Upper airway endoscopy in exercising horses: Findings in 164 barrel racing horses with respiratory clinical signs and/or poor performance.
Authors: Massie S L, Léguillette R
Journal: Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
Summary
# Editorial Summary Barrel racing demands explosive acceleration through a cloverleaf pattern in under 20 seconds, yet upper airway obstruction (UAO) prevalence in this discipline remained undocumented until this retrospective analysis of 164 referred horses. Massie and Léguillette systematically scored overground endoscopy recordings during standardised exercise testing (incorporating both low and high-speed components) to identify eight different UAO conditions and examine associations between concurrent abnormalities, age and sex. Of the 140 horses with detectable pathology, nasopharyngeal collapse dominated (49%), followed by palatal instability (42%) and intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (39%), with over half harbouring two or more concurrent obstructions; notably, abnormalities appeared more than twice as frequently at low-speed (55%) compared to high-speed work (22%). These findings suggest that barrel racers presenting with respiratory noise, cough, epistaxis, behavioural issues or unexplained poor performance warrant thorough endoscopic investigation at multiple exercise intensities, as single-diagnosis assumptions are likely inadequate and the co-existence of multiple UAOs appears the norm rather than exception in this population. The discipline-specific data may help practitioners tailor diagnostic protocols and surgical decision-making, particularly given that the most prevalent conditions—nasopharyngeal collapse and palatal instability—carry different prognoses and management strategies.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Overground endoscopy should be performed at multiple exercise intensities, as many obstructions appear only at lower speeds and may be missed with high-speed testing alone
- •Expect to find multiple concurrent upper airway abnormalities in barrel racing horses with respiratory complaints or performance issues—single-abnormality cases are less common
- •Nasopharyngeal collapse and palatal instability are the most frequent findings in this performance group; management strategies should address these primary obstructions and any secondary abnormalities identified
Key Findings
- •15% of barrel racing horses had no upper airway obstructions during exercise, while 56% of affected horses had two or more concurrent abnormalities
- •Nasopharyngeal collapse was most prevalent (49%), followed by palatal instability (42%) and intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (39%)
- •Abnormalities were significantly more frequent at low-speed exercise (55%) compared to high-speed exercise (22%)
- •Multiple upper airway obstructions are common in barrel racers presenting with respiratory clinical signs and/or poor performance