{"title":"Risk factors for superficial digital flexor tendinopathy in Thoroughbred racing horses in Japan.","authors":"Yoko Ikeda, Akikazu Ishihara, Masahiko Nakajima, Kazutaka Yamada","doi":"10.1294/jes.30.93","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thoroughbred racehorses are commonly affected with superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendinopathy. This study aimed to identify risk factors for SDF tendinopathy in racing horses. The authors selected racehorses (n=292) with SDF tendinopathy from the medical records of a racetrack. As a risk factor associated with track-related variables, the SDF tendinopathy odds ratio (OR) was significantly high for a sloppy track surface compared with a standard track surface. Regarding risk factors associated with race-related variables, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high in the following cases: when the order of arrival was worse than or equal to the 10th place; when the racehorses started to run a short race and when the racehorses' favourites were worse than or equal to the 8th place. Regarding risk factors associated with racehorse-related variables, the body weight of racehorses with SDF tendinopathy was significantly heavier than that of control horses. When there was a decrease in body weight since previous racing, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high. Regarding risk factors associated with race career-related variables, when the charge in the race distance was short, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high. As a countermeasure to prevent SDF tendinopathy, a sloppy track surface should be avoided during the race by guiding the horse toward to more solid track surface. Selecting long-distance races with slow speed, if possible, could reduce the risk of SDF tendinopathy.</p>","PeriodicalId":35701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1294/jes.30.93","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Equine Science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.30.93","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2019/12/18 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Veterinary","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Thoroughbred racehorses are commonly affected with superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendinopathy. This study aimed to identify risk factors for SDF tendinopathy in racing horses. The authors selected racehorses (n=292) with SDF tendinopathy from the medical records of a racetrack. As a risk factor associated with track-related variables, the SDF tendinopathy odds ratio (OR) was significantly high for a sloppy track surface compared with a standard track surface. Regarding risk factors associated with race-related variables, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high in the following cases: when the order of arrival was worse than or equal to the 10th place; when the racehorses started to run a short race and when the racehorses' favourites were worse than or equal to the 8th place. Regarding risk factors associated with racehorse-related variables, the body weight of racehorses with SDF tendinopathy was significantly heavier than that of control horses. When there was a decrease in body weight since previous racing, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high. Regarding risk factors associated with race career-related variables, when the charge in the race distance was short, the SDF tendinopathy OR was significantly high. As a countermeasure to prevent SDF tendinopathy, a sloppy track surface should be avoided during the race by guiding the horse toward to more solid track surface. Selecting long-distance races with slow speed, if possible, could reduce the risk of SDF tendinopathy.