Equine Health and Performance Centre, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus, Mudla Wirra Road, Adelaide, South Australia, 5371, Australia.
Department of Pathobiology, Infectious Disease and Public Health, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus, Mudla Wirra Road, Adelaide, South Australia, 5371, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2021 Aug;99(8):344-350. doi: 10.1111/avj.13079. Epub 2021 May 30.
Tongue-ties (TTs) are used to aid control and aim to conservatively treat upper airway disorders in racehorses. However, welfare concerns have led to their use being banned in other equestrian disciplines. In the United Kingdom, TTs have been reported to be used in approximately 5% of starts. The frequency of their use elsewhere is unknown. The objectives of this retrospective single cohort study were to estimate the frequency of TT use within the Australian Thoroughbred (TB) racing industry, and to describe usage patterns. Data of all Australian TB horse races from 2010 to 2013 calendar years were collected by accessing the Racing Information Services Australia database. Frequency of TT use was calculated, and usage patterns were explored at the start, horse and trainer levels. Between 2010 and 2013, there were a total of 728,678 starts from 62,377 horses prepared by 4927 trainers and that raced on 1453 race dates across 402 venues. Tongue-ties were used in 21.4% of starts; however, frequency varied according to location, race, trainer and horse. At the horse level, 32.2% wore a TT at least once and 7.6% wore it at every race on record. At the trainer level, 71.3% used TTs in at least one of their horses but only 1.4% used them systematically. The present study concludes that TT use in Australian TB racehorses, during the period 2010-2013, was common and considerably higher than previously reported in the United Kingdom. Most Australian trainers use the device and appear to adapt its usage according to individual horse and race factors.
舌系带（TTs）用于辅助控制，旨在保守治疗赛马的上呼吸道疾病。然而，由于对福利的关注，它们在其他马术项目中的使用已被禁止。在英国，据报道，TTs 在大约 5%的起跑中使用。其他地方的使用频率尚不清楚。本回顾性单队列研究的目的是估计澳大利亚纯血马（TB）赛马业中 TT 的使用频率，并描述使用模式。通过访问澳大利亚赛马信息服务数据库，收集了 2010 年至 2013 历年所有澳大利亚 TB 赛马的数据。计算了 TT 的使用频率，并在起跑、马匹和训练师层面探讨了使用模式。2010 年至 2013 年，共有 62377 匹马由 4927 名训练师准备，在 402 个场地的 1453 个赛马日进行了 728678 次起跑。有 21.4%的起跑使用了 TT；然而，频率因地点、比赛、训练师和马匹而异。在马匹层面，32.2%的马匹至少使用过一次 TT，7.6%的马匹在有记录的每次比赛中都使用过 TT。在训练师层面，71.3%的训练师至少在他们的一匹马中使用过 TT，但只有 1.4%的训练师系统地使用 TT。本研究的结论是，2010-2013 年期间，澳大利亚 TB 赛马中 TT 的使用很常见，明显高于英国此前的报告。大多数澳大利亚训练师使用该设备，并似乎根据个别马匹和比赛因素来调整其使用。
