The overarching aim of this project is to inform intervention strategies to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury in Thoroughbred racehorses in training.

Challenge

Musculoskeletal injury (MSI) remains the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Thoroughbred racehorses worldwide, having a considerable impact on horse welfare, economics, and the public’s perception of the sport. Whilst numerous studies have investigated injuries occurring on the racecourse, there is no up-to-date information on the incidence of injuries sustained during training in Great Britain (GB), or risk factors for their occurrence. Furthermore, there is no documented evidence on current training regimens employed in practice and how these may affect injury risk. By improving understanding of injury occurrence and what features of training practices influence injury risk, strategies can be developed to identify “at risk” horses and inform interventions to reduce the incidence of injury. Injury prevention is a key component of improving racehorse safety and welfare, in line with current industry priorities.

Solution

By conducting prospective cohort studies in flat and national hunt (jump) Thoroughbreds in training in GB the project will:

1. Estimate the incidence of the most common types of MSI in racehorses in training, including fracture, tendon, and joint injuries.
2. Develop novel measures of training workload that can be used to monitor training over time.
3. Investigate modifiable risk factors for exercise-induced MSI, with particular reference to training workloads.
4. Trial the use of wearable GPS technology to establish its practical usefulness to measure speed, distance, stride frequency, and stride length to estimate workloads in horses in training.

If you are a racehorse trainer interested in taking part in this exciting study, please register your interest here: Training Injury Prevention Study with no obligation.

For further information or questions please contact traininginjuries@rvc.ac.uk

Impact

This project will fill important knowledge gaps and have major benefits for the welfare of horses in training in GB by improving understanding of current injury occurrence and what features of their training regimes, or other management factors, could be modified to reduce injury risk. Outputs from this study will directly inform practices aimed at minimising fatal and non-fatal injury in Thoroughbreds, which fully aligns with the Horse Welfare Board’s Board strategic priority of “Best possible safety”.

Partners

This project is generously funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Racing Foundation conducted in collaboration with the British Horseracing Authority.