The effect of insertional suspensory branch desmitis on racing performance in juvenile Thoroughbred racehorses.
Abstract: Limited information exists regarding the prognosis for juvenile racehorses sustaining injury to the suspensory ligament branch insertion (JISBI). Objective: To investigate the effect of JISBI on racing performance; and to assess whether the severity of JISBI is prognostically important. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Records were reviewed for 896 juvenile Thoroughbreds in training, to identify horses with JISBI limited to one branch (cases). The ability of cases to start a race was compared to their cohorts. Race records of maternal siblings were compared to cases. Results: The prevalence of JISBI for this population was 9.5%. Cohorts were 3.2 times more likely to start as a 2-year-old and 3.6 times more likely to start as a 3-year-old compared to horses with JISBI. Of 58 cases that were compared to maternal siblings, the total earnings per start (EPS), 2- and 3-year-old EPS were all reduced (P<0.01). Cases raced a mean of 3.8 times compared to 7.4 races for controls over the study period and were 113.2 days older by the time of first start (P<0.01). 'Speed figures' and EPS were, however, similar between cases that had raced and controls. Cases with a moderate-severe lesion (≥ Grade 2) were at significantly greater risk of reinjury than mild cases (P<0.05). Conclusions: JISBI causes decreased racing ability as a 2-year-old. Mild cases perform similarly to controls by their 3-year-old season, but more severe cases demonstrate reduced ability as a 3-year-old, with an increased likelihood of reinjury. Although the wastage was higher in case horses with JISBI, individual cases that make it to a race have similar earnings per start as their controls.
© 2013 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2013-11-06 PubMed ID: 23937263DOI: 10.1111/evj.12161Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research investigates the effects of suspensory ligament branch insertion injury (JISBI) on the racing performance of juvenile Thoroughbreds and finds that these injuries hurt their chances of racing and overall performance, with the severity of the injury playing a prognostic role.
Objective and Methodology
- The aim of this study was to assess the impact of JISBI on the racing performance of juvenile Thoroughbred horses, and to see how the severity of the injury could potentially affect prognosis.
- For this study, the researchers retrospectively analyzed the records of 896 juvenile Thoroughbreds in training, identifying horses with JISBI in one branch (the “cases”).
- These cases were then compared to the rest of the horses (the “cohorts”) in terms of their ability to start a race.
- The race records of horses from the same mother as the cases were also examined for comparison.
Results
- The researchers found that JISBI was prevalent in 9.5% of the population under study.
- Compared to horses with JISBI, the cohorts were 3.2 times more likely to start a race as a 2-year-old and 3.6 times as a 3-year-old.
- Upon comparing 58 cases to their maternal siblings, it was found that the total earnings per start (EPS), as well as the 2- and 3-year-old EPS, were all lower for the cases (P<0.01).
- On average, cases raced 3.8 times, compared to 7.4 times for the control group over the study period, and their first start came 113.2 days later than the other horses (P<0.01).
- However, the ‘Speed figures’ and EPS of cases that had raced were similar to the controls.
- It was also disclosed that cases with a moderate to severe lesion (grade 2 or higher) were considerably more prone to additional injuries than the mild cases (P<0.05).
Conclusions
- The study concluded that JISBI can affect a horse’s ability to race as a 2-year-old.
- While mild cases were shown to perform similarly to controls as 3-year-olds, more severe cases demonstrated reduced ability, with a high likelihood of further injury.
- Despite a higher level of waste in horses with JISBI, the individual cases that managed to race had similar earnings per start as their controls.
Cite This Article
APA
Plevin S, McLellan J.
(2013).
The effect of insertional suspensory branch desmitis on racing performance in juvenile Thoroughbred racehorses.
Equine Vet J, 46(4), 451-457.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12161 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Florida Equine Veterinary Associates, Florida, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Case-Control Studies
- Female
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Inflammation / veterinary
- Ligaments / pathology
- Male
- Retrospective Studies
- Running
- Sports
- Tendon Injuries / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Read RM, Boys-Smith S, Bathe AP. Subclinical Ultrasonographic Abnormalities of the Suspensory Ligament Branches Are Common in Elite Showjumping Warmblood Horses. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:117.
- Kamineni S, Ruggles A, Ashfaq H. Ultrasonic debridement with stem cell therapy of suspensory branch desmitis in an equine patient. Open Vet J 2019 Apr;9(1):54-57.
- Ivester KM, Couëtil LL, Moore GE. An observational study of environmental exposures, airway cytology, and performance in racing thoroughbreds. J Vet Intern Med 2018 Sep;32(5):1754-1762.
- Boado A, Pollard D, Dyson S. Retrospective Analysis of Suspensory Ligament Branch Injuries in 70 Dressage Horses. Animals (Basel) 2025 Oct 23;15(21).
- 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.
- Argue BJ, Ahern BJ. Evaluation of agreement for radiographic lesions and risk for racing in thoroughbred yearling sale repository radiographs. Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1430993.
- Peat FJ, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Berk JT, Keenan DP. Concurrent radiological and ultrasonographical findings in the forelimb proximal sesamoid bones and adjacent suspensory ligament branches in yearling and 2-year-old Thoroughbred sales horses. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):654-665.
- Peat FJ, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Berk JT, Keenan DP, Selberg KT, Ojeda A. Ultrasonography of the suspensory ligament branches in yearling and 2-year-old Thoroughbred sales horses: Prevalence, progression of findings and associations with racing performance. Equine Vet J 2025 Mar;57(2):384-397.
- Schiavo S, Beccati F, Pokora R, Lin ST, Milmine RC, Bak L, Peter VG, Murray RC. Lesion Distribution in the Metacarpophalangeal and Metatarsophalangeal Region of 341 Horses Using Standing Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Animals (Basel) 2024 Jun 25;14(13).
- Vlahos TP. Percutaneous ultrasonic debridement of equine tendinopathy and desmopathy: A report of 10 cases. Open Vet J 2023 Sep;13(9):1141-1149.
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