Treating Bone Fractures in Racehorses

Like all athletes, performance horses are susceptible to injury. In the case of fractures, owners often want to know a horse’s prognosis for recovery in order to make a sound decision on how to treat the injury.

“Slab fractures of the small cuboidal bones in the horse’s knee occur fairly regularly, especially in racehorses. The current treatment of choice is surgery, with larger fractures being screwed back into place and smaller fractured pieces removed,” explained Laura Petroski-Rose, B.V.M.S., a veterinarian for Kentucky Equine Research.

To give horse owners a better idea of what to expect following surgery, veterinarians from Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania collected data from 125 racehorses. Each of the horses had a slab fracture of the third carpal bone that was treated surgically.

In this study, 43% of the horses returned to racing following surgery, a less favorable outcome than previously reported.

“Because many horses are now considered companion animals or family members, not just partners in performance, owners are sometimes more demanding in terms of what to expect as far as outcome, so this study provided some important data,” explained Petroski-Rose.

One way to support bone density, especially in hard-working, high-performance horses, is to offer a bone supplement packed with vitamins and minerals shown to support bone integrity.

According to Petroski-Rose, “Triacton contains a unique, highly digestible form of calcium in addition to an array of other bone-building nutrients, including magnesium, boron, silicone, iodine, zinc, and manganese, as well as vitamins A, C, D, and K. Research at our Thoroughbred performance center has shown that Triacton increases bone density in racehorses in training.”

In addition to bone-building products, to maximize soundness, consider high-quality joint products developed by Kentucky Equine Research.

*Doering, A.K., H.L. Reesink, L.K. Luedke, et al. Return to racing after surgical management of third carpal bone slab fractures in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses. Veterinary Surgery. In press.