Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Abstract
A major problem about today's sports horses is that they are prone to be damaged. In harness racing, the workload is very high and this study seeks to give an overview of how to solve the problem. There are many factors that come into play when assessing the risk of injury to the horse, and some examples of such factors are the intensity of the exercise, the veterinary inspection before the competition, the trainer in the form of its age, experience and training schedules, the horse's upbringing and the horse's age.
The study was conducted using a questionnaire that was spread through Svensk Travsport's website and Facebook page, which was directed to all active trainers with warmblooded trotters.
In the result, I was able to find a link between a high training intensity and the proportion of injured horses. The harder the horse got to train the greater the danger was that the horse would suffer damage. I also found that a high training intensity did not always give the horse an improved performance but could lead to overtraining, which meant that the horse, without noticeable physical changes, performed worse in terms of slower kilometers times.
In addition, I found that a veterinary inspection before the competition could reduce the percentage damage arising in connection with the competition. Many injuries derives from a previous minor injury that may be difficult to detect. With a medically qualified person who has no connection to the starting rig, performes an inspection also those minor injuries can be detected. The result also showed that radiographic changes such as osteochondrosis and other joint problems affect the sustainability of the horse. However it depends in part on where the change is located. A change in the tarsal joint provides less impact than, for example, a change in the fetlock. I could also find that the horse's upbringing was strongly linked to the existence of joint changes.
My conclusion was that you need to look at the horse's training schedule to better individualize the training for the horses age and physical conditions. The need to introduce a thorough veterinary inspection before competitions to find small changes in horses that can lead to immense problems. You also need to take into account the young horse and its growth when searching for a sustainable individual. Horses are often hurting themselves at a certain age and that there may be a connection between this and micro injuries. The factors that affect the risk factor is the veterinary inspection, the experience of the trainer, workout intensity, if the horse is capable of premium race as a 2-year-old, the horse's age, age at first competition, rest periods, irregular exercise, X-ray findings, genetics and muscle fatigue.