The Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Injuries in Thoroughbred Racehorses in Queensland, Australia: How These Vary for Two-Year-Old and Older Horses and with Type of Injury.
Authors: Crawford Kylie L, Finnane Anna, Phillips Clive J C, Greer Ristan M, Woldeyohannes Solomon M, Perkins Nigel R, Kidd Lisa J, Ahern Benjamin J
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses remain a significant welfare and economic concern, yet existing research has focused predominantly on racing rather than the training environment where many injuries actually occur. Crawford and colleagues addressed this gap by analysing 202 injury cases and matched controls from Queensland racing facilities, combining both training and racing data to capture a more comprehensive picture of risk factors whilst enabling interventions more readily implemented at yard level. Their conditional logistic regression analysis revealed several critical findings: dam parity is strongly protective (horses from mares that have previously foaled show substantially reduced injury odds), whilst longer overall preparation periods—particularly concerning for two-year-olds—significantly increase injury risk; conversely, accumulating higher numbers of days exercised at slow paces substantially reduced injury odds across all age groups. High-speed work (three-quarter pace or faster) demonstrated a non-linear relationship with injury, whereby moderate high-speed distances over four weeks (2.4–3.8 km for younger horses; 3.0–4.8 km at three-quarter pace for older horses) posed considerably elevated risk, whilst notably, racing performance indices did not predict injury likelihood. For practitioners, these findings suggest that risk stratification focusing on maternal breeding history, total preparation duration, and work-pace distribution rather than racing success offers more meaningful injury prevention strategies, with gradual slow-paced work potentially more protective than enforced rest for at-risk individuals.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Two-year-olds from first-time mares need close monitoring for musculoskeletal injuries, particularly dorsal metacarpal disease; avoid intensive preparation lasting 10-14 weeks in this cohort.
- •Incorporating more days of slow-paced work is more effective for injury prevention than complete rest, especially for higher-risk horses.
- •Monitor training intensity carefully: moderate high-speed work (galloping 2.4-3.8 km per 4 weeks) appears riskier than either minimal or very high accumulated distances.
Key Findings
- •Increasing dam parity significantly reduced injury odds in two-year-olds (OR 0.08, p<0.001), while primiparous mares had foals with increased injury risk.
- •Longer total preparation length increased injury odds particularly in two-year-olds (OR 8.05, p=0.004), with 10-14 weeks duration showing highest risk.
- •Increasing days exercised at slow pace decreased injury odds across all ages (OR 0.09, p<0.001), suggesting protective effect of low-intensity work.
- •Non-linear relationship between high-speed exercise and injury: moderate gallop distances (2.4-3.8 km in 4 weeks) increased injury risk, but very high distances showed protective effect.