FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med / Hospital-treated injuries from horse riding in Victoria, Aus...
BMJ open sport & exercise medicine2018; 4(1); e000321; doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000321

Hospital-treated injuries from horse riding in Victoria, Australia: time to refocus on injury prevention?

Abstract: The most recent report on hospital-treated horse-riding injuries in Victoria was published 20 years ago. Since then, injury countermeasures and new technology have aimed to make horse riding safer for participants. This study provides an update of horse-riding injuries that required hospital treatment in Victoria and examines changes in injury patterns compared with the earlier study. Methods: Horse-riding injuries that required hospital treatment (hospital admission (HA) or emergency department (ED) presentations) were extracted from routinely collected data from public and private hospitals in Victoria from 2002-2003 to 2015-2016. Injury incidence rates per 100 000 Victorian population per financial year and age-stratified and sex-stratified injury incidence rates are presented. Poisson regression was used to examine trends in injury rates over the study period. Results: ED presentation and HA rates were 31.1 and 6.6 per 100 000 person-years, increasing by 28.8% and 47.6% from 2002 to 2016, respectively. Female riders (47.3 ED and 10.1 HA per 100 000 person-years) and those aged between 10 and 14 years (87.8 ED and 15.7 HA per 100 000 person-years) had the highest incidence rates. Fractures (ED 29.4%; HA 56.5%) and head injuries (ED 15.4%; HA 18.9%) were the most common injuries. HA had a mean stay of 2.6±4.1 days, and the mean cost per HA was $A5096±8345. Conclusions: Horse-riding injuries have remained similar in their pattern (eg, types of injuries) since last reported in Victoria. HA and ED incidence rates have increased over the last 14 years. Refocusing on injury prevention countermeasures is recommended along with a clear plan for implementation and evaluation of their effectiveness in reducing injury.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2018-02-01 PubMed ID: 29464106PubMed Central: PMC5812386DOI: 10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000321Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • 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.

This research article presents an updated study on horse-riding injuries in Victoria, Australia that required hospital treatment. The findings reveal that despite the introduction of new technology and safety measures in the past two decades, the incidence of horse-riding injuries have not only remained the same but have increased over the years, suggesting a need for revisiting injury prevention strategies.

Methodology

  • The study involves data collected from both public and private hospitals in Victoria from the period of 2002-2003 to 2015-2016.
  • The data includes only those horse-riding injuries that required hospital treatment, either hospital admission (HA) or emergency department (ED) presentations.
  • The trends in injury rates were examined using Poisson regression.
  • The report calculates the injury incidence rates per 100,000 Victorian population per financial year as well as age-stratified and sex-stratified injury incidence rates.

Key Findings

  • The rates of ED presentation and HA were 31.1 and 6.6 per 100,000 person-years, which showed an increase of 28.8% and 47.6% from 2002 to 2016, respectively.
  • Females and those aged between 10 and 14 years were the most affected with the highest incidence rates.
  • Fractures and head injuries were found to be the most common types of injuries.
  • The average duration of a hospital stay as a result of a horse-riding injury was 2.6±4.1 days, with the average cost per HA being $A5096±8345.

Conclusions and Implications

  • The pattern of horse-riding injuries (such as types of injuries) has remained relatively stable since the last report in Victoria.
  • The study reveals an increase in the incidence rates of both HAs and EDs over the past 14 years.
  • Given these findings, the researchers suggest a need to reassess and refocus on injury prevention strategies.
  • The authors of the study recommend creating a comprehensive plan for the implementation and evaluation of these countermeasures to effectively reduce injury rates.

Cite This Article

APA
O'Connor S, Hitchens PL, Fortington LV. (2018). Hospital-treated injuries from horse riding in Victoria, Australia: time to refocus on injury prevention? BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med, 4(1), e000321. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000321

Publication

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine
ISSN: 2055-7647
NlmUniqueID: 101681007
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 4
Issue: 1
Pages: e000321

Researcher Affiliations

O'Connor, Siobhán
  • School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
Hitchens, Peta L
  • Equine Centre, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Fortington, Lauren V
  • Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

