The Reported Use of Tongue-Ties and Nosebands in Thoroughbred and Standardbred Horse Racing-A Pilot Study.
Authors: Weller Dominic, Franklin Samantha, White Peter, Shea Glenn, Fenner Kate, Wilson Bethany, Wilkins Cristina, McGreevy Paul
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Tongue-ties remain commonplace in racing yards, with 62.5% of surveyed trainers (70 of 112) employing them, though their application reflects markedly different priorities between Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing. Thoroughbred trainers predominantly used tongue-ties to manage airway obstruction (72.3%) and noise, whilst Standardbred trainers weighted airway management equally with preventing the horse from positioning its tongue over the bit, suggesting breed-specific functional concerns that warrant closer investigation. Over half of tongue-tie users (51.4%) reported complications, most commonly tongue redness or bruising, with duration of application emerging as a critical risk factor—a nine-minute increase in wear time doubled the likelihood of complications, and checking tightness by assessing tongue immobility substantially raised the risk of physical injury (odds ratio 6.59). Trainers rated tongue-ties as significantly less effective for improving overall performance than for addressing specific airway or bit-related issues, indicating a gap between perceived benefit and actual outcome that practitioners should consider when advising clients on this restraint. Whilst this pilot study provides valuable preliminary data on real-world usage patterns and complications in racing environments, the modest sample size limits generalisation across the broader equine industry, and larger, longitudinal studies are needed to establish robust evidence-based guidelines for safe application or feasible alternatives.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •If using tongue-ties in your training program, keep application duration as short as possible—complications risk doubles for every 9 minutes of use
- •Avoid assessing tongue-tie tightness by immobilizing the tongue completely; this practice is strongly associated with physical injury and should be replaced with safer adjustment methods
- •Recognize that tongue-ties may help manage airway issues and tongue displacement but are not reliably effective for improving race performance, so weigh their use against documented complication risks (51% of users experience problems)
Key Findings
- •62.5% of racehorse trainers (n=70) reported using tongue-ties, with Thoroughbred trainers primarily citing airway obstruction prevention (72.3%) while Standardbred trainers equally prioritized airway obstruction and preventing tongue movement over bit (69.6% each)
- •51.4% of tongue-tie users (n=36) reported physical or behavioural complications, with tongue redness/bruising being most common (20.0%, n=14)
- •Every nine-minute increment in tongue-tie application duration doubled the odds of reported complications, and checking tightness by tongue immobility was associated with 6.59-fold increased risk of physical complications
- •Tongue-ties were considered significantly less effective at improving performance than at reducing airway obstruction and preventing tongue displacement (t=-2.700, p=0.0007)