Читать книгу Fractures in the Horse - Группа авторов - Страница 68

In the last 20 or 30 years, epidemiology research groups, around the world, have focussed efforts on addressing one of the primary welfare concerns associated with equine sports, i.e. how to minimize the risk of injury in horses competing for human pleasure. Most sports‐horse‐related injuries that result in euthanasia affect the musculoskeletal system, in particular the bony structures of the distal limb. For this reason, the majority of work has focussed on identification of risk factors and preventive measures to mitigate such injuries. Equine fractures that have been the subject of epidemiological analyses are predominantly non‐traumatic and related to exercise, principally during racing and training but also in other forms of equestrian competition. There is a dearth of published information on the epidemiology of fractures in the non‐sports horse. As a result, the majority of this chapter focuses on work conducted in competition horses.

The chapter is structured to firstly describe the relative incidence of different fracture types in different disciplines or horse populations in different geographical locations in both racing (competition) and training. Secondly, it summarizes work conducted on the identification of risk factors for different types of fracture, in competition and during training. In recent years, research in this field has attempted to better predict which horses are most likely to sustain a fracture. In other words, we have moved from the identification of risk factors to trying to identify the ‘at‐risk’ horse. A description of how these efforts are proceeding is included. The chapter concludes with a short commentary on predictability and the potential for pre‐fracture screening methods that could be employed in order to minimize the risk of injury in equine athletes.

It is worth noting that over the years different case definitions have been used for studies in this area which genuinely reflect differences in outcome, but it is also the case that the same outcome (in particular fatal injury) has been referred to in several different ways by different authors. For example, authors have referred to a fatal injury as a ‘catastrophic injury’ or a ‘fatal musculoskeletal injury’. I have retained the original terminology used when referencing individual papers, but readers should be aware that all three definitions relate to the same outcome.