Horse Bone Is Dense, Vulnerable
Shattered Fragments, Laminitis, Breeding Weak Genes Are Deadly
In any case of leg fracture in a Thoroughbred, healing is slow to occur. Infection and laminitis often result after fractures. Is weak breeding part of the problem?
Horse bone appears to be shattering at an alarming rate. In horses, shattered bones present problematic healing. Horse bone is dense, its blood supply weak, and its healing time slow.
Instant incurable contamination will occur when a horse suffers a compound bone fracture. This presents no hope for recovery. Arteries, veins, and nerves are damaged beyond repair because of a loss of blood supply. Circulation is cut off from the injured area. A horse's leg is void of muscle tissue below the knee.
If bone fragments are overlooked, or left to heal by themselves, they, too can become infected and complicate the healing process. Bone fragments can be pinned, stapled, or grafted, but numerous small pieces may individually lose their blood supply, thereby inviting infection.
After fragments have been surgically pinned, or screwed together, long term healing becomes the next problem. To heal, a horse must be confined and stand on three legs when one is fractured. This opens the door to deady laminitis, an infection of the membrane of the hoof.
The effect of laminitis in any of the three good legs is caused by overuse of those limbs. A healthy horse balances its thousand pounds of weight by even distribution among all four legs. One crippled leg most often leads to laminitis crippling the others. Laminitis, which crippled Barbaro's ability to heal, remains incurable.
Is the Thoroughbred industry concentrating its breeding efforts too heavily on speed alone? Are hardy, durable bone genes being sacrificed in the greed for speed?
George Washington (Breeders Cup), Island Pond Breeders' Cup), Teuflesberg (Phoenix Stakes), Wynn Dot Comma (dirt workout), Barbaro (Preakness Stakes), Notional (Polytrack workout), Lion Heart (Travers Stakes), Invasor (dirt workout), Rags to Riches (Belmont Stakes), War Pass (Wood Memorial), and Eight Belles (Kentucky Derby) are all on a list of lost lives, or snapped ankles, or fractured legs in the past several seasons.
Because fatalities are so much more horrific and visible, they seem to out-number survival rates. But that isn't true. Many hairline fractures and broken ankles can be repaired so that the individual can become a breeder. But are these breeders passing down weak bones?
As recently pointed out by National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and chief executive officer Alex Waldrop, these are questions breeders need to address and assess to ensure the future growth, safety and health of the Thoroughbred industry.
According to American Association of Equine Practitioners on-call veterinarian Larry Bramlage, young Thoroughbreds need to begin training regimens as soon as they are mature to encourage strong bone formation. Breeding for stamina and endurance is a natural enhancement for solid bone development.