Grant Funding

  • EP-D-17-020 / EPA

Conflict of Interest Statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

This article includes 27 references
  1. Watt GM, Finch CF. Preventing equestrian injuries. Sports Medicine 1996;22:187–97.
    doi: 10.2165/00007256-199622030-00005pubmed: 8883215google scholar: lookup
  2. Australian Sports Commission. Participation in horse activities by australian children 2003-2012. 2013.
  3. Lang J, Sathivelu M, Tetsworth K. The epidemiology of horse-related injuries for different horse exposures, activities, and age groups in Queensland, Australia. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2014;76:205–12.
    doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3182a9007epubmed: 24368381google scholar: lookup
  4. O’Connor S, Warrington G, McGoldrick A. Epidemiology of injury due to race-day jockey falls in professional flat and jump horse racing in Ireland, 2011-2015. J Athl Train 2017;52:1140–6.
    doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-52.12.17pmc: PMC5759697pubmed: 29154693google scholar: lookup
  5. Williams F, Ashby K. Horse related injuries. Hospital 1992;1989.
  6. Silver JR, Parry JM. Hazards of horse-riding as a popular sport. Br J Sports Med 1991;25:105–10.
    doi: 10.1136/bjsm.25.2.105pmc: PMC1478823pubmed: 1751891google scholar: lookup
  7. Nelson DE, Bixby-Hammett D. Equestrian injuries in children and young adults. Am J Dis Child 1992;146:611–4.
    doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1992.02160170091022pubmed: 1621666google scholar: lookup
  8. Bixby-Hammett DM. Pediatric equestrian injuries. Pediatrics 1992;89:832–6.
    doi: 10.1097/01241398-199211000-00064pubmed: 1594372google scholar: lookup
  9. Hobbs GD, Yealy DM, Rivas J. Equestrian injuries: a five-year review. J Emerg Med 1994;12:143–5.
    doi: 10.1016/0736-4679(94)90690-4pubmed: 8207147google scholar: lookup
  10. Lim J, Puttaswamy V, Gizzi M. Pattern of equestrian injuries presenting to a Sydney teaching hospital. ANZ J Surg 2003;73:567–71.
    doi: 10.1046/j.1445-2197.2003.02707.xpubmed: 12887517google scholar: lookup
  11. Gibson T, Thai K, Saxon J. The effectiveness of jockey safety equipment in falls. J Biomech 2007;40:S133.
    doi: 10.1016/S0021-9290(07)70129-Xgoogle scholar: lookup
  12. Theodore JE, Theodore SG, Stockton KA. Paediatric horse-related trauma. J Paediatr Child Health 2017;53.
    doi: 10.1111/jpc.13471pubmed: 28268253google scholar: lookup
  13. Finch C. A new framework for research leading to sports injury prevention. J Sci Med Sport 2006;9:3–9.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2006.02.009pubmed: 16616614google scholar: lookup
  14. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Injury surveillance national minimum data set. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003.
  15. National Centre for Classification in Health. The international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems Australian modification (ICD-10-AM). 3rd edn Australia: National Centre for Classification in Health, 2002.
  16. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3101.0 Estimated resident population, states and territories 2017. 2017.
  17. Australian Sports Commission. Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) annual report 2010. 2017.
  18. Buckley SM, Chalmers DJ, Langley JD. Injuries due to falls from horses. Aust J Public Health 1993;17:269–71.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1993.tb00148.xpubmed: 8286503google scholar: lookup
  19. Abu-Zidan FM, Rao S. Factors affecting the severity of horse-related injuries. Injury 2003;34:897–900.
    doi: 10.1016/S0020-1383(03)00054-8pubmed: 14636730google scholar: lookup
  20. Davidson SB, Blostein PA, Schrotenboer A. Ten years of equine-related injuries: severity and implications for emergency physicians. J Emerg Med 2015;49:605–12.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.03.025pubmed: 26049279google scholar: lookup
  21. Smartt P, Chalmers D. A new look at horse-related sport and recreational injury in New Zealand. J Sci Med Sport 2009;12:376–82.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2008.04.001pubmed: 18762456google scholar: lookup
  22. Chitnavis JP, Gibbons CL, Hirigoyen M. Accidents with horses: what has changed in 20 years?. Injury 1996;27:103–5.
    doi: 10.1016/0020-1383(95)00176-Xpubmed: 8730383google scholar: lookup
  23. Ingemarson H, Grevsten S, Thorén L. Lethal horse-riding injuries. J Trauma 1989;29:25–30.
    doi: 10.1097/00005373-198901000-00005pubmed: 2911099google scholar: lookup
  24. Papachristos A, Edwards E, Dowrick A. A description of the severity of equestrian-related injuries (ERIs) using clinical parameters and patient-reported outcomes. Injury 2014;45:1484–7.
    doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2014.04.017pubmed: 24933441google scholar: lookup
  25. Lower T, Wolfenden K. Preventing horse related injury - a pilot education program. Health Promot J Austr 1995;5:46–50.
  26. Mayberry JC, Pearson TE, Wiger KJ. Equestrian injury prevention efforts need more attention to novice riders. J Trauma 2007;62:735–9.
    doi: 10.1097/ta.0b013e318031b5d4pubmed: 17414356google scholar: lookup
  27. Anderson GF, Reinhardt UE, Hussey PS. It’ s the prices, stupid: why the United States is so different from other countries. Health Aff 2003;22:89–105.
    doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.3.89pubmed: 12757275google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 4 times.
  1. Newton LJ, Dobbin N, Goodwin P, Crampton JS. Factors associated with time to return to horse racing following a clavicle fracture in jockeys competing in Great Britain: A review and analysis of medical records. PLoS One 2025;20(1):e0317724.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317724pubmed: 39847551google scholar: lookup
  2. Wang TJ, Ward T, Nguyen HT, Hurwitz EL. Equestrian-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries Presenting to a Chiropractic Practice: A Retrospective Chart Review of 19 Patients. J Chiropr Med 2023 Jun;22(2):103-106.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2022.07.004pubmed: 37346236google scholar: lookup
  3. Fenner K, Dashper K, Serpell J, McLean A, Wilkins C, Klinck M, Wilson B, McGreevy P. The Development of a Novel Questionnaire Approach to the Investigation of Horse Training, Management, and Behaviour. Animals (Basel) 2020 Oct 24;10(11).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10111960pubmed: 33114408google scholar: lookup
  4. Karsidag S, Cinar N, Sahin S, Ates MF, Tabak NA. A Case of Intracranial Hypotension after Horse Riding. J Clin Neurol 2019 Jan;15(1):130-131.
    doi: 10.3988/jcn.2019.15.1.130pubmed: 30375764google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.