Bramlage: Racing And Training 2-Year-Olds Reduces Their Risk Of Injury – Here’s Why

by Natalie Voss

 

Before most horse racing jurisdictions shut down across the country and threw the economic balance of the sport into question, the industry’s biggest problem was its need to reduce racing and training fatalities. Veterinarians and scientists are still learning about the causes of catastrophic injuries and, so far, it seems there may be a number of risk factors at play in any given injury.

One theory that many people have offered over the years is that the practice of allowing horses to race at two years old is either the direct cause of early breakdowns or predisposes horses to serious injury later. Many such hypotheses equate training and racing a 2-year-old with putting an elementary school-aged child into the Olympics. For more than two decades, the sport has heard calls to put an end to 2-year-old racing. Those calls have been renewed recently, as some fans have seen the racing shutdown as a good time to reevaluate and modify its structure and improve equine welfare.

The problem, according to Dr. Larry Bramlage, top orthopedic surgeon and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, is the halt of 2-year-old racing and training wouldn’t be a net gain for welfare or fatality rates – it might actually be a loss.

 

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EIPH Research Unveils Possible 24-Hour Furosemide Dose

Emphasis placed on strategies to control EIPH without race-day medication

Two research projects on Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage solicited by The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and funded in cooperation with The Jockey Club, the AAEP Foundation, Keeneland Association, Oak Tree Racing Association, The Stronach Group, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Downs, New York Racing Association, The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Oaklawn Park, and The Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association have now appeared in peer-reviewed journals.

Knych HK, Wilson WD, Vale A, et al.
Effectiveness of furosemide in attenuating exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in horses when administered 4- and 24-h prior to high speed training. Equine Vet J. 2017;50:350-355.

Bayly W, Lopez C, Sides R, et al.
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; 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15574

In March 2015, a special call for research on exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage was issued by The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. Emphasis was placed on strategies to control EIPH without race-day medication. Two projects were selected. The premise of the research was to look at the post-treatment effect of furosemide (Salix, or Lasix) if it had been given 24 hours before exercise with water intake limited to maintenance water levels (which are known).

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