Flat, hurdle and steeple racing: risk factors for musculoskeletal injury.

This study examines specific risk factors for serious musculoskeletal injuries amongst horses in flat, hurdle, and steeple races on Australian metropolitan racetracks, with suggestions for prevention strategies.

Study Details

• This is a retrospective case-control study with the primary goal of identifying and quantifying risk factors that might lead to serious musculoskeletal injuries in horses participating in flat racing, hurdle racing, and steeplechasing.
• The researchers used data gathered over seven years (between August 1988 and July 1995), from four different Australian metropolitan racetracks.

Results and Findings

• Over the study period, there were 196 reported cases from flat racing, 52 from hurdle racing, and 53 from steeplechasing.
• The incidences of fatal musculoskeletal injuries per start for flat, hurdle, and steeple races were found to be 0.06%, 0.63% and 1.43% respectively. This indicates that steeple races were the most hazardous with the highest rate of fatal injuries.
• Using logistic regression methods, the researchers determined the risk factors significantly associated with increased risk of musculoskeletal breakdown were harder track surfaces, horses older than three years, one specific racecourse (Flemington), and jumping races.
• The fatal injury rates for flat races on the studied tracks were found to be comparable to those reported in the UK, but lower than the rates reported in the USA. However, death rates for hurdle and steeple races were higher than those reported in the UK.

Suggested Prevention Strategies

• To mitigate the chances of serious musculoskeletal injuries, researchers suggest measures such as avoiding excessively hard track surfaces, regulating track moisture content more closely, implementing more rigorous prerace lameness examinations of horses (especially older ones), and modifying the design and number of jumps in hurdle and steeple races.
• The study emphasizes that understanding and quantifying risk factors, as done in this research, is the first step towards addressing the root causes of musculoskeletal breakdowns, which can lead to the development of intervention measures to reduce injuries in horse racing.