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Study: Racetrack Fatalities In Sweden, Norway Often Result Of Sudden Collapse

A new study reveals that the main cause of racetrack fatalities in horses racing in Norway and Sweden is sudden collapse, not catastrophic injury, as was previously suspected.

Dr. Ingunn Risnes Hellings and a research team looked at fatalities recorded by the Norwegian and Swedish Trotting Associations from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2019; 48 horses died during this period—38 Standardbreds and 10 Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters. The scientists looked at breed, age, sex, frequency of starts, time of year, and racing distance in an attempt to identify risk factors. They also noted whether the horse competed in a trotting race under saddle or in harness.

Fatalities were included in the study if the horse was euthanized after becoming injured immediately before the race, during the race, or within an hour of racing.

The researchers found that 14.5 percent of fatalities were from traumatic or orthopedic injuries, while the rest were considered “sudden athletic death.” This is a distinct difference from the primary cause of racetrack fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses, in which most suffer catastrophic orthopedic injuries. Sudden athletic death in Thoroughbreds occurs at a rate of between 9 and 19 percent.

The team also found:

A higher number of starts in the last 30 days increased risk of sudden death
30 horses died of acute circulatory collapse due to cardiac or pulmonary failure
10 horses died from hemorrhaging after blood vessel rupture
Seven of the 48 study horses were euthanized because of catastrophic injury
70 percent of the 40 horses in the sudden athletic death category had marked bleeding in the lungs
The rate of sudden athletic death was similar between both breeds

The scientists determined that the rate of catastrophic injury fatalities was comparatively low and that suspected or confirmed cardiopulmonary causes of death were similar to previous studies. They note that additional investigation into the pathologies causing the cardiopulmonary events is warranted.

Read the full study here.

Death Of Former Standardbred Racehorse Leads To Animal Cruelty Arrests In Texas

The death of former standardbred racehorse Yankey Conway has led to a pair of animal cruelty arrests in Dallas County, Texas, reports WFSA12 News.

Vicky Stoudenmire had been nursing the 16-year-old “Yankey” back to health at her farm in Selma, the animal reportedly recovering from a broken hip. Sherriff Mike Granthum said a 17-year-old broke onto Stoudenmire's property and stole the horse, and was later seen on a social media video racing the horse against a fast-moving vehicle.

Stoudenmire said Yankey was ridden for three days until he could no longer stand.

According to Sherriff Granthum, the 17-year-old and his 23-year-old friend Terrius Smith then loaded Yankey onto a trailer and dumped him in a creek, where the horse drowned.

Both have been charged with aggravated animal cruelty, and the 17-year-old has also been charged with second-degree theft of property.

Bit-Related Injuries In Harness Racehorses

Selecting and fitting a bit to an individual horse and then using it skillfully and sympathetically serve as hallmarks of nuanced horsemanship, no matter the discipline. When mouth injuries directly related to bitting occur, even the most conscientious of horsemen are often baffled by their appearance. Researchers attempted to pinpoint the root cause of these injuries in a recent study of harness racehorses.^* Should the blame be assigned to specific bits, other pieces of common equipment, or race performance?

Researchers examined the mouths of 261 trotters, including 151 Standardbreds, 78 Finnhorses (a native lightweight draft), and 32 ponies, for bruises and wounds immediately following a race. They looked at specific bit-contact areas: the inner and outer corners of the lips, bars of the lower jaw, cheek tissue near the second premolar tooth, tongue, and roof of the mouth.

The researchers then collected information about the type of bit used for each horse, making special note of the thickness and composition of the mouthpiece. Details of other equipment were taken, when applicable, including the use of an overcheck, jaw strap, or tongue-tie. Past racing history was mined from a reliable online database.

Injuries were observed in 84 percent of the horses in the study, regardless of the type of bit worn, and half of those were classified as moderate or severe. Five horses (2 percent) had visual blood outside of the mouth from the wounds.

Compared with horses wearing a single-jointed, half-cheek snaffle, trotters that wore a Crescendo bit, Mullen-mouth regulator bit, or a straight plastic bit had a greater likelihood of moderate or severe injury to the mouth. Bar lesions were more common in horses outfitted with unjointed bits. Other tack and race performance did not factor into risk for oral lesions, according to the researchers.

