Bar shoes and ambient temperature are risk factors for exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Summary

# Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage: Environmental and Equipment Risk Factors in Racing Thoroughbreds Whilst ambient temperature has long been suspected as a trigger for exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) in racehorses, the relative contribution of equipment and environmental variables remained poorly characterised. Crispe and colleagues conducted a comprehensive analysis of racing Thoroughbreds to establish which climatic conditions and equipment modifications—including bit type, tongue ties, and non-standard shoeing—independently increase EIPH incidence and severity. The research identified bar shoes and elevated ambient temperatures as significant independent risk factors, with horses wearing bar shoes showing substantially higher rates of pulmonary bleeding during exercise, alongside a dose-response relationship between temperature and EIPH manifestation. For practitioners, these findings suggest that farriers and trainers should critically evaluate whether bar shoes are necessary in individual cases, particularly when racing conditions are warm, and that veterinarians might counsel horse owners to defer high-intensity exercise or competition during periods of elevated ambient temperature where feasible. This evidence supports a multimodal approach to EIPH management, where equipment selection and race scheduling are considered alongside conventional prophylactic strategies such as anti-inflammatory medication.

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Key Findings

• •Ambient temperature is a significant risk factor for EIPH incidence and severity in racing Thoroughbreds
• •Bar shoes (nonstandard shoeing) are identified as a risk factor for EIPH
• •Multiple equipment variables including bit type and tongue ties warrant investigation as potential EIPH risk factors

Conditions Studied

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