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Study: Four Risk Factors For Musculoskeletal Injuries In Racehorses Identified

Musculoskeletal injuries continue to plague Thoroughbred racehorses around the world, despite ongoing research into their causes. Many injuries occur during training, though many tracks report only race-day injuries.

Drs. Kylie L. Crawford, Anna Finnane, Clive Phillips, Ristan Greer, Solomon Woldeyohannes, Nigel Perkins, Lisa Kidd and Benjamin Ahern sought to determine the risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries and see if these factors were different for 2-year-old racehorses and older racehorses.

The team focused their study on Thoroughbreds training in southeast Queensland; they used injuries reported from training stables over a 56-week study. Control horses were recruited for every injury case. In total, information was gathered on 202 injured horses and 202 uninjured horses. Trainers and their staff were interviewed weekly regarding both injured and uninjured horses.

For this population of horses, the study team found four factors associated with higher odds of injury:

2-year-old horses that were prepped for racing for between 10 and 14 weeks. Increasing length of preparation was linked to higher odds for injury in all horses, but particularly in 2-year-olds. Horses not given adequate time for their tissues to repair and adapt to race training are more prone to injury.
2-year-old Thoroughbreds out of maiden mares (these horses were specifically at risk for shin soreness). They note that mares that have had multiple foals tend to have larger, heavier foals, which could be associated with bone density and ability to withstand race training.
Thoroughbreds of all ages that ran 1.5 miles to 2.3 miles at a fast gallop (faster than 34mph) in the four weeks preceding injury
3-year-olds and older horses that ran 1.9 miles to 3 miles at nearly 30 mph and faster. The scientists found that exercising a horse at a slower pace for an increasing number of days decreased the odds of injury no matter the horse's age. They reported that for horses thought to be at higher risk of injury, increasing the number of days worked at a slow pace may be more effective than completely resting the horse.

The scientists recommend that horses that fall into these categories be monitored closely for impending injury. The study team concluded that early identification of horses at increased risk, along with appropriate intervention, could significantly reduce the impact of musculoskeletal injuries in racehorses.

Read the full study here.

Florida Hunter Trainer Advocates For Return Of Thoroughbreds To The Show Ring

Based in Reddick, FL, hunter/jumper trainer Caitlin Maloney is working hard to bring back recognition of Thoroughbreds in the hunter show ring. She has re-trained and shown multiple off-track Thoroughbreds to national accolades.

When asked why she enjoys the breed, she says she appreciates that they are innately wired to please. Once a Thoroughbred understands what is being asked of them, she says, most want to work with their riders. The key to successfully retraining them is patience, she says.

Once Caitlin determines an OTTB is safe to ride, she will placea pole in the ring and ask the horse to walk over it to determine if he is bold or overwhelmed, which will factor into how he is trained. Once the horse is ready to begin jumping, she doesn't train a Thoroughbred any differently than she does any other breed.

Caitlin reminds riders that a Thoroughbred was first trained for speed and that a forward, galloping Thoroughbred hunter can be lovely to watch if trained to relax and jump correctly.

Caitlin says she has seen more Thoroughbreds in the show ring, and more groups and individuals advocating for their return. She expects the Thoroughbred classes at horse shows to get more competitive.

Poor Manners In-Hand Lead To Poor Behavior While Ridden, Study Shows

Horses that are dangerous under saddle show several in-hand clues about how they will act when ridden. Horse owners and riders should be aware of these behaviors so they are prepared for what the horse might do with a rider astride, report Drs. Nicole Romness, Kate Fenner, Jessica McKenzie, Ashley Anzulewicz, Bibiana Burattini, Bethany Wilson and Paul McGreevy.

The research team used 1,584 responses by horse owners to the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) to come to their conclusions. E-BARQ is a global database of horse behavior that allows riders to benchmark their horses against thousands of others in terms of welfare, training and behavior.

The scientists found that bolting, bucking and rearing are dangerously common; nearly 91 percent of pleasure horses in Britain had one or more of these tendencies, E-BARQ responders showed. These tendencies can reflect on a horse's experiences, health or history, the team said.

They found that:

Horses that have issues loading onto a trailer, spook at other animals or don't lead or tie well tend to bolt.
Horses that have issues loading, are intimidated by other horses and don't tie well tend to rear.
Horses that have issues loading, spook at other horses, don't lead or tie well and that don't like having their heads touched tend to buck.
Show jumpers had an increased tendency to rear, while show and companion horses had an increased risk of bucking compare to pleasure-riding horses.

They concluded that good ground manners translate to better behavior under saddle. Addressing issues before a rider is aboard could allow horse owners and handlers to fix them before training measures escalate to involve more force. This would improve the safety and welfare of both horses and riders.

Study: Fearful Foals Make Fearful Horses

A Danish study sought to decode behavior in foals that might indicate which ones may become fearful adults. Fearful horses can be dangerous if placed in uneducated hands; if bred, they can pass the trait on to their offspring.

Drs. Janne Winther Christensen, Carina Beblein and Jens Malmkvist note that horses will always face situations that can scare them, but through habituation and breeding for a calm demeanor, they can be trained to not flee.

Horses that are scared cause accidents; the researchers note that everyone involved with horses, from those who breed to those who play sports and teach others how to ride, have a responsibility to try to reduce accidents. They also report that it is unethical to breed fearful animals as it has a negative impact on animal welfare.

However, to study equine fearfulness, the same group of horses need to be kept in the identical management situations for the first three or four years of their lives, which is unusual. Winther Christensen and her team followed 25 Warmblood stallions from five months to 3.5 years of age; they were kept as a group with limited human handling.

The researchers reported that foals on their dams' side showed distinct differences in how they approached novel items. Some foals hurried back to their mothers when they saw a scary object while others approached and investigated it. Heart rate monitors showed that the foals that hurried back to their mothers had higher heart rates than the more-inquisitive foals.

Tested again as 3-year-olds, the same horses had similar reactions; overall, the horses that were more alert to the object had more pronounced fear reactions. The team determined that a foal's expression of alertness can help predict later behavior. Fearfulness is consistent across ages, which is helpful to know to ensure proper training and handling of the most-fearful horses. Additionally, if breeders were to breed only calm horses, after a few generations the population would generally become less fearful.