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Pogle…have you ever been to a racing yard? Talked to someone that works in a yard or a trainer? These horses get the best food, best hay, and not all are in there stables 24/7….
I think you need to go and visit some yards before you make any kind of judgement….Lambourn have there open day on good Friday…
A horse on the gallops is not that strenous to racing pace on the course…
Horses bleed, but not the amount you have written….
and by the sounds of it, your very anti-racing…
This is the article on bleeding:
Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) refers to bleeding (haemorrhage) from blood vessels within the lung (pulmonary) which occurs during strenuous exercise (exercise-induced). Whilst it has been documented for over 300 years that a small percentage of racehorses show blood at the nostrils after racing (e.g. Bleeding Childers, Herod), it was not until the introduction of fibreoptic endoscopes (devices for looking into the airways; they are passed via the nostrils in the conscious horse) that it became clear that blood observed at the nostrils during or following strenuous exercise nearly always originated from the lung.
With the more widespread use of endoscopy in veterinary practice and veterinary research, it is now clear that 40-75% of Thoroughbred horses will have some blood in their trachea (windpipe) after racing. The degree of bleeding varies considerably between individual horses, with horses showing visible blood at the nostrils often being referred to as "bleeders".
Whilst originally thought to be a Thoroughbred "problem", it is now clear that any breed or type of horse undertaking strenuous exercise may experience EIPH. The condition has been observed in Thoroughbreds following flat racing and steeplechasing, Standardbred racing (trotting or pacing), polo, show jumping, cross-country and barrel racing. EIPH has also been shown to occur in racing greyhounds, camels and humans after intense exercise.
The bleeding that occurs as a result of intense exercise in horses is not randomly or uniformly distributed throughout the whole lung, but affects the dorso-caudal (uppermost and rearmost) part of the lung (See Figure). In a young two year old horse in training or young riding horse, with strenuous work (fast canter and gallop and possibly jumping), the very tips of the lung will tend to be affected. As the horse ages and works more a larger amount of lung is affected and the bleeding tends to become worse. It may be that continual bouts of EIPH cause structural changes in the lung as a result of the repair process and this may explain the trend for more frequent and severe bleeding with age.
As the amount of blood in the trachea after intense exercise can vary greatly between horses and even in the same horse over a period of time, various grading systems have been developed to describe the amount of blood seen endoscopically after exercise. The system we use grades the bleeding on a scale of 0 (no blood in the trachea) to 5 (the whole trachea is covered with blood). This scoring is undertaken 30-90 minutes after exercise. In one survey, involving 223 flat racehorses in Great Britain, we found the prevalence of EIPH after flat racing to be 40% in two-year olds, 65% in three-year olds and 82% in horses older than three. In addition, in the older horses the more severe grades of bleeding occurred more frequently.
Despite the fact that it is now 25 years since it was generally accepted that horses bleed in their lungs after intense exercise, the cause is still not known. The most popular theory is that the bleeding occurs because of very high stresses (known as transmural pressures) acting across the walls of the tiny capillaries (small blood vessels) in the horses’s lung during exercise leading to stress failure. The blood is only separated from the air spaces within the lung by a very thin membrane, which facilitates uptake of oxygen by the blood. During exercise horses develop tremendously high pressures in the pulmonary blood vessels and it is hypothesised that this could be sufficient to rupture the vessel walls. This is the basis behind the use of the drug Lasix (frusemide) in North America. Lasix is a diuretic, a drug which causes increased urine production hence loss of water from the blood circulation. This causes the blood pressure both at rest and during exercise to be lower. However, in some surveys of the condition in the USA in the 1980s, horses racing on Lasix were no less likely to bleed than untreated animals. In addition, high blood pressure theories of EIPH cannot immediately explain why the bleeding occurs in the upper and rear part of the lung. However more recent studies using more sensitive measures of EIPH have demonstrated that Lasix can reduce EIPH. The application of a nasal strip both alone and in combination with Lasix treatment has been shown to reduce the amount of EIPH. The nasal strip may decrease EIPH by decreasing inspiratory resistance or by decreasing the metabolic cost of strenuous exercise.
We have recently proposed that EIPH results from the high impact of the front legs on the ground during fast cantering, galloping and jumping. When the front legs hit the ground during galloping, the shoulder is pushed hard onto the rib cage. When the foot is planted on the ground, the force is transmitted to the lung and a shock-like "wave" passes through it. Because of the shape of the lung this "wave" becomes amplified and most intense in the rear and upper part of the lung. The damage is similar to that experienced in the lungs of people in car accidents where they are hit hard in the front of the chest. In this situation, the damage and bleeding that occurs in the lung is not usually at the front of the lung, but at the back. A similar situation could exist between the back and top part of the lung and the chest wall.
