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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet Rec / Incidence of disease, injury and death in Thoroughbred foals...
The Veterinary record2023; 192(12); e2994; doi: 10.1002/vetr.2994

Incidence of disease, injury and death in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the UK and Ireland.

Abstract: Up-to-date estimates of early-life morbidity and mortality in Thoroughbreds are lacking. Methods: A birth cohort was established on Thoroughbred stud farms across the UK and Ireland. All veterinary interventions for disease or injury between birth and 18 months of age or leaving the study were recorded. Multilevel Poisson regression models with farm and foal as random effects were fitted to estimate incidence rates. Results: Data were available for 3328 foal-months at risk for 275 foals on seven farms. The overall rates of disease and injury requiring veterinary intervention and mortality were 11.9 cases/100 foal-months at risk (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.6-16.2) and 0.2 cases/100 foal-months at risk (95% CI 0.1-0.4), respectively. Almost half (n = 133/273, 49%, 95% CI 43-55) of the live-born cohort required veterinary intervention for musculoskeletal disease or injury, equating to 5.8 cases/100 foal-months at risk (95% CI 4.1-8.2), predominantly reported as developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD). Conclusions: Convenience sampling of participants may affect the generalisability of the findings. Conclusions: Rates of musculoskeletal disease and injury, in particular DOD, on Thoroughbred stud farms were high. Further work to identify modifiable risk factors and further understanding of the economic impact of these conditions and long-term consequences for musculoskeletal health and performance is required.
© 2023 The Authors. Veterinary Record published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Veterinary Association.
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Publication Date: 2023-05-14 PubMed ID: 37183185DOI: 10.1002/vetr.2994Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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The research explores the incidence of disease, injury, and death among Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the UK and Ireland, highlighting the high rates of musculoskeletal issues particularly developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD).

Research Methodology

  • The researchers initiated a birth cohort on Thoroughbred stud farms across the UK and Ireland.
  • They recorded all veterinary interventions necessitated by disease or injury occurring between birth and 18 months of age, or until the time the foal left the study.
  • In determining incidence rates, they used multilevel Poisson regression models, considering farm and foal as random effects.

Research Findings

  • Data included information on 3328 foal-months at risk covering 275 foals from seven farms.
  • The overall rates of disease and injury requiring veterinary intervention were higher than usual at 11.9 cases/100 foal-months at risk. Mortality rate stood at 0.2 cases/100 foal-months at risk.
  • Nearly half (133 out of 273) of the live-born foals needed veterinary intervention for musculoskeletal disease or injury. This equals 5.8 cases/100 foal-months at risk, with the majority of instances reported as developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD).

Conclusion and Further Research

  • The study noted that its convenience sampling method might impact the generalisability of the results.
  • The research established that rates of musculoskeletal disease and injury, particularly DOD, are high on Thoroughbred stud farms.
  • Future research should focus on identifying the modifiable risk factors and gaining a better understanding of the financial ramifications as well as the long-term affects on musculoskeletal health and performance.

Cite This Article

APA
Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Verheyen KL. (2023). Incidence of disease, injury and death in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the UK and Ireland. Vet Rec, 192(12), e2994. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.2994

Publication

The Veterinary record
ISSN: 2042-7670
NlmUniqueID: 0031164
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 192
Issue: 12
Pages: e2994

Researcher Affiliations

Mouncey, Rebecca
  • Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Arango-Sabogal, Juan Carlos
  • Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
  • Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Q, Canada.
de Mestre, Amanda M
  • Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Verheyen, Kristien L
  • Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Incidence
  • Farms
  • Ireland / epidemiology
  • Musculoskeletal Diseases / complications
  • Musculoskeletal Diseases / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / etiology
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology

Grant Funding

  • Racing Foundation
  • vet/prj/791 / Horserace Betting Levy Board
  • Royal Veterinary College's Mellon Fund for Equine Research

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Citations

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