Race performance after laryngoplasty and ventriculocordectomy in National Hunt racehorses.

This study explored the impact of a surgical procedure, laryngoplasty (LP), on the racing performance of long-distance (National Hunt) Thoroughbred horses, and found that while the procedure seemed to restore short-term postoperative racing performance, career longevity of the horses might be shorter than in control horses.

Methodology

• The study adopted a case-control design, utilizing 71 National Hunt Thoroughbred racehorses who’d undergone LP and ventriculocordectomy along with 126 race-matched controls who hadn’t undergone these surgeries.
• Researchers compared the pre and post-operative racing records of the case horses and their control counterparts. They specifically studied the performance and earnings of these horses in races before and after the surgeries.

Results

• The study successfully matched 63 out of 71 cases to the controls.
• Post-surgery, 78% of the case horses were able to race, and of those, 47% demonstrated improved performance. Moreover, these horses, after undergoing LP, were just as likely to compete in 1 to 3 races as their control counterparts.
• The researchers discovered that case horses had earned less prize money than race-matched controls in the five races leading up to their operations. However, there was no statistical difference in the earnings between both groups in the five races after the surgery.

Conclusions

• The surgical procedure of LP appeared to revive the short-term postoperative racing performance of National Hunt racehorses, equalizing it to that of the control horses.
• Despite the short-term improvements, the lifespan of the horses’ racing careers was shorter than that of the controls. This result suggests a potential reduction in career longevity following LP.
• The study concludes that LP could be a potentially suitable treatment for horses with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, specifically within National Hunt racehorses.