In a survey, 26% of flat trainers and 54% of National Hunt trainers thought that bleeding affects racing performance. In one survey it was found that the incidence of EIPH following racing was not different between a random sample of horses and poorly performing animals. In a study under laboratory conditions performed at the University of Sydney, with horses exercising on a treadmill, it was shown that placing 200ml of blood in the left and right lungs significantly reduced performance. This amount of blood was thought to be equivalent to Grade 3 (the middle grade of bleeding) on our scale.
There is evidence that EIPH may cause permanent alterations in the blood supply to the affected parts of the lungs. Fortunately, EIPH only affects a relatively small amount of the total lung. However, the presence of blood in the airways may of itself also lead to inflammation. Inflammation is the process that occurs when body tissues are damaged. For example, in the case of a cut in the skin, the inflammatory response results in increased blood flow to the area, with redness, swelling, heat and pain. Some studies have suggested that inflammation may occur in the lung as a result of EIPH.
At present, without knowing the true cause of EIPH it is extremely difficult to make recommendations on management to prevent, reduce or treat the condition. Many suspect that airway inflammation, following infection or as a result of poor stable hygiene (allowing contamination with moulds, dust and ammonia), may accentuate EIPH. Others believe that upper airway conditions such as laryngeal hemiplegia ("roaring") may worsen bleeding.
A recent Horserace Betting Levy Board Grant to the Animal Health Trust funded a two-year study to investigate the effects of changes in airway resistance on the occurrence of EIPH. The degree of EIPH was not increased with increases in airway resistance and was not decreased by decreases in airway resistance. This suggests that EIPH is not a result of increased airway resistance due to upper or lower airway disease.
In addition, we are also investigating our theory that EIPH may be caused by locomotory impact and attempting to devise better techniques for being able to measure how much blood enters the airways and from exactly which part of the lung. Only once we have a clear understanding of the causes of EIPH and access to techniques to accurately quantify the bleeding within the lung will it be possible to improve our management of this condition.
For those interested in further reading, there are two recent publications which summarise the outcome of two recent workshops on EIPH:
Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage Workshop. C.A.Roberts and H.H. Erickson. Equine Exercise Physiology 5, Equine Veterinary Journal, Supplement 30 (1999), pages 642-644.
Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage Study Group. (June 1999) The Horserace Betting Levy Board.
Dr David Marlin <br>Centre for Equine Studies <br>August 2000
<br>Oh yeah….I work in racing and have done for over 20 yrs….
Yes i have been to a racing yard.yes i have spoken to trainers.yes i have spoken to owners,yes i have worked on thoroughbreds.yes i have taken mares to stud yards.no i don’t need to go on an open day<br>No i am not anti racing and would never and have never decreed a ban.But these issues need to be addressed or other organisations will do it for you.If anyone chooses to web search these conditions they will find that a lot of research has gone into it and what i have summarised is correct.If you are happy that nothing can be improved and every racehorse is free from stress and the effects of their way of life then fine.If you believe bleeding lungs and ulcers is a fair price to pay,fine.I have no wish to disrupt this forum by going on but hopefully i have provided some food for thought.
Unless I’m very much mistaken, in the age of the motor car, there is scant need for the horse and cart, the dray, the rag and bone man, the pony drawn milk float. ÂÂÂ
We see very few metrosexual graduates in the urban cities making their way to the call centre on their trusty steed. Our children no longer eagerly wait by the side of the cobbled streets with their manure buckets and scoops.
Because of this fantastic sport, breeding of throughbreds is at a record high. Were the sport to be restricted or prohibited as a result of the actions of these well meaning zealots, then there would be no need for the breed and on a long enough timeline, all horses would be a rarity, if not extinct. ÂÂÂ
So the way I look at it, the racing industry is the saviour of the horse and the Animal Aiders are the villainous genocidists.
Weird, really. In Malaysia, over 80% of the unique virgin rain forest has been cleared to make way for vast palm oil plantations.  Encouraged by doctors and the health industry, palm oil is in demand in the west as a low cholesterol foodstuff,  (for example, as a replacement for lard).
Sadly, this disappearing forest is one of the last natural habitats of the Orang-Utan, one of our closest genetic relatives.
So lifestyle demagogues such as your family doctor, your local organic food co-ordinator, the Health Education Council, Trinny and Susannah, Judy, and the jolly Jamie Oliver are in fact, er, villainous genocidists. Life’s little ironies, huh!;) <br>
<br>I didn’t think it would, even though it is a welfare issue that is measured by how much blood comes out of their lungs.From a teaspoonful up to a bucketful as one researcher put it on another site.The gastric ulcers is another issue that is caused by a combination of bad feeding practices ie not allowing natural trickle feeding,confined to a stable for many hours with no interaction in a stressful environment followed by strenuous excercise.Again I appreciate that it is not long term because if they are allowed to be horses and fed correctly and naturally the ulcers go.But the only reason I am mentioning these things is that i wouldn;t want people to get the impression that racehorses have this great life when in fact there are welfare issues that need to be addressed in my opinion.We are not talking about a couple of horses here we are talking about up to 90 out of every 100.
