Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sun Worshiper Or Shade Seeker? No Common Denominator For Hot Horses

Though most humans seek shade on swelteringly hot days, horses don't necessarily feel the same way. Even when provided with a respite from the sun in the form of a run-in shed or shade trees, not all horses will use it, though most welfare guidelines recommend offering a horse a place to get out of the sun.

Drs. Iwona Janczarek, Anna Stachurska, Izabela Wilk, Anna Wiśniewska, Monika Różańska-Boczula, Beata Kaczmarek, Witold Kędzierski and Jarosław Łuszczyński created a study to test horses' preference for shade, sun or a mist curtain, which offers immediate cooling capabilities.

The team used 12 Warmbloods that were normally kept in stalls for the study. They turned out each horse for 45 minutes on a sandy paddock on a day when temperatures were between 84 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity was 42 percent. Almost half the paddock was covered in shade and there was a mist curtain in one corner.

The research team monitored heart variables to determine if the horses' behavior or emotional states were affected when they stood in different areas of the paddock. The scientists found that the horses had no strong preference on the amount of time spent in a particular area.

The horses showed slightly heightened relaxation when standing under the mist curtain, but they displayed similar levels of emotional arousal in all three areas. They showed no signs of overheating when standing in the sun.

The team suggests that additional studies be completed that focus on longer periods of turnout. The ability to choose between sun and shade may be crucial for maintaining body temperature, so the provision of shade for equine welfare is reasonable, they conclude.

Read the full study here.

2020 Figures Show Lowest Fatality Rate In History Of National Database; Juvenile Fatality Rate Up

An analysis of data from the 12^th year of reporting to the Equine Injury Database (EID) shows a decrease in the rate of fatal injury in 2020 (1.41 per 1,000 starts) compared to 2019 (1.53 per 1,000 starts), The Jockey Club announced today. The 2020 rate of fatal injury is the lowest number since the EID started collecting data in 2009. The risk of fatal injury in 2020 declined 7.8% from 2019 and 29.5% overall since 2009.

Based on the 2020 data, 99.86% of flat racing starts at the racetracks participating in the EID were completed without a fatality.

Key statistics from the 2020 analysis are as follows (figures represent the incidence of racing fatality per 1,000 starts):

By age

o 2-year-old: 1.69

o 3-year-old: 1.57

o 4+-year-old: 1.29

By race distance

o <6 furlongs: 1.66

o 6 – 8 furlongs: 1.35

o >8 furlongs: 1.22

By track surface

o Dirt: 1.49

o Turf: 1.27

o Synthetic: 1.02

For trends of the EID since 2009, please visit jockeyclub.com/pdfs/eid_12_year_tables.pdf.

Statistical Summary from 2009 to 2020

(Thoroughbred Flat Racing Only)

Calendar Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Rate	2.00	1.88	1.88	1.92	1.90	1.89	1.62	1.54	1.61	1.68	1.53	1.41

Two-year-olds have consistently been associated with the lowest incidence of racing fatality since the EID began in 2009. In 2020, the incidence for 2-year-olds was 43% higher than in 2019. Three-year-olds and horses four years of age and older saw 8% and 14% declines, respectively, in the incidence of racing fatality per 1,000 starts versus 2019. None of the differences in incidence among age groups were statistically significant.

The incidence of fatal racing injury on dirt surfaces in 2020 was the lowest on record at 1.49 per 1,000 starts. Races on the grass were 19% lower in 2020 versus 2019 and the fourth lowest for that surface since 2009. Synthetic once again had the lowest incidence of all racing surfaces at 1.02 racing fatalities per 1,000 starts.

The incidence of fatal injury per 1,000 starts for races shorter than six furlongs (1.66) was again greater than other distance categories of six furlongs to a mile (1.35) and over a mile (1.22). The incidence of fatal injury for both distance categories in excess of six furlongs were the lowest on record in the EID.

“Overall, there was an 8% decrease in the risk of fatal injury from 2019 to 2020. Since 2009, risk has declined by 29.5% (P<0.001) or equivalent to 140 fewer horses sustaining a fatal injury while racing in 2020 than would have occurred had there been no change in risk since 2009,” said Dr. Tim Parkin, the veterinary epidemiologist who has consulted on the EID since its inception. “We will dig deeper into the numbers in the coming months to better understand trends in the 2020 data.”

“Although we are thrilled to see improvement in the numbers from 2020 and commend the racetracks and regulatory authorities in their efforts to reduce injuries, other areas require closer study,” said Kristin Werner, senior counsel and administrator of the EID. “The recording of additional data through tools like the Electronic Treatment Records System and the Management Quality System of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory will give regulators, racetracks, and researchers a better understanding of horse health and racetrack safety, allowing for additional scrutiny and research aimed at preventing injuries.”

