34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

In juvenile racehorses, the impact of colic surgery on a prospective racing career is an important consideration for breeders in the decision-making process for surgical intervention.

Methods:

Medical records of juvenile (0-24 months) Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses that underwent colic surgery between 2015 and 2024 were reviewed in one equine referral center in Normandy (France). Age, sex, type of lesion, and survival to discharge were extracted. Racing performances of each horse and its siblings were also collected. A generalised linear model was used to evaluate the influence of lesion type, age, and sex on median earnings per race. A paired Wilcoxon signed rank test was subsequently used to compare the earnings per race of each horse with the median of its siblings. A Fisher’s exact test was used to compare proportions.

Results:

Of the 55 juvenile racehorses that underwent surgery there were 47 Thoroughbreds and 8 Standardbreds, including 25 females and 30 males. Mean age was 11.1 months (SD 7.14). Forty-two horses (76%) survived to discharge. Type of lesion, age and sex had no influence over median earnings per race. No statistical difference in median earnings per race was found between clinical and control groups (P=0.16). Of the surviving individuals currently of racing age, 3/8 (37%) Standardbreds and 24/31 (77%) Thoroughbreds raced at least once. These proportions were not different for the sibling population in Standardbreds (P=1), but were significantly higher in Thoroughbreds (P<0.0001).

Conclusions:

Colic surgery in juvenile Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds does not appear to affect racing performance.