Shockwave Therapy - stimulating the healing process
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LIGAMENT INJURIES - HOW TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT THEM
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Heart Monitors and Lactate Analysis - how they can help train horses
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Eight
days after winning the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown
races, the Belmont Stakes,Swale died of a heart attack. Was this great
champion pushing himself so far to the limit that his heart could not
cope?
James Tate BVMS MRCVS
(20 January 2009 - Issue 11)
Stress and the Thoroughbred - a closer look at the loosely-used term
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There can be few terms used as loosely by both practical horse people and animal scientists as the term ‘stress’.
Dr Mark Kennedy (European Trainer - issue 24 - Winter 2008)
Amino Acid Supplements - the important element of protein
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Horses in training are traditionally fed a diet that is high in protein, but it is the amino acid content of the protein-rich ingredients that is the important component.
Dr Catherine Dunnett (European Trainer - issue 24 - Winter 2008)
Treating Joint Degeneration the Drug-Free Way
/The Background - Lameness resulting from joint degeneration or
osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting
horses and the most common reason that vets are called out to
competition horses. OA causes inflammation of the joint lining and
progressive destruction of articular cartilage that covers the ends of
the bones composing a joint. This destruction decreases both the natural
shock-absorbing function and the range of motion of the joint,
ultimately resulting in lameness in the affected animal.
Howard Wilder (14 October 2008 - Issue 10)
The Equine Larynx – on a Knife Edge!
/Men have been interfering with the equine larynx for centuries, but so
far with only limited success.When a horse is heard to be making a noise
for the first time, it is of serious concern. Sometimes the concern is
only short lived as the horse may be unfit, have a mild respiratory
infection or perhaps a sore throat. However, on other occasions the
equine athlete in question is on the verge of being diagnosed with a
problem that will limit its performance for the rest of its life.
James Tate BVMS MRCVS (14 October 2008 - Issue 10)
Comparing cold therapies and their uses in Racehorses
/How do commercial cooling systems compare with the more traditional cooling methods? In recent years there has been an introduction of therapeutic cooling systems combining cold therapy with compression to produce a rapid reduction of soft tissue swelling in new injuries and therefore faster recovery times for many types of leg injuries.
Nicole Rossa PG Dip. (European Trainer - issue 23 - Autumn 2008)
Training the untrainable - how to improve the respiratory system
/Most body systems of the horse have some capacity to respond to physical training of the type used to improve fitness and performance in Thoroughbred racehorses. The art of training is of course assessing what each horse needs, when to start, when to back off and when to accept that you have reached a suitable level of fitness which should result in a horse being able to get close to achieving a performance consistent with its genetic potential. However, the one body system that training cannot improve on is the respiratory system and this article will highlight some of the implications of this.
Dr David Marlin (17 September 2008 - Issue number 9)
Is Conformation Relevant?
/This year’s yearling sales are just beginning with Fasig-Tipton July in Kentucky quickly followed by Fasig-Tipton August taking place in Saratoga. Then it is the turn of the monstrous Keeneland September catalogue to lay host to thousands of blue-blooded Thoroughbreds desperate to have their conformation analyzed by trainers, owners and those conformation experts – the bloodstock agents. The 2007 September Keeneland yearling sale sold nearly four thousand horses for just short of four hundred million dollars in seven books, each illustrated with photographs of the current superstars sold at last year’s sale. Does examining a horse’s conformation really give you a better idea as to whether you are looking at next year’s superstar?
James Tate BVMS MRCVS(10 July 2008 - Issue Number: 9)
Read MoreFederal Intervention in the regulation of steroids in racing
/ On February 27th, the United States Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection conducted a day-long hearing on drugs in sports. Discussion of one of the topics, anabolic steroids in horseracing, triggered the typical, knee-jerk reaction by the horseracing industry: heaven help us if there's federal intervention.
(26 June 2008 - Issue Number: 6)
Can fractures be predicted?
/While catastrophic fractures are relatively rare - less than 2 percent
of all horses racing worldwide sustain them - they account for nearly 80
percent of racing-related fatalities. Even with advances in modern
veterinary medicine, fracture diagnosis can often be elusive. What if a
simple blood test could reveal a fracture or a predisposition to one
before it became a crisis?
Kimberly French (10 July 2008 - Issue 9)
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome
/Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is an increasingly common problem
in the Thoroughbred racehorse, causing a range of symptoms from
depression to aggression, and often impacting negatively on performance.
Diagnosis is sometimes difficult, although there are methods by which
they can be swiftly identified and treated. Equine gastric ulcers are
graded on a scale of 0 to 4 where 4 is the most severe. A grade of 2 or
more is clinically significant and usually warrants treatment. The
primary objectives of treatment of equine gastric ulcers are to
facilitate healing and relieve symptoms. This can be accomplished by the
use of antacids, histamine receptor antagonists or acid pump
inhibitors. Ulcers are an issue - especially for racehorses- as they can
be a source of chronic pain, leading to reduced appetite, loss of
condition and sometimes colic. The clinical signs of the problem are
often intermittent, and can vary tremendously depending on the horse and
the types of discipline they compete in.
Rachel Queenborough (10 July 2008 - Issue 9)
Nuclear scanning - the next stage in diagnosing lameness
/Nuclear scintigraphy or 'bone scanning' attempts to take lameness
diagnosis one stage further by predicting rather than just diagnosing
fractures. It is an imaging technique that searches for an increase in
bone production and thus can often pinpoint the cuase of minor lameness
problems before they become catastrophic injuries.
James Tate (26 June 2008 - Issue 6)
Pelvic asymmetry in racehorses - increased risk of injury?
/Steeplechase racing in particular is a high risk sport for the horse. There is currently some fairly extensive research into racehorse injuries and fatalities on the racecourse, with previously published scientific reports on the subject being widely available. The racing industry is aware of the need for such reports, as the industry itself is very much in the public eye with regard to injury rates on the racecourse.
Nicole Rossa (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)
Read MoreIncreasing Oxygen Concentration in the Blood of the Racehorse
/Oxygen is the fuel of life and its efficient use is the key to athletic
fitness. The respiratory system of the racehorse must work hard to
harvest the 20 percent of oxygen present in the air we all breathe.
Observing a horse after his work on a cold morning provides a visual
reminder of this, as the breath surges from his nostrils.
Barry Sangster (14 February 2008 - Issue 7)
Strengthening Young Thoroughbreds' Limbs
/One of the major challenges in training racehorses is keeping them
sound. Not unlike a human athlete, a racehorse's ligaments, tendons,
bones and joints are susceptible to injury throughout its career and, at
times, it seems impossible to avoid some sort of musculoskeletal
mishap.
Kimberly French (14 February 2008 - Issue 7)
Tooth Trouble - why regular dentist visits are essential for racehorses
/The mouth of a Thoroughbred is the principle means of communication between the horse and his rider. Other aids are used as well, but for many, the bit is what determines direction, rate of speed and position or frame in which the horse moves.
Kimberly French (01 December 2007 - Issue Number: 6)
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