Tag: Horse Care

Horses, like their canine and human counterparts, have become heavier in recent years. A new study has found that this “plumper” look has been rewarded in the show ring, with judges choosing to place overweight equines over their skinnier counterparts. 

Dr. Shannon Pratt-Phillips researched the topic at the 2021 USEF Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Prat-Phillips noted that this trend is worrisome in that extra weight can increase a pony's risk of equine metabolic syndrome and laminitis. Extra weight also adds stress to joints. 

Pratt-Phillips and a colleague evaluated 337 medium and large ponies for body condition score and cresty neck score before the ponies entered the show ring to model (an in-hand competition where the entire horse can be viewed without a saddle). The ponies are given scores from 0 to 100 by three judges. 

The researchers compared the judge's overall scores to the body condition and cresty neck scores. The overall average showed that most ponies were overweight, with a 6.7 on the body condition score (out of 9). The average cresty neck score was 2.8 on the 5-point scale. This information indicates that most of the ponies at USEF Pony Finals are at risk of developing laminitis.

Comparing condition scores to model scores, it became apparent that overweight ponies were rewarded in the show ring: there was a significant relationship between body condition score and overall model score. Fatter ponies had higher model scores.

When looking solely at the large ponies, any pony with a body condition score below 6 did not garner a model score above 245/300, with an average closer to 225/300. Ponies with a body condition score of 8 or higher had top scores of 235/300, so grossly obese ponies were not rewarded in placings. 

The scientists conclude that no matter the pony's conformation, fatter ponies scored better. The duo is concerned that owners and trainers will attempt to add weight to their ponies to try to place better in competitions, putting pony welfare at risk. 

Pratt-Phillips recommends that judges and stewards become more educated about body condition scoring and have potential penalties for overweight equines, the same as are in place for equines that are too skinny – often these animals are excused from competition. 

Read more at Horse Sport. 

The post Study Finds Show Judges Reward Pudgy Ponies appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center announced the retirement this week of Drs. Dean Richardson, David Galligan, Virginia Reef, Corinne Sweeney, and Raymond Sweeney.

Richardson is well known in racing circles for his attempts to save fan favorite Barbaro, who fell victim to laminitis following a severe injury to his right hind leg in the 2006 Preakness. Richardson, who has served as Chief of Large Animal Surgery at New Bolton, has developed the use of locking compression plates in equine surgery, advanced imaging technology to improve surgical outcomes, and refined procedures to reduce infection after surgery. Besides his considerable respect in surgical practice, he has garnered numerous awards and is well known as a mentor to veterinary students at the school.

Earlier this year, Richardson was injured seriously in a riding accident necessitating surgery.

Sweeney is an internal medicine specialist who also served as associate dean for New Bolton Center. She has published peer-reviewed research on a wide range of medical topics from infectious disease to EIPH and has served as chair of the Association for Racing Commissioners International.

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During Wednesday's meeting of the Medication, Safety, and Welfare Committee of the California Horse Racing Board, committee members discussed a proposal to limit the number of high-speed furlongs accumulated by racehorses, both in training and racing.

The discussion was based on research conducted by Dr. Susan Stover and published in the Journal of Orthopedic Research in March of 2022, titled “Exercise history predicts focal differences in bone volume fraction, mineral density and microdamage in the proximal sesamoid bones of Thoroughbred racehorses.”

When researchers examined racehorses euthanized due to proximal sesamoid bone fractures versus those euthanized for injuries unrelated to the sesamoid bone, they found that horses suffering a proximal sesamoid bone fracture “participated in over twice as many lifetime works and races, accumulated nearly twice the lifetime work and race distance, had over twice as much time in training since last layup, and performed nearly twice the distance, events, and works each month, 1–12 months before death.”

Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, along with California equine safety task force members Dr. Dionne Benson and Dr. Tim Carpenter, has been hosting discussions on how this research might be applied to a rule which would help to prevent catastrophic breakdowns.

