Tuomola Kati, Mäki-Kihniä Nina, Kujala-Wirth Minna, Mykkänen Anna, Valros Anna
Department of Production Animal Medicine, Research Centre for Animal Welfare, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Independent Researcher, Pori, Finland.
Front Vet Sci. 2019 Jul 12;6:206. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00206. eCollection 2019.
Oral lesions in the bit area are common in horses, but not comprehensively studied in harness racing horses. This study describes the type and occurrence of oral soft tissue lesions in the area affected by the bit, hereafter called the bit area, in trotters after a race. Based on our results, we suggest a system for scoring lesions according to size, type (bruise or wound), age, and depth (superficial or deep). The data was collected during a welfare program for trotters, conducted by The Finnish Trotting and Breeding Association (Suomen Hippos ry). The rostral part of the mouth of 261 horses (151 Standardbreds, 78 Finnhorses, and 32 ponies) was examined after a race in a systematic manner, using a bright light source without sedation or a mouth gag. The lip commissures (outside and inside), bars of the mandible, buccal area near the second upper premolar teeth, tongue, and hard palate were visually examined; bars of the mandible were also palpated. Points were assigned to every lesion and then added together, such that each horse got an acute lesion score. Based on the score, the horses were divided into four groups (A-D) as follows: Group A, no lesions; B, mild lesions; C, moderate lesions; D, severe lesions. Of all the horses examined, 84% (219/261) had acute lesions in the bit area. In total, 21% (55/261) had mild lesions, 43% (113/261) had moderate lesions, and 20% (51/261) had severe lesions. Visible bleeding outside the mouth was observed in 2% (6/261) of the horses. Further, 5% of the horses (13/261) had blood on the bit when it was removed from the mouth, even though no blood was visible outside the mouth. In conclusion, soft tissue lesions in the bit area were common in the Finnish trotters examined. Moreover, the absence of blood outside the mouth does not rule out serious injuries inside the mouth. The scoring system presented can be used for evaluating the severity of oral lesions in different equestrian disciplines and populations to allow for comparable data across studies.
马的衔铁部位口腔病变很常见，但对赛马的此类病变尚未进行全面研究。本研究描述了赛马比赛后，受衔铁影响区域（以下称为衔铁部位）口腔软组织病变的类型和发生率。根据我们的研究结果，我们提出了一种根据病变大小、类型（瘀伤或伤口）、时长和深度（浅表或深部）对病变进行评分的系统。数据收集于芬兰赛马与育种协会（Suomen Hippos ry）开展的一项针对快步马的福利项目。在比赛后，对261匹马（151匹标准赛马、78匹芬兰马和32匹矮种马）的口腔前部进行了系统检查，检查时使用明亮光源，未使用镇静剂或开口器。对唇角（外侧和内侧）、下颌骨颊侧、第二上前磨牙附近的颊部区域、舌头和硬腭进行了目视检查；还对下颌骨颊侧进行了触诊。为每个病变打分，然后相加，这样每匹马都得到一个急性病变评分。根据评分，将马分为以下四组（A - D）：A组，无病变；B组，轻度病变；C组，中度病变；D组，重度病变。在所有接受检查的马中，84%（219/261）在衔铁部位有急性病变。总体而言，21%（55/261）有轻度病变，43%（113/261）有中度病变，20%（51/261）有重度病变。2%（6/261）的马口腔外可见出血。此外，5%的马（13/261）在从口中取出衔铁时衔铁上有血迹，尽管口腔外未见血迹。总之，在所检查的芬兰快步马中，衔铁部位的软组织病变很常见。此外，口腔外无血迹并不排除口腔内有严重损伤。所提出的评分系统可用于评估不同马术项目和马群中口腔病变的严重程度，以便各项研究之间能够有可比的数据。
