PART 2: MORE COMMON

VETERINARY ISSUES

IN RACEHORSES

THE ABDOMEN

COLIC is the most common disease of the intestinal tract that we see, although cases are fairly infrequent. There are several types of colic and the severity and treatment vary. The most common colic we see is a spasmodic colic, often after swimming or exercise, with the horse suffering from the equivalent of intestinal cramps. This form of colic often resolves quickly with gentle walking and pain relief, or the anti-spasmodic drug buscopan.

More severe colics may require surgery to correct the problem but luckily such cases are extremely rare.

Worms of the intestinal tract are common and we have adopted a strategic treatment and testing regime here to ensure their numbers are kept to a minimum. New horses arriving at the yard are wormed on arrival, and through the spring and summer, the horses’ faeces are sampled for worm eggs every three months. Any horses with significant numbers of worms are treated.

In the late autumn, all horses on the yard are treated to prevent any existing worms becoming dormant in the intestine wall, which can cause marked damage when they emerge in the spring. All horses are treated for tapeworm in early spring, then move on to routine testing until autumn again.

Gastric “stomach” ulcers are sometimes seen in racehorses. They can occur in more stressed individuals and often present with a horse reluctant to eat. Our regular feeding intervals spaced throughout the day and night are designed to reduce the size of feeds and make the horse’s feeding regime more natural as they are naturally grazers. This helps to reduce the number of cases of ulcers. Ulcers can be effectively treated with Omeprazol which is an expensive but very effective treatment.

KNEE

The knee of a horse is formed by two rows of small bones and is the equivalent of the wrist in a human.

The knee is a common site of lameness in the horse as the bones re-model to become harder in response to increased exercise. They can become painful and inflamed, and occasionally small chips can form off the front of the knee bones.

Horses with arthritis (inflammation and corresponding bony reaction) or chips in their knees often require a period of rest and controlled exercise after the injury to allow the bone to heal and inflammation in the joint to settle down. We swim horses with knee lameness as it provides exercise with minimal force or weight-bearing through the site of injury.

FLEXOR TENDONS & SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT

Soft tissue injuries of the tendons and ligaments that run down the back of the cannon and fetlock are very serious and have considerable repercussions for a horse’s future athletic ability. They present as warm, painful swellings of the tendon or ligament and soft tissues around them.

Damage to the pattern of fibres can be seen on ultrasound scans. Horses that suffer these injuries require intense anti-inflammatory and cold therapy. They swim and are “bubble-booted” as soon as any injury becomes apparent. A long and gradual re-introduction to exercise is initiated as the tendon heals and ultrasound scans improve.

TIBIA

Stress fractures of the tibia are not uncommon. They are the result of re-modelling of the tibia as a horse’s exercise is increased, commonly occurring two-four weeks after a horse starts cantering. They often take time to be diagnosed as the callous that forms to repair and strengthen the tibia takes time to be laid down. I remember Mark (Johnston) once describing tibial stress fractures as the “sore shins of the back legs”.

The horse is initially quite lame, but comes sound fairly quickly and once they are sound, they are returned to a controlled increase in exercise, meaning they miss only a short period of time.

HOCKS

The hock, like the knee, is made up of several rows of small bones, three rows in the case of the hock as opposed to two rows in the knee. The common problems associated with hocks are therefore similar to those of the knees. The lower hock joints are a common site of arthritis. The small bones of the hock are also prone to small fractures due to the stresses placed on them at maximum exercise.

FETLOCK

Injury in the region of the fetlock joint is relatively common. There can, for instance, be minor inflammation as the bones and joint re-model to react to the stresses of training. But, less frequently, small fragments of bone can chip off into the joint and these in turn cause inflammation and sometimes low-grade lameness. Anti-inflammatory medication to settle the joint inflammation, swimming and controlled exercise often allows these horses to return to full training relatively quickly.

This article is an overview of the anatomy of the horse and our graphic shows some common sites of problems that may require veterinary intervention. The word “fracture” of course strikes fear into anyone involved in racehorses. But many horses with fractures return to normal training relatively quickly nowadays and fatalities associated with fractures are thankfully rare.

Here at Mark Johnston Racing fatalities associated with fractures stand at fewer than 1% of all the horses we have in training throughout the year. The onsite veterinary facilities allow immediate investigation and treatment of any horses with ailments.

Neil Mechie is a graduate of the University of London and is in practice in Mark Johnston Racing. This article first appeared in the Kingsley Klarion.