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AGR3RP2 - Assessment 6a. Analysis of equine veterinary conditions across equine participants of therapeutic horse-riding programs in Victoria. By Daniel Moffatt. Supervisors: Dr Courtnay Baskerville; Ms Sarra Magaton. Industry Contacts: Ms Lyndsay Davies; Dr Fiona Kates. Introduction. Hippotherapy, also known as therapeutic riding, is practiced around the world with the aim to improve the lives of individuals with neuromusculoskeletal disabilities. It is vital to account for the welfare of horses used in these programs, in order to provide the best possible system to benefit the riders and horses involved. Horses may suffer from many different veterinary conditions, which can be grouped into 10 major systematic groups. Certain conditions appear to occur more frequently among different equine populations, which suggests individual horse variables or type of work may influence particular veterinary conditions. Literature Review. A brief review of the four important topics needed to answer my research question. Hippotherapy, translating to 'horse therapy' in ancient Greek, was first mentioned in the work of Hippocrates around 460 to 370BC where he discussed the physical benefits of horse riding in his book ‘Natural Exercise’. This idea started gaining traction in the late 15 hundreds to early 18 hundreds, with many European physicians and therapists writing of the therapeutic benefits of riding horses. The first official program use of horses as a therapeutic tool began in the early 19 hundreds, when Oxford Hospital in England used cavalry horses to help with the physical rehabilitation of wounded soldiers returning from World War 1. At the 1952 Olympic Games, a woman named Liz Hartel won the silver medal for dressage despite suffering from partial paralysis in both legs as a result of polio, prompting British physiotherapists to explore the prospect of therapeutic horse riding for various disabilities throughout the 1950’s. The British Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) and The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) were subsequently formed in 1969. Presently Hippotherapy is used to aid individuals with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction, with studies showing benefits in balance, posture, gait, coordination, motor function, muscle symmetry, stiffness/flexibility, endurance, strength, and psychosocial parameters. Commonly seen equine veterinary conditions can be split into systematic groups of skeletal, muscular, integumentary, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urinary, reproductive, nervous, endocrine, and miscellaneous. Common musculoskeletal conditions include Osteoarthritis, Osteomyelitis, Bone Fractures, Tendon or Ligament Injury, Laminitis, Hoof Abscess, and Muscle Strain. Common integumentary conditions include Lacerations, Abrasions, Dermatitis, Dermatophilus, Insect Bite Hypersensitivity, Papillomavirus, and Melonomas. Common respiratory conditions include Recurrent Airway Obstruction, Sinusitis, and Upper & Lower Respiratory Infections. Common gastrointestinal conditions include Colic, Colitis, Peritonitis, Diarrhoea and Inappetence. Other common conditions include Conjunctivitis, Corneal Ulcers, Cataracts, Cardiac Arrhythmia or Murmurs, Cystitis, Urinary Tract Infections, and Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. It can be difficult to determine whether equine veterinary conditions are influenced by the rider. Stress related behaviours in horses such as ear pinning, tail swishing and head tossing appear consistent in frequency among recreational, physically handicapped, or psychosocially handicapped riders, however were noted to occur significantly more when ridden by advanced riders. This suggests that higher intensity exercise is more stressful on the horse despite a more experienced rider, when compared to lower intensity rides with less experienced riders. A study of 2554 dressage horses reported an incidence of 33% lameness, 25% spinal, 4.6% respiratory, 3.3% gastrointestinal, 0.4% cardiac, 0.4% reproductive, and 0.2% urinary conditions throughout their ridden careers. This study also found 24% of these horses had suffered form lameness within the last 2 years, with 55% in the front limbs, 29% in the hind limbs, and 4% with 3 or more limbs affected. There was minimal difference between lameness percentage in elite ridden horses (25%) versus amateur ridden horses (23.9%). A study of 1571 racing thoroughbreds reported an incidence of 53% musculoskeletal, 10.5% respiratory, and 3.7% miscellaneous conditions over 3 years. Common musculoskeletal conditions included lameness (48%), shin soreness (24.8%), tendon or ligament injury (11.8%), laceration or abrasion (6.7%), fractures (6.6%) and spinal injuries (2.2%). Finally, a study of 84 riding school horses reported an incidence of 77.4% spinal, 77.4% integument, 73.8% lameness, 23.8% laminitis, 23.8% digestive, 19% ocular, 13.1% respiratory and 4.8% genitourinary conditions over 1 year. No significant correlation has been shown between horse age and frequency of displayed stress behaviours such as ear pinning, tail swishing and head tossing. A study of 2554 dressage horses found that the likelihood of lameness increased by 1.06x for every year of age, equating to a 33% risk increase in a 12 year old horse compared to a 7 year old. Taller horses were also more likely to suffer from lameness, with horses over 170cm having a 15% risk increase compared to shorter horses under 163cm. A study of 1571 racing thoroughbreds found that overall incident rates were highest in 2 year old's, decreasing in 3 and 4 year old's, then slightly increasing in 5+ year old's. However the overall incident rates were influenced by certain injuries. Shin soreness was 25.9x more likely to occur in 2 year old horses when compared to 5 year old's, while tendon/ligament injuries were 6.3x more likely to occur in 5 year old horses when compared to 2 year old's. In addition, male thoroughbreds were 2.5x more likely to suffer from tendon/ligament injuries compared to females. A study of 84 riding school horses found that larger horses showed an increased lameness frequency; by 1.32x for every additional 10cm of height, and by 1.09x for every additional 20kg of weight. Horses over 155cm had a lameness frequency of 43.1%, compared to only 22.4% of horses under 135cm. Additionally, horses over 498kg had a lameness frequency of 38.9%, compared to only 23.4% of horses under 348kg. Horses under 8 years old had the lowest lameness incidence at 26.7%, compared to 34% of horses over 13 years old. Geldings had a slightly increased lameness incidence of 31.5%, compared to Mares at 27.9%. Project Design. For background research, only full-text, peer reviewed journal articles published within the last 20 years were used, in order to maintain reliable informative sources. Databases used were Google Scholar, Melbourne Polytechnic Library and La Trobe University Library. Search terms included Hippotherapy, Therapeutic Riding, Equine, Veterinary Conditions, Riding Injuries, and Preventative Healthcare. For clinical research, data was collected from four therapeutic riding centres across Victoria with a total of 35 horses. Data consisted of veterinary, dentistry and chiropractor records, general health records, and diary entries between January 2019 to January 2020, when horses were in full program work. Recorded veterinary conditions were grouped by systematic group and locations to determine the most frequent conditions. Project Questions. Research Question: Are there specific veterinary conditions seen more frequently across equine participants of therapeutic horse-riding programs in Victoria? Hypothesis: There are specific veterinary conditions seen more frequently across equine participants of therapeutic horse-riding programs in Victoria. Null Hypothesis: There are not specific veterinary conditions seen more frequently across equine participants of therapeutic horse-riding programs in Victoria. Project aims and benefits. Aim: To identify frequent veterinary conditions within equine participants of therapeutic horse-riding programs in Victoria. Benefits: By increasing awareness of commonly seen veterinary conditions within therapeutic riding programs, we can choose the most suitable horses to be used for therapeutic riding and develop preventative care strategies for at risk horses of commonly seen conditions.