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“While this study serves to highlight the physical injuries caused by bits among specific high-performance horses, it is important to note that lesions may be severe enough to hinder comfortable chewing of forages, especially if hay or chaff is stemmy,” said Catherine Whitehouse, a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research. This in turn could affect forage consumption, leading to diminished body condition, onset of gastric ulcers, and loss of performance.

Further, mouth pain can be a source of worry or stress for horses, even while resting. “Racehorses have a high incidence of gastric ulceration, the effects of which can be assuaged by conscientious management, which may include the use of research-proven digestive supplements,” Whitehouse said.

^*Tuomola, K., N. Mäki-Kihniä, A. Valros, and A. Mykkänen. 2021. Risk factors for bit-related lesions in Finnish trotting horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 53:1132-1140.

Bone Adaptation In Growing Foals

Mechanical loading strengthens bone during growth, so exercise during childhood and adolescence has been shown to have lifelong benefits on skeletal health in humans. Similarly, exercised foals show greater bone size and strength, and resistance to bending and torsional distortion, compared to pasture-exercised control foals.¹

Because the fetlock joint must withstand incredible forces, high-performance horses, including Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses, often sustain injuries at this site. The joint connects the long and short pastern bones, known also as the first and second phalanx.

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A recent study of sound Standardbred foals, all trotting-bred, characterized how the long pastern bone adapts to changing loads during growth through the use of regular computed tomography (CT) scans during the first year of life. In addition to measuring strength and composition changes in the bone, researchers calculated strain energy density, a biomechanical metric of potential bone remodeling.²

Growth-related changes in mineral density and bone area at various bone points (distal epiphysis, mid-diaphysis, and proximal epiphysis) were assessed. These three points were further divided into four functional quadrants (dorsal, medial, lateral, palmar). Mineral density and bone area uniformly increased in the diaphysis and a portion of the proximal epiphysis, the medial quadrant, but not in the fracture-prone lateral quadrant. Strain energy density was constant during growth, indicating bone adaptation to standing quietly, the primary activity of Standardbred foals, according to prior observation by researchers, which revealed that foals between the ages of two and five months spent 80 percent of their time at a standstill.

In sum, “the work provides a baseline longitudinal characterization of normal remodeling of the equine forelimb first phalanx during the first year of life and its effect of strain energy density,” the researchers explained. “This is an essential prerequisite to making evidence-based recommendations for training regimens that may encourage bone growth in areas prone to fracture during development. A properly prepared musculoskeletal system may lead to fewer fractures, thus reducing the unnecessary wastage of equine athletes.”

In addition to exercise, proper nutrition of the mare throughout gestation and of the foal during all growth phases fosters future soundness. “Nutritional management of young horses starts with an appropriate, good-quality forage. Fortified concentrates can then be fed to meet energy, mineral, and vitamin shortfalls,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutrition advisor at Kentucky Equine Research.

“Aside from hay and concentrates, supplements designed to increase bone health can be used to support young athletes. Triacton, a supplemented formulated by Kentucky Equine Research, contains a novel source of calcium and an array of bone-building nutrients designed to increase bone density, with the ultimate goal of promoting long-term soundness,” she explained. “Research in weanlings, for example, showed that Triacton had a positive effect on density of the cannon bone.”

¹Firth, E.C., C.W. Rogers, P.R. van Weeren, A. Barneveld, C.W. McIlwraith, C.E. Kawcak, A.E. Goodship, and R.K.W. Smith. 2011. Mild exercise early in life produces changes in bone size and strength but not density in proximal phalangeal, third metacarpal and third carpal bones of foals. Veterinary Journal 190:383-389.

²Moshage, S.G., A.M. McCoy, J.D. Polk, and M.E. Kersh. 2019. Temporal and spatial changes in bone accrual, density, and strain energy density in growing foals. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 103.

Article reprinted courtesy of Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit equinews.com for the latest in equine nutrition and management, and subscribe to The Weekly Feed to receive these articles directly (equinews.com/newsletters).

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