An epizoological study of wastage in thoroughbred racehorses in Gauteng, South Africa.

The research article investigates the prevalence and causes of ‘wastage’, or lost training days, in Thoroughbred racehorses in Gauteng, South Africa, finding that the majority of these lost days are due to lameness and respiratory problems.

Study Introduction and Methodology

• The term ‘wastage’ is used in the study to describe the loss of racehorses from conception to adulthood due to death, injuries or the days wasted when a horse does not train or is withdrawn from a race. It is a crucial parameter in understanding horse race industry’s efficiency and productivity.
• The study conducts an epizoological (studying disease patterns within an animal population) analysis of wastage in Thoroughbred racehorses used for flat racing in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
• The data was collected from six racing stables covering the period between 1 March 1993 to 28 February 1994.
• A daily training record was maintained by each trainer, including information on racehorses under their care and reasons for any missed training or race withdrawal.

Study Findings

• The study found that out of the total potential training days of 105,108, there were 8,480 days (8.1%) lost due to various reasons.
• Most of these lost days (72.1%) were due to lameness, 8.6% to respiratory problems, and 19.3% to other causes.
• The rate of lost training days varied among different trainers, ranging from 5.4% to 12.6%.
• Out of the 579 horses included in the study, 291 horses (50.3%) experienced one or more lost training days.
• There were 541 cases of issues leading to wastage found in these 291 horses, out of which 263 cases (48.6%) were due to lameness and 49 cases (9.0%) were due to coughing. The rest were caused by a variety of reasons including poor weather, vaccinations, wounds, haematology results, and a variety of minor and unknown conditions.

Second Year Data and Conclusions

• An attempt was made to repeat the study for a second year but was unsuccessful due to insufficient data.
• However, preliminary observations suggest that the percentage of lost training days (8.2%) and the primary culprits – lameness (66.9%) and respiratory problems (8.4%) remained consistent with the first year’s findings.
• The study concludes by asserting that lameness and respiratory disorders are the top contributors to wastage in Thoroughbred racehorses in Gauteng. The authors recommend further research into these areas to minimize wastage in the racehorse industry.