Balch said: “Summarizing, the question would be: based on research and objective standard, when would a horse reach a threshold level of high-speed furlongs where that horse's history would be flagged in some way, and that flag would result in extra scrutiny? Not just extra scrutiny by the attending and or the regulatory veterinarian, but potentially a mandatory nuclear scan, PET scan, or something.

“The types of injuries we're worried about here are things in particular that are not readily evident to the attending or regulatory vet. Implicit in Dr. Stover's research is that these are covert injuries of some kind, that would only be revealed in a diagnostic exam.”

Dr. Benson echoed Balch's concerns: “Quite frankly, some of the horses that get injured, we've looked at. They are doing extremely well and they are passing vet exams, both by their attending vet and by our vets. So, I think maybe we need to look at being a little bit more aggressive in those horses with the PET scans, the MRIs, the bone scans, those kinds of diagnostics.”

The discussion regarding a specific rule was ultimately tabled due to concerns about a lack of specific numbers and costs of the diagnostic exams.

In addition, there was concern that such a rule would only protect horses while they are in the state of California, thus would not be effective unless enacted as a national rule. Dr. Benson suggested that the idea might be best presented as a suggestion from California stakeholders to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

In another move aimed at decreasing major musculoskeletal injuries, the committee and subsequently the CHRB approved for 45-day public comment rule amendments to increase scrutiny on horses which have not recorded a work or race for 90 days.

“An initial examination will be required by both a regulatory veterinarian and the attending veterinarian, including review of veterinary and training records for the previous 60-day period, prior to the horse going to the track to train,” the CHRB meeting packet explains. “Additionally, a follow up examination will be required between 30 and 45 days. The goal is to provide a baseline examination and identify any at-risk factors that may predispose a horse from suffering a catastrophic injury related to the shins, tibias, shoulder, pelvis, etc.”

Further details on the potential new rule may be found here: CHRB meeting packet.

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A recent study has shown that a pathogenic bacteria called Sarcina may be associated with gastric ulcers in the glandular region of horse's stomachs. Sarcinca can slow the emptying of the stomach, possibly irritating its lining and causing ulcers.

Thoroughbred racehorses used in a study had up to 450 times more Sarcinca in their glandular ulcer microbiota than in their healthy glandular tissue. This strongly links Sarcinca and equine gastric glandular disease, reports The Horse. 

Dr. Sarah Voss, an equine internal medicine clinical teaching associate in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge, and colleagues performed gastroscopy to examine the differences in the stomachs of horses kept in the same environment which had glandular ulcers and those that did not. 

The racehorses examined were all housed in the same training facility in Scotland; the study used five geldings and one mare between the ages of 2 and 7. All horses were examined twice and one additional horse was examined once. 

All horses were fed free-choice haylage, concentrated feed, and chaff. None of the horses were performing as well as expected, so the trainer stopped training and asked for a veterinarian to scope for possible ulcers.

Ulcers were identified in the squamous and/or glandular region of every horse. The researchers brushed each lesion through the endoscope to obtain samples. They used additional brushes on healthy tissue near each lesion.

Ribosomal RNA sequencing was then run on all samples. The scientists found the dominant bacteria in healthy tissue was Proteobacteria. This bacterium was present 2.5 times more in healthy tissue than in glandular ulcers. 

The second most-abundant bacteria in healthy tissue was Firmicutes. However, Firmicutes was found in glandular ulcer samples as well – at twice the rate of its prevalence in healthy tissues. Voss hypothesizes that this most likely coincides with the increase of Sarcina, which is a Firmicutes bacterium. 

Present in only 0.2 percent of healthy tissues, Sarcina was found in 92.4 percent of glandular lesions. The rates were very high in two of the three horses with equine gastric glandular disease (EGGD).

Though Sarcina is most likely part of the normal gastric microbiota, horses are most likely picking up Sarcina from the environment, the researchers said. It is also likely that the bacteria is associated with EGGD. In humans, Sarcina is linked to poor gastric emptying; horses with glandular ulcers that contain Sarcina may also have the same issues.

Voss encouraged veterinarians to look at gastric emptying time in horses suffering from EGGD; she believes it will play a role in better understanding EGGD. 

Read more at The Horse.

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