Horse Racing Tips

Equine Sports Massage

When humans feel pain in their muscles or tightness in certain areas of their bodies they will often visit a massage therapist, who will work to loosen the muscle and to assist in its healing. Horses are also have a variety of muscles, but cannot tell us when they are experiencing some discomfort, therefore injured muscles are only noticed when horses start to display a change in demeanor, are afflicted by constant lameness or perform poorly. Equine sports massage treatment can assist horsemen in keeping their horses in the best possible shape and prevent muscle injuries before they become more serious.

Laminitis in Racehorses

Laminitis is a word that strikes fear in the hearts of every horse owner, be it family horses or racehorses. In 1989, the magnificent Secretariat was euthanized because of laminitis; a similar fate was suffered more recently by Barbaro, the people’s hero, who also contracted laminitis after suffering a broken leg. When humans decided to domesticate horses, their diets and workloads changed dramatically from what they were accustomed to in the wild, and this has opened the door to illnesses and injuries which would probably not have occurred had they remained wild. But there is hope for horses with laminitis, depending on the severity, and as more research is done into laminitis, the more is learnt and preventative measures developed.

The Low Down on DOD

In 1986, the term Developmental Orthopaedic Disease, or DOD, was used for the first time. The term is a general description and can be misleading as DOD not only refers to bone diseases, but also to problems that are found in developing joints and plates. Developmental Orthopaedic Disease is therefore a diagnosis for any development issues of the musculoskeletal structure. Even though there is no specific general cure or treatment that can assist in all the various forms of Developmental Orhtopaedic Disease, problems can be treated and steps can be taken to prevent most DODs.

Seriousness of Hoof Cracks

The racing community and thousands of fans were waiting in anticipation for the prognosis of the hoof crack that was found on Big Brown’s left front hoof. The quarter crack was treated by Ian MacKinlay, a hoof specialist, and Big Brown should be back on track to take on the Belmont Stakes on 7 June 2008. The fact that the hoof crack could be repaired was a great relief to all those who are pinning their hopes on Big Brown being the next Triple Crown winner, and even though some hoof cracks are repairable, there are some that can cause serious injury and pain to horses.

Fractures – Types, Causes and Prevention

Racing and even training puts a vast amount of strain on the bones in the legs of horses. To understand the pressure that a leg is under during a full gallop, it is vital to point out that even though horses are much larger than human athletes, their bone structures are approximately the same size. When a thoroughbred is at full gallop, only one leg is in contact with the ground at a time. This causes the force of an estimated seven tons to be exerted on each leg as the horse moves through the stride. It is this force that can cause serious damage if a horse steps wrongly or is running on uneven ground.

Do Heart Murmurs Affect Performance?

To understand the workings of a heart murmur, it is important to know how the heart operates in horses. The average sized horse has a heart that is the size of a basketball and it is the centre of the cardiovascular system. There is approximately forty-five liters of blood in the body of a horse that needs to be pumped by the heart. The heart pumps at an estimated rate of forty beats a minute and the valves that allow the blood to flood in and out of the heart causes the “lub-dub” sound that is heard through a stethoscope.

Purchasing a Racehorse through Public Auction

The most important part of getting into the horse racing industry is purchasing a good racehorse. Most of the big stable yards send their bloodstock agents to the various sales to make a purchase on their behalf. Oftentimes smaller yards, or people just starting up, don’t have the finances available to have a permanently employed agent, and have to attend the sale themselves.

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