Fédération Equestre Internationale endurance events: Risk factors for failure to qualify outcomes at the level of the horse, ride and rider (2010-2015).

The research paper is about a study that was conducted using data from Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance events from 2010 to 2015, to identify risk factors associated with horses failing to qualify in such events due to lameness or metabolic issues.

Research Design and Data Collection

• The study is an epidemiological analysis of elite endurance riding, involving data from every FEI endurance event that took place between 2010 and 2015.
• The dataset comprises 82,917 starts, providing a significantly sized sample for the study.
• The FEI’s endurance rules mandate that veterinarians assess horses multiple times during a ride, ensuring that those exhibiting lameness or metabolic problems are prevented from continuing. This process created the outcome variable, that is, whether or not a horse failed to qualify.

Main Findings

• Through multivariable logistic regression models, several risk factors were identified that increased the likelihood of a horse failing to qualify due to lameness or metabolic problems.
• Lameness-related risk factors included a horse’s age being 9 years or more, male horses, male riders, a field size of 61 horses or more, and if the ride took place in the Northern and Eastern Europe region.
• Metabolic problem-related risk factors were found to be associated with rides held in the North Africa and the Middle East region, a ride distance of 100km or more, and male riders.

Implications

• The study sheds light on key risk factors that veterinarians and event organizers could pay attention to while managing endurance rides.
• Some of these risk factors, for instance, field size, can be modified at the event level to potentially reduce the number of non-qualifications due to lameness or metabolic issues.
• Other factors, such as the age or sex of the horse, cannot be directly changed but awareness of the increased risk can prepare veterinarians better during the endurance rides.