Since March 2012, racetracks have been able to voluntarily publish their statistics from the EID on The Jockey Club website. The racetracks that publish their EID statistics reported racing fatalities per 1,000 starts of 1.30 as compared to 1.47 for those that do not publish.

The 21 racetracks accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance reported 1.32 racing fatalities per 1,000 starts versus 1.48 for the 62 non-accredited tracks that raced in 2020 and reported to the EID.

The Jockey Club thanks all participating racetracks for supplying these critical data and continues to encourage the reporting of all injuries and fatalities occurring during racing and during morning training hours. All data entered into the EID goes through a multilevel quality control process to ensure the data is completely and accurately reported.

The EID statistics are based on injuries that resulted in fatalities within 72 hours from the date of the race. The statistics are for official Thoroughbred races only and exclude steeplechase races. Summary statistics for the EID are subject to change due to a number of considerations, including reporting timeliness.

The list of racetracks participating in the EID and detailed statistics from those tracks that voluntarily publish their results can be found at jockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=Advocacy&area=11.

Throughout the course of 2020, approximately 99.7% of all Thoroughbred starts were included in the EID.

The Equine Injury Database, conceived at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation's first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, was launched by The Jockey Club in July 2008 and seeks to identify the frequencies, types, and outcomes of racing injuries using a standardized format that generates valid statistics, identifies markers for horses at increased risk of injury, and serves as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries.

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Training Schedules Return To Normal At Laurel Amidst EHV-1 Quarantine

Training hours at Laurel Park will return to the regular schedule Monday, March 29, upon the recommendation of Dr. Michael Odian, Chief State Veterinarian for the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

For the past several weeks, horses in barns that had been under quarantine because of equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) have trained on the track at Laurel after regular training hours. Laurel is now considered one quarantine facility, as is Pimlico Race Course, and as of March 28 there were no positive EHV-1 cases at either facility.

Horses that are positive are housed at the former Bowie Training Center or at private farms. Each of the three barns being used at Bowie is considered a separate quarantine facility given their spacing on the property.

Training hours at Laurel are as follows: 5:30 to 10 a.m. on race days and 5:30 to 10:30 a.m. on dark days, with renovation breaks from 7-7:30 a.m. and 9-9:30 a.m.

The current 21-day quarantine at Laurel and Pimlico calls for only symptomatic horses or those with a temperature of 101.5 degrees or higher to be tested. If there are no more EHV-1 cases, the Pimlico quarantine will end April 12, and at Laurel, the date is April 18, according to Odian.

Live racing at Laurel was canceled March 27-29 and also April 1-3. No racing was scheduled for April 4, Easter Sunday. As of now, racing is scheduled to resume Thursday, April 8, subject to there not being additional EHV-1 cases. Only horses stabled at Laurel will be permitted to race until the Pimlico quarantine expires.

Horsemen are encouraged to continue taking horses' temperatures and to report any above 101.5 degrees to Dr. Libby Daniel, the Maryland Racing Commission Equine Medical Director, or Dr. Heidi Thomas, MJC Senior Veterinarian.

All backstretch employees are urged to continue various disinfection practices for barns and equipment and to refrain from interaction with other barns at MJC facilities. Veterinary officials said it's important to open up barns as much as possible to allow fresh air to circulate. It not only helps the horses but helps reduce the chances of spread of the virus in barns. It is also important to limit horse-to-horse contact and to keep stress on horses at a minimum.

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Study Finds Amniotic Extract Unhelpful To Speed Eye Healing In Horses

Equine eye injuries can be difficult to address and harder to heal – and they can be very painful for the horse. Any therapy that can be used to speed healing and decrease down time is welcomed by those who have had to administer eye meds to a horse.

A new experiment has shown that adding commercially available amniotic membrane to traditionally used antibiotics, antifungals, and pupil-dilating agents did not speed healing when compared with traditional medical treatments alone.

Drs. Victoria Lyons, Wendy Townsend, George Moore and Siqi Liang induced superficial corneal ulcers in both eyes of 10 healthy horses. One eye was treated with amniotic extract and the other eye was treated with the extract only to serve as the control. Both eyes were treated with topical therapies that included antifungal, antibiotics and drugs to dilate the pupil.

The ulcers were stained and photographed every 12 hours until they completely healed. Eyes treated with the amniotic fluid healed between 68.2 to 162.7 hours; eyes that used the control healed in 87.4 to 167.6 hours. No matter which therapy was used, the eyes healed in two distinct phases: a rapid initial phase and a slower second phase with a visible duration.

The researchers determined that adding a commercially available amniotic membrane extract to other topical medications did not significantly increase the rate of healing.

Read the article here.