MSU Collects Research Data at Big Horn 100

GreybullStandard.com - Full Article

July 27, 2017 Greybull Standard

Michigan State University School of Veterinary Medicine has been a leader in research on colic in the long-distance endurance horse for a while.

Dr. Harold C. Schott II DVM, PhD, DACVIM, a member of the AERC Research Committee, and professor at MSU large animal clinical sciences, in association with the American Endurance Ride Conference, published a report in 2015 regarding 71 horse fatalities among the 270,070 starts in AERC-sanctioned rides during the years of 2002-14.

Schott found that fatality rates in endurance rides are low overall but increase with the length of the ride. The risk in limited-distance rides of 25-30 miles was 0.14 fatality per 1,000 starts. The risk increased by 10 to 1.46 fatalities per 1,000 starts in the 50- and 100-mile rides. Schott further reported that 75 percent of the horses that had a necropsy done had developed colic prior to their deaths.

Aware of this data, MSU is financing a team of researchers to collect data, including ultrasounds, on the horses in 100-mile rides. The research team was present — with equipment and staff — at the Big Horