Sudden Death in Equine Athletes

Of 57 cases of sudden death in horses, 58% died during or near the time of a pleasure or training ride.

Collapse in these research cases occurred during exercise in nearly 72% of the time and soon after exercise in another 28%. Thinkstock

It is not usual to see a horse collapse during or soon after an athletic event, but it does happen. A study evaluated the frequency of this occurrence, which can provide sound advice for clients engaged in equestrian activities [de Solis, C.; Althaus, N.; Basieux, F.; Burger, D. Sudden death in sport and riding horses during and immediately after exercise: A case series. Equine Vet J, 2018].

Of 57 cases, event horses topped the statistics with 40.4% sudden deaths. The most common breed was the Thoroughbred. Collapse in these cases occurred during exercise in nearly 72% of the time and soon after exercise in another 28%.

Death occurred during or near the time of competition in 42% with the other 58% dying during or near the time of a pleasure or training ride. Because sudden death is known to occur after exercise stops and/or not always during competitive events, it is likely that the incidence of equine sudden death are underestimated due to lack of reporting.

About one-third of the 57 cases were strongly suspected or diagnosed on post-mortem as having a fatal cardiovascular event. Nearly 23% of riders on these horses were injured, particularly in their extremities.

categories
tags
Trending Articles
white horse portrait arching neck isolated on white
Disease Du Jour: Cervical Nerve Root Compression in Horses 
Detail eines schwarzen Pferdes das aus Maulsabbert
Identifying New Biomarkers for Equine Gastric Ulcers 
blood draw on a horse
New Point-of-Care ACTH Assay in Horses  
madigan-foal-compression-1-min
Madigan Foal Squeeze Technique
Newsletter
Get the best from EquiManagement delivered straight to your inbox once a week! Topics include horse care, disease alerts, and vet practitioner updates.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Country*

Additional Offers

Untitled
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
EquiManagement
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.