulative damage to the nervous system.
The scientists pinpointed that tactile sensitivity is best tested on the nostril; pressure sensitivity is best measured on each side of the jaw; and heat sensitivity best measures on the forehead over the eye. Veres-Nyéki notes that facial sensitivity testing of individual horses may help diagnose nerve sensory abnormalities.
The study team noted that clipping horses may limit their sensitivity. Additionally, they suggest that riders and trainers consider using gentler equipment on the heads of younger horses as their sensitivity thresholds are lower than aged horses.
Read more at The Horse.
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