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Equine veterinary journal2023; doi: 10.1111/evj.13980

Racing performance of Thoroughbred racehorses with suspensory ligament branch desmitis treated with mesenchymal stem cells (2010-2019).

Abstract: Suspensory ligament branch desmitis (SLBD) is a common injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. Orthobiologic treatment of these injuries is a relatively new approach, and there is limited information available on post injury racing performance in racehorses treated with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). To assess racing performance post injury in Thoroughbred racehorses with SLBD treated with MSCs.
© 2023 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2023-08-03 PubMed ID: 37534804DOI: 10.1111/evj.13980Google Scholar: Lookup
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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.

Background:

  • Suspensory Ligament Branch Desmitis (SLBD): This is an injury common in Thoroughbred racehorses.
  • Orthobiologic Treatment: This refers to treatments that use natural substances from the body, like stem cells, to heal injuries.
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs): These are a type of stem cell that can develop into a variety of cell types. They’re being used as a treatment for SLBD, but there’s limited data on how horses perform in races after such treatments.

Objectives:

The study aims to find out how Thoroughbred racehorses with SLBD, treated with MSCs, perform in races post-treatment.

Study Design:

This is a retrospective case series, meaning the researchers looked back at existing medical records instead of setting up a new experiment or trial.

Methods:

  • Medical records of horses with SLBD treated with MSCs between 2010 and 2019 were examined.
  • Initially, all horses got allogeneic stem cells (from a donor, not the same horse) at the time of diagnosis.
  • They then received 3-4 treatments with autologous bone-marrow derived MSCs (from the same horse).
  • The researchers checked ultrasound and X-ray images to determine the extent of the ligament injury and related bone issues.
  • They assessed race performance using several metrics: career duration, race class, number of starts, and earnings after the injury. They especially compared the performance of horses that raced both before and after the injury.

Results:

  • Out of 69 horses that got the treatment, 71% (49 horses) raced after the injury.
  • Horses that had raced before the injury were more likely to race again post-injury (90% of them did), compared to those that hadn’t raced before the injury (63% of them raced post-injury).
  • Female horses were less likely to race again post-injury compared to male horses (52% vs. 79%).
  • Among the 18 horses that raced both before and after the injury, there wasn’t a significant difference in the number of races, earnings, or earnings per race before vs. after the injury.
  • On average, horses that raced after the injury had a career length of 29.5 months post-injury.

Main Limitations:

  • This is a retrospective study, meaning it’s based on past records rather than a controlled experiment. This can introduce certain biases.
  • The study lacked a control group, which would have been a group of horses with SLBD that did not receive MSC treatment. This makes it harder to directly attribute outcomes to the MSC treatment.

Conclusions:

The use of MSCs as a treatment resulted in most of the Thoroughbred racehorses with SLBD racing again post-treatment. Racing before the injury and being male increased the chances of racing again after the injury.

In simpler terms, the study suggests that MSC treatment can help injured Thoroughbred racehorses return to racing, especially if they had raced before the injury and if they are male. However, due to the study’s design, it’s not definitive proof, and more controlled studies would be needed to establish this conclusively.

Cite This Article

APA
Hansen SH, Bramlage LR, Moore GE. (2023). Racing performance of Thoroughbred racehorses with suspensory ligament branch desmitis treated with mesenchymal stem cells (2010-2019). Equine Vet J. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13980

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English

Researcher Affiliations

Hansen, Stefanie H
  • Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Bramlage, Lawrence R
  • Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Moore, George E
  • Department of Veterinary Administration, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Boado A, Pollard D, Dyson S. Retrospective Analysis of Suspensory Ligament Branch Injuries in 70 Dressage Horses. Animals (Basel) 2025 Oct 23;15(21).
    doi: 10.3390/ani15213079pubmed: 41227410google scholar: lookup
  2. Guest DJ, Birch HL, Thorpe CT. A review of the equine suspensory ligament: Injury prone yet understudied. Equine Vet J 2025 Sep;57(5):1167-1182.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.14447pubmed: 39604165google scholar: lookup
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