<br>The Animal health trust states that EIPH does not just occur in racehorses but also in camels, humans and dogs. Most importantly it states that standardbred racing (trotting or pacing) can cause EIPH. This suggests to me that wild horses will also suffer from it and it is a natural problem suffered by horses. Whilst it is unpleasant I can’t see any evidence that it is painful or causes long term damage even if up to 90% suffer from it. I think you are making too much of a fuss about this but it’s all a matter of opinion.
I can’t see any positive evidence that the ulcers are caused by bad feeding practices or that horses suffer from stress by being confined to a stable for many hours…..Do they? I have never worked with horses so stable staff would be best qualified to answer whether a horse is kept in a stable for many hours and suffers stress from it.
I’m not saying that racehorses live a carefree utopian life with no problems but few animals do. One very important point is that most racehorses will get expert medical attention when suffering illness which would not happen to a horse in the wild.
I think that horses enjoy running and jumping and that the majority of racehorses in this country experience a lot of enjoyment in their lives.
I can’t see any positive evidence that the ulcers are caused by bad feeding practices or that horses suffer from stress by being confined to a stable for many hours…..Do they? I have never worked with horses so stable staff would be best qualified to answer whether a horse is kept in a stable for many hours and suffers stress from it.
May i let you peruse the article below taken from Horse and hounds.
It regards "the daily pain of gastric ulcers"
"It is now commonly accepted that the at risk horses are those in training-the incidence of gastric ulcers in racing is reported at 80-90% and in competition horses at 50%.However,any horse fed limited amounts of forage and a few seperate meals per day has the capacity for gastric ulcers,including dieting ponies,show animals and sales preparation young stock.<br>Equine gastric ulcers is probably a man made syndrome.The root cause is the imbalance between how the horse evolved to eat and how we now feed.The horse was designed by nature as a trickle feeder and acid is produced continuously in the stomach in the expectation of food.<br>Gastric ulcers disappear if an affected horse is rested and turned out to grass,alternatively offer forage."
So yes it affects other horses as well as racehorses but only if fed the same way as obviously a large percentage of racehorses are.This is a basic welfare issue where people are ignoring the correct feeding patterns required in order to chuck high energy foods down their throats for their own ends.
pogle – I don’t see anything which states that the ulcers are caused by stress from a horse being confined to a stable for many hours. I don’t know how old the Horse/Hound article is but a recent article in March 2007 by a leading vet named Barney Fleming stated this –
‘Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is increasingly being recognized as a major health problem affecting all equine athletes, including endurance horses. Research has shown that 90% of racehorses and almost 60% of all performance horses are affected by EGUS. <br>Although EGUS was initially believed to be a health concern primarily affecting racehorses, further studies have confirmed that ulcers affect horses in many other competitive disciplines including eventing, dressage and show jumping’
Therefore it doesn’t just effect racehorses. Obviously if inefficient feeding practices are resulting in racehorses having ulcers then everything must be done to solve this problem. The welfare of the horse is the most important issue.
Anyway we can discuss this subject until the cows come home:)  but I’d like to know where you stand regarding the issues that you have mentioned. Are you saying that you think that horse racing is cruel? Reading between the lines of your posts so far, it does seem that this is the way you feel. If so then don’t bet or support it. I can respect the opinion of anybody who considers horse racing to be cruel as it is a matter of opinion even if I disagree with it. What I dislike is people who think horse racing is cruel but continue to bet/follow it – they are massive hypocrites imo.   ÂÂÂ
Anyway we can discuss this subject until the cows come home:)  but I’d like to know where you stand regarding the issues that you have mentioned. Are you saying that you think that horse racing is cruel? Reading between the lines of your posts so far, it does seem that this is the way you feel. If so then don’t bet or support it. I can respect the opinion of anybody who considers horse racing to be cruel as it is a matter of opinion even if I disagree with it. What I dislike is people who think horse racing is cruel but continue to bet/follow it – they are massive hypocrites imo.  ÂÂÂ
<br>I don’t think cruel is the right word but i do believe that welfare issues can be improved.I don’t bet or follow it but neither do i campaign against it.I agree we could discuss it till the cows come home and thank you for discussing it in a mature way without personal insults or sarcasm.It has been a pleasure and you are a credit to the forum.
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