The association between exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage and race-day performance in Thoroughbred racehorses.
Abstract: Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) is commonly implicated as a cause of poor athletic performance but there is limited and conflicting evidence for this association. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if EIPH, based on endoscopic examination after racing, is associated with a variety of novel and established performance parameters. Methods: Prospective, observational cross-sectional study. Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses competing between 2012 and 2015 were examined on-course no earlier than 30 min after racing. Examinations were recorded and graded blindly by experienced veterinarians using a 0-4 scale. Linear mixed effect models were used for analysis of continuous response variables with horse name incorporated as a random effect to account for repeated sampling and horse variability. Generalised estimating equations were used for analysis of binary responses. Performance variables were examined in 2 models, comparing EIPH grade 0 to grades 1-4, and EIPH grade ≤2 compared with EIPH grades ≥3, controlling race factors that could influence performance. Results: There were 3794 observations collected from 1567 horses. EIPH was detected in 55.1% of observations. Horses with grade 4 EIPH were significantly more likely to have a lower finishing position and finish further behind the winner, less likely to place in the first 3 positions and collect race earnings, collected less earnings per race start and were slower over the last 600 m of the race than horses without EIPH (grade 0). Similar associations were seen in Model 2, with horses with EIPH grade ≥3 having inferior performance when compared to horses with EIPH ≤2. Conclusions: Enrolment was voluntary. Conclusions: Mild to moderate haemorrhage was not associated with inferior race day performance in this population of Thoroughbred racehorses.
© 2017 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2017-02-16 PubMed ID: 28118491DOI: 10.1111/evj.12671Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Athletic Performance
- Clinical Study
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Endoscopy
- Epidemiology
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage
- Horse Racing
- Horses
- Observational Study
- Pathology
- Performance Horses
- Respiratory Health
- Thoroughbreds
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
Summary
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The research examines the relation between exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) and the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses, finding that severe bouts of EIPH significantly impact race-day performance.
Objective
The primary aim of this study was to explore whether EIPH affects a horse’s performance. The severity of EIPH was determined with endoscopic examination, and their performance evaluated based on a wide variety of established criteria.
Methods
- The study observed Thoroughbred racehorses while competing from 2012 to 2015.
- The examination of these horses was carried out at least 30 minutes after the race.
- The observations were blindly graded on a scale of 0-4 by experienced veterinarians.
- For a detailed analysis of continuous response variables, linear mixed-effect models were employed. The name of the horse was taken into account as a random effect to cater for repeated sampling and variances among different horses.
- Generalised estimating equations were used for the analysis of binary responses.
- Various parameters of performance were evaluated and compared across different EIPH grades, ensuring control over factors that might affect race performance.
Results
- The study recorded 3794 observations from 1567 horses.
- EIPH was identified in 55.1% of observed cases.
- Horses with severe EIPH (grade 4) were observed to have a lower position at the end of the race, finish further behind the winner, less likely to finish within the first 3 positions, earned less during races, and were slower in the last 600m of the race compared to horses without EIPH (grade 0).
- The second set of comparisons also showed that horses with EIPH of grade ≥3 performed comparatively worse than horses with EIPH of grade ≤2.
Conclusions
The decision to participate in the study was voluntary. In the examined population of Thoroughbred racehorses, it was observed that while mild to moderate EIPH did not significantly affect race-day performance, severe EIPH did have a notable negative impact.
Cite This Article
APA
Crispe EJ, Lester GD, Secombe CJ, Perera DI.
(2017).
The association between exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage and race-day performance in Thoroughbred racehorses.
Equine Vet J, 49(5), 584-589.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12671 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
- College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
- College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
- College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Female
- Hemorrhage / physiopathology
- Hemorrhage / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / physiopathology
- Horses
- Lung Diseases / physiopathology
- Lung Diseases / veterinary
- Male
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / adverse effects
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Prospective Studies
- Running
- Sports
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Cullinane A, Garvey M, Walsh C, Gibbons J, Creighton A. A Scoping Review of Non-Structural Airway Disease as a Cause of Poor Performance in Racehorses.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 27;13(3).
- Bertram CA, Marzahl C, Bartel A, Stayt J, Bonsembiante F, Beeler-Marfisi J, Barton AK, Brocca G, Gelain ME, Gläsel A, Preez KD, Weiler K, Weissenbacher-Lang C, Breininger K, Aubreville M, Maier A, Klopfleisch R, Hill J. Cytologic scoring of equine exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage: Performance of human experts and a deep learning-based algorithm.. Vet Pathol 2023 Jan;60(1):75-85.
- Lo Feudo CM, Stucchi L, Stancari G, Alberti E, Conturba B, Zucca E, Ferrucci F. Associations between Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) and Fitness Parameters Measured by Incremental Treadmill Test in Standardbred Racehorses.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Feb 12;12(4).
- Bayly W, Lopez C, Sides R, Bergsma G, Bergsma J, Gold J, Sellon D. Effect of different protocols on the mitigation of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in horses when administered 24 hours before strenuous exercise.. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Sep;33(5):2319-2326.
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