New endurance horse research from Loomis Basin & WST (Tevis Cup)

I always find these kinds of research projects interesting.  I know they were doing more this year at the Tevis.  This one just came out in PubMed.  I thought it worth noting that horses that colicked had a lower PVC (which means they were more dehydrated) than horses with poor recovery.  The one time Chief felt colicky at a ride he came right in with a 60 or less HR and recovered even lower than that even when he felt the worst.  The only thing I can take away from that is that we need to really look at our horses and note how they look and feel compared to normal and not just go by any single parameter such as a high or low heart rate or any other sign – our horses are much more complicated than that.

Clinical and biochemical abnormalities in endurance horses eliminated from competition for medical complications and requiring emergency medical treatment: 30 cases (2005-2006).

Objective- To describe the clinical and clinicopathologic abnormalities in endurance horses eliminated from competition and requiring emergency medical treatment. Design- Retrospective study over a 2-year period (2005-2006). Ten horses that successfully completed the ride in 2006 were included for comparison. Setting- Temporary equine emergency field hospital. Animals- All horses (n=30) that were removed from endurance competition and treated for a metabolic abnormality were studied. Interventions- Horses were treated with IV fluids and analgesics. Monitoring included lab work (PCV, total protein, and electrolytes) and serial physical examinations. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and parametric and nonparametric comparisons (ANOVA, Friedman’s test, and Kruskal-Wallis) where appropriate.

Measurements and Main Results- The clinical diagnoses identified included colic, esophageal obstruction, poor cardiovascular recovery, myopathy, and synchronous diaphragmatic flutter. As a group, these sick horses had lower plasma chloride and potassium and higher total plasma protein concentrations as compared with 10 healthy horses that successfully completed the ride (P<0.05, <0.01, and <0.05 for chloride, potassium, and total protein, respectively). Horses with colic had a lower PCV as compared with horses with poor recovery and those with synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (P<0.05). All horses, including colics, were treated medically and discharged to owners.

Conclusions- Based on the results of this study, the prognosis for horses requiring emergency veterinary treatment after being removed from endurance competition (for metabolic reasons) appears to be good if horses are withdrawn from competition under the same criteria outlined in this study. Biochemical abnormalities tend to be mild and do not necessarily aid in delineating sick horses from successfully completing horses. None of the horses with gastrointestinal disease required abdominal surgery.