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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injury during Racing on New ...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2017; 7(8); doi: 10.3390/ani7080062

Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injury during Racing on New Zealand Racetracks 2005-2011.

Abstract: The objective of the study was to determine the incidence of veterinary events that resulted in a horse failing to finish a race and identify risk factors for musculoskeletal injury (MSI) during a race. Data were obtained on Thoroughbred flat race starts in New Zealand between 1 August 2005 and 31 July 2011 (six racing seasons). Stipendiary Steward's reports were key-word searched to identify veterinary events that prevented a horse from finishing a race. Race data were used calculate the incidence of veterinary events per 1000 horse starts and Poisson regression was used to investigate risk factors for MSI. There were 188,616 race starts and 177 reported veterinary events. The incidence of MSI on race day was 0.72 per 1000 starts, whilst the incidence of respiratory events was 0.21 per 1000 starts. The rate of MSI was significantly lower on 'dead' and 'slow' tracks compared with 'good' tracks and significantly greater in longer races (≥1671 m) compared with races of ≤1200 m. The rate of MSI during flat races in New Zealand appears lower than that reported worldwide, which may be due to the management and training of horses in New Zealand or differences in case definitions used in comparable studies.
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Publication Date: 2017-08-11 PubMed ID: 28800064PubMed Central: PMC5575574DOI: 10.3390/ani7080062Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The study examines the occurrence and risk factors of musculoskeletal injuries in horses during racing events in New Zealand from 2005 to 2011.

Objective of the Study

  • The aim of this research was to identify the incidence of veterinary incidents resulting in a horse being unable to finish a race, specifically focusing on musculoskeletal injuries (MSI). The researchers also sought to identify potential risk factors for these types of injuries during a race.

Methodology

  • Data was collected from Thoroughbred flat race starts in New Zealand between 1 August 2005 and 31 July 2011, spanning six racing seasons in total.
  • Stipendiary Steward’s reports were examined using key-word searches to identify veterinary incidents that prevented a horse from finishing a race.
  • The researchers then calculated the incidence of these veterinary incidents per 1,000 horse starts, using Poisson regression to further explore risk factors for MSI.

Findings

  • Out of the 188,616 race starts recorded during the study period, there were 177 reported veterinary incidents.
  • The incidence of MSI on race day was found to be 0.72 per 1,000 starts, with the incidence of respiratory events documented at 0.21 per 1,000 starts.
  • The study found the rate of MSI to be significantly lower on ‘dead’ and ‘slow’ tracks as opposed to ‘good’ tracks. The incidence of MSI was also found to be significantly higher in longer races (1,671 meters or more) as compared to shorter races (1,200 meters or less).

Conclusions

  • The rate of MSI during flat races in New Zealand appears to be lower than the rates reported globally. The authors suggest this might be due to factors specific to New Zealand, such as horse management and training methodologies, or to differences in the case definitions used in similar studies conducted internationally.

Cite This Article

APA
Bolwell C, Rogers C, Gee E, McIlwraith W. (2017). Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injury during Racing on New Zealand Racetracks 2005-2011. Animals (Basel), 7(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7080062

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 7
Issue: 8

Researcher Affiliations

Bolwell, Charlotte
  • Equine Research Centre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. c.bolwell@massey.ac.nz.
Rogers, Chris
  • Equine Research Centre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. c.w.rogers@massey.ac.nz.
Gee, Erica
  • Equine Research Centre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. e.k.gee@massey.ac.nz.
McIlwraith, Wayne
  • Equine Orthopaedic Research Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. wayne.mcilwraith@colostate.edu.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 9 times.
  1. Bennet ED, Parkin TDH. Novel risk factors associated with fatal musculoskeletal injury in Thoroughbreds in North American racing (2009-2023). Equine Vet J 2026 Jan;58(1):20-30.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.14503pubmed: 40134143google scholar: lookup
  2. Bennet ED, Parkin TDH. Anomalous Incidence of Fatal Musculoskeletal Injury in North American 2-Year-Old Thoroughbred Racehorses in the Year 2020. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 9;13(16).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13162572pubmed: 37627362google scholar: lookup
  3. Gibson MJ, Legg KA, Gee EK, Rogers CW. The Reporting of Racehorse Fatalities in New Zealand Thoroughbred Flat Racing in the 2011/12-2021/22 Seasons. Animals (Basel) 2023 Feb 9;13(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13040612pubmed: 36830402google scholar: lookup
  4. Gibson MJ, Legg KA, Gee EK, Rogers CW. Race-Level Reporting of Incidents Using an Online System during Three Seasons (2019/2020-2021/2022) of Thoroughbred Flat Racing in New Zealand. Animals (Basel) 2022 Nov 3;12(21).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12213028pubmed: 36359152google scholar: lookup
  5. Horan K, Coburn J, Kourdache K, Day P, Carnall H, Brinkley L, Harborne D, Hammond L, Peterson M, Millard S, Pfau T. Hoof Impact and Foot-Off Accelerations in Galloping Thoroughbred Racehorses Trialling Eight Shoe-Surface Combinations. Animals (Basel) 2022 Aug 23;12(17).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12172161pubmed: 36077882google scholar: lookup
  6. Morrice-West AV, Hitchens PL, Walmsley EA, Tasker K, Lim SL, Smith AD, Whitton RC. Relationship between Thoroughbred workloads in racing and the fatigue life of equine subchondral bone. Sci Rep 2022 Jul 7;12(1):11528.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14274-ypubmed: 35798766google scholar: lookup
  7. Gibson MJ, Bolwell CF, Gee EK, Legg KA, Rogers CW. Race-Level Reporting of Incidents during Two Seasons (2015/16 to 2016/17) of Thoroughbred Flat Racing in New Zealand. Animals (Basel) 2022 Apr 15;12(8).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12081033pubmed: 35454278google scholar: lookup
  8. Gibson MJ, Roca Fraga FJ, Bolwell CF, Gee EK, Rogers CW. Race-Level Reporting of Incidents during Two Seasons (2015/16 to 2016/17) of Harness Racing in New Zealand. Animals (Basel) 2022 Feb 11;12(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12040433pubmed: 35203141google scholar: lookup
  9. Hitchens PL, Hill AE, Stover SM. Relationship Between Historical Lameness, Medication Usage, Surgery, and Exercise With Catastrophic Musculoskeletal Injury in Racehorses. Front Vet Sci 2018;5:217.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00217pubmed: 30246014google scholar: lookup
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