Saddle Research Trust Rides the Crest of an Equestrian Science Wave

What's the most interesting equine research organization that's not on your radar (yet)? Meet the Saddle Research Trust.

The Saddle Research Trust (SRT) was founded in 2009 to promote the welfare of the ridden horse and to raise awareness of the widely underestimated issues surrounding saddles, equine backs and performance. They've hosted conferences, supported research and initiated an innovative research-associate program.

We all take saddles for granted but anyone who works professionally with horses also knows that saddles can be an "x" factor in a horse's performance--or a rider's, for that matter. It seems there is more we don't know, scientifically speaking, than we do know, when it comes to the interaction between a a horse's musculo-skeletal system, a saddle, and a rider.

The Saddle Research Trust is a charitable organization aiming to provide support and advice, both to the horse-owning public and to industry professionals. Its board of trustees and advisory committee include leading veterinary professionals, physiotherapists, saddlers, riders and trainers.

Where does asymmetry begin--or end? What's the relationship between asymmetry and lameness or diminished performance? The Saddle Research Trust wants to know. (SRT photo)

Dr. Sue Dyson, head of clinical orthopedics at the Animal Health Trust and a member of the advisory committee of the SRT explains: “Back and saddle problems are major factors associated with loss of performance and lameness and have serious welfare implications. Through scientific research on the interaction of the saddle with the horse and rider, the SRT aims to provide new information, support and advice to the horse owning public and to industry professionals to improve the health and performance of both horse and rider.”

Trust Director Anne Bondi is currently undertaking a Doctoral Research Program at the University of Sunderland in Great Britain; she is studying the interaction of horses, saddles and riders. The SRT facilitates collaborations between its Research Associates and promotes objective scientific research in order to further its aims.

Research into saddle fit, back pain and rider posture employ many of the techniques and systems used in equine gait and locomotion studies. (SRT photo)

What does the future hold for the Saddle Research Trust?

SRT Director Anne Bondi: “We have a series of important scientific projects in the pipeline, working in collaboration with the Animal Health Trust and the Royal Veterinary College, to explore the relationships between back shape, saddle fit, back movement and performance of the horse and rider.”

Position available

The Saddle Research Trust (SRT) is urgently seeking an honorary fundraiser to help progress some exciting new scientific research on the influence of the saddle on the welfare and performance of horses and riders.

If you have a passion for horses and a good working knowledge of fundraising and wish to be involved with making a real and long-term difference to the welfare and performance of riding horses globally the SRT would be delighted to hear from you.

Please contact Anne Bondi on (UK) 07775 912202 or email annebondi@me.com

Some things we take for granted--saddle, girth, stirrups, pads--don't have much scientific documentation. The SRT would like to change that. (SRT photo)

About the research centers:

The Equine Centre of the Animal Health Trust, a UK based charitable organisation, is dedicated to enhancing equine welfare through improved understanding and treatment of disease in horses, especially related to lameness and poor performance. Led by Sue Dyson and Rachel Murray, its work is world renowned for advances in equine orthopaedic injury and diagnostic imaging.

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's first and largest veterinary school and a constituent College of the University of London. It also provides support for veterinary and related professions through its three referral hospitals, diagnostic services and continuing professional development courses.

The world's leading reference book documenting equine hoof anatomy and imaging can be yours.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging Looks at the Statistics of Equine Foot Lameness: New Diagnostics Document More Precise Damage to the Feet of Sport Horses

The only “sure thing” number in the horse world is that most of the horses treated for lameness have four feet. Statistics quoted in the horse world range from the antiquated to the inflated, and professionals around the world are calling for more accountability of claims quoted in sales pitches and more quantification of the numbers that are quoted.

Once upon a time, someone somewhere said that 90 percent of equine lameness is in the foot, but does anyone know the original source of that quote? Would you say that is still true today? We can diagnose lameness a lot more precisely now than ever before.

One thing we do know: Hallmarq reports that, worldwide, almost 80% of lame horses referred for MRI at equine hospitals equipped with their MRI units have a problem located in the foot.

