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Study: Sedation And Whip Use May Lead To Trailering Trouble

Trouble getting a horse on a trailer is common; it often takes time and patience to get a horse to the point where he will load and travel well. However, if the horse needs to get on a trailer and there isn't multiple hours or days to work with him, there are quite a few tricks horse handlers can use, employing everything from feed to brooms to whips to sedation to get him in the trailer.

Nearly 14.5 percent of responders to an Italian study indicated that they had issues loading horses in their care onto trailers within the last two years. The 37-question, online survey was sent to people who were directly involved with the transportation of horses, either for recreational or professional purposes. The survey aimed to identify risk factors for problem behaviors and injuries.

The study team, made up of Drs. Francesca Dai, Martina Zappaterra, Michela Minero, Francesca Bocchini, Christopher Riley and Barbara Padalino, received 148 responses. The questions they asked related to the handler's equine background, vehicles, practices and experience. They were also asked if horses they handled sustained transport injuries within the last two years.

The most common problem behaviors were related to fear and anxiety before loading, including kicking and refusing to get on the trailer, and loss of balance while in the trailer. They discovered that the probability of the horse displaying an issue were:

three times more likely if the driver didn't check the brakes before hauling
five times more likely if the handler was female
five times more likely if the horse handler used a whip at loading
five times more likely if the vehicle wasn't designed for horse protection and if the trailer didn't have shavings as bedding
13 times more likely if the animal was sedated,

Nearly 11.5 percent of respondents said that their horses had injuries directly related to transportation within the last two years. The researchers determined that sedation and coercive equipment, like using whips, were major risk factors for injuries. Though sedation may be helpful to get a horse on a trailer, it can affect the ability of a horse to balance once the trailer is in motion.

Horses were more likely to be injured during travel if the trailer brakes weren't checked before transport, there was no padding on the chest bar and if there were no rubber mats on the floor. Horses that exhibited problem behaviors during loading and transport were more likely to be injured.

The study team concluded that transportation is a risk to the wellbeing of both the horse and the handler, and suggested that more research is needed.

Read the full study here.

Sidewinder Gait: A Poor Prognosis No Matter The Cause

Sidewinder gait in horses looks as odd as its name: An affected horse walks with his body and pelvis drifting out to one side; a severely affected horse may spin or circle with their hind legs moving in one direction and their thoracic limbs moving differently to compensate.

The disease is poorly understood, in part because it's difficult for the horse to stand in one place or symmetrically load his hind limbs. Sidewinder gait can come on gradually or suddenly.

Drs. Monica Aleman, Emily Berryhill, Kevin Woolard, Charlotte Easton‐Jones, Tania Kozikowski‐Nicholas, Sue Dyson and Isabelle Kilcoyne hypothesized that the gait might be caused by neurologic or musculoskeletal issues. They completed a retrospective study of 37 horses that were seen for sidewinder gait at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis, and the Centre for Equine Studies at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England, between 2000 and 2019.

Some horses were excluded from the study for a variety of reasons; the scientists used a total 24 horses for the study. They found that the average age of the affected horses was 18.9 years old and that sidewinder gait came on suddenly in 10 of the cases.

In total, 16 cases were caused by neurologic issues, including dynamic thoracolumbar spinal cord compression (five cases), equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (four cases), thoracic myelopathy (four cases), gliosis (two cases) and thrombosis of thoracic spinal cord segments (one case).

Eight cases of sidewinder gait were caused by non-neurologic reasons: osteoarthritis of the hip (four cases), multiple displaced pelvic fractures (two cases), rupture of the ligament at the femoral head (one case) and severe necrotic damage of pelvic muscles (one case).

The scientists reported that though short-term improvement was reported, the sidewinder gait remained unresolved in all horses. The fatality rate was nearly 80 percent (19 of the 24 horses). Of the horses that lived, not one resumed the level of previous activity.

The researchers determined that sidewinder gait is normally seen in older horses of any breed or sex and can have neurologic or musculoskeletal origins. The condition has a poor prognosis for function and life.

Read the study here.

Fierement Retired to Breeders Stallion Station

Four-time Group 1 winner Fierement (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}-Lune d’Or {Fr}, by Green Tune) has been retired due to a suspensory ligament injury in his right foreleg. The bay sustained the injury when running third in the Dec. 27 G1 Arima Kinen Grand Prix. Named the 2020 Japanese Champion Older Horse, the 5-year-old will stand at Breeders Stallion Station this year.

Bred by Northern Racing and raced by Sunday Racing, the son of G1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Lune d’Oro won three of his four starts at three including the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger). Kept in training in 2019, he added his first edition of the G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in five starts. Never off the board in his final season, Fierement narrowly won his second Tenno Sho (Spring) last May before a second in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and the aforementioned third in the Arima Kinen. He retires with a mark of 12-5-3-2 and earnings of $6,521,654.

He is a half-brother to the dam of MGSW and MG1SP Inns of Court (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). This is the extended family of French Champion Miler Luth Enchantee (Fr) (Be My Guest).

The post Fierement Retired to Breeders Stallion Station appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Lead Affects Duration Of Hoof-To-Ground Contact On Turns

Research has show that sharp turns increase the risk of ligament-related limb injuries in racehorses and that catastrophic injuries are more likely to occur on a turn than on a track straightaway.

In natural settings, how an animal negotiates curves while moving is important to survival, especially during interactions with a predator where speed alone may not ensure escape. Horses routinely travel in curves and bends while at liberty, racing and in other disciplines. The increased force on front limbs while galloping on a turn is suspected to be associated with increased injury risk.

Drs. Rebecca Parkes, Thilo Pfau, Renate Weller and Thomas Witte created an experiment using seven Thoroughbreds galloping on large radius curves. Each horse was equipped with an inertial measurement unit with GPS on their sacrum, as well as with two hoof-mounted accelerometers and retro-reflective markers on their front legs.

Each horse galloped counterclockwise around the track two to four times; they were filmed at 120 frames per second by 10 cameras. The scientists determined speed and curve from the GPS information and estimated the centripetal acceleration. The accelerometers provided information on stride, swing durations, stance and the percent of the total stride that the hoof is on the ground. The front-leg markers tracked limb angles.

For horses that galloped on the correct lead, the left front leg was on the ground longer on both the straightaway and the curve; for horses that galloped on the right lead, there was no difference in length of time the hoof was on the ground on the straightaway or the curve.

The researchers conclude that the forces at play on a horse's leg when it runs on a curve are complex and that more research is needed. They note that the study doesn't take into account the hind limbs of galloping horses, which mainly propel the horse forward, while the forelimbs apply vertical impulse to the horse's body. They suggest that additional work be done regarding the role of the hind legs, horizontal body bend and the effects of torque on limbs when a horse is running on a curve.

Read the study here.