Where do you look for numbers when you need to prove a point? There is no “Fact Book” of equine lameness that collects statistics in one place. Instead, we all tend to trust certain authors or universities or studies. And everyone seems to have healthy skepticism for “the Internet”.

The deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) is the most common site of damage in the foot identified by standing MRI scanning of sport horses. As you know, this tendon runs down the leg and attaches to the bottom of the coffin bone (P3). The three arrows added to this scan are directing the eye to the DDFT which, in this Irish horse, has a lesion that looks like a split. Normally tendon would be solid black. (Photo courtesy of Troytown Equine Hospital, Co. Kildare, Ireland.)

But it’s not all black and white, as two recent studies pointed out. In 2004, England’s Sue Dyson FRCVS reviewed 199 foot lameness cases at the Animal Health Trust. These cases had been evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and her analysis of the data showed that 33 percent had deep digital flexor tendonitis and a total of 60 percent of cases had some form of abnormality of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT). Desmitis of a collateral ligament of the coffin joint was found on 15 percent of the MRIs; it should be noted that Dyson’s practice is heavy on referral sport horses.

A high percentage of lame horses in both Great Britain and the United States have been found to have damage to the deep digital flexor tendon within the foot when standing MRI scans were analyzed.

On the US side of the Atlantic, Rick Mitchell DVM of Fairfield Equine Associates in Connecticut did a similar review. He looked at the results of standing MRI in 98 American jumping and dressage horses with foot pain.

Mitchell found the most common defect in the lame American sport horses to be navicular bone lesions, which were seen in the Hallmarq MRI scans of 77 percent of the horses examined. But 64 percent of Mitchell’s horses had deep digital flexor tendon damage in the foot, as seen on their MRIs. Coffin joint collateral ligament damage was much less common in Mitchell’s group than in Dyson’s.

But the glaring damage to the tendon is a critical warning sign to sport horse owners and trainers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ten years earlier, diagnosing damage to the tendon in the foot was almost impossible. Now, Dyson and Mitchell can even break down the tendon damage into types of injuries.

Dr Laurie Goodrich of Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine sums up the need for MRI when diagnosing horses with foot pain: “Of horses with caudal heel pain, 60 to 70 percent have soft tissue injuries that we won’t see with radiographs because they only determine bone structure.”

New imaging modalities like MRI are making earlier and more precise diagnoses possible; another number we like: information gleaned from images obtained via standing MRI resulted in a diagnosis in almost 90 percent of the cases referred, according to Hallmarq's data analysis of cases.

So, when you quote numbers in the equine lameness world, also mention your source, the year and the type of horses that were tallied. If the study covered a specific type of horses and if the study was conducted since the advent of diagnostic imaging like MRI, it may make your numbers mean a lot more. And someone else may end up quoting you.

To learn more:

The largest and most accessible body of quotable statistics is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) “Equine ’98 Study”, which collected facts and figures on the health of horses on farms and ranches in 28 states. This was amended by updates in 2000 and 2005.

USDA, 2000. Lameness and Laminitis in U.S. Horses. USDA:APHIS:VS, CEAH, National Animal Health Monitoring System. Fort Collins, CO. Link to free download: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/equine/downloads/equine98/Equine98_dr_Lameness.pdf

Dyson, Murray. Lameness associated with foot pain: results of magnetic resonance imaging in 199 horses (January 2001- December 2003) and response to treatment. Equine Vet Journal, 2004

Mitchell, Edwards, et al. Standing MRI Lesions Identified in Jumping and Dressage Horses with Lameness Isolated to the Foot, AAEP Proceedings, 2006.

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Watch for more in the Hallmarq-sponsored article series on The Hoof Blog, and check their social media system and especially their info-deep web site for lots more information.

To learn more about Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging and standing MRI technology for horses:

• Become a fan  of the new Hallmarq Equine MRI Facebook page;

• Follow @HallmarqMRI on Twitter;

• Subscribe to the hallmarqvetimaging channel on YouTube.com;

• Watch for a growing equine distal limb Hallmarq MRI image gallery on Flickr.com;

• Visit the Hallmarq.net web site. (Plan to spend some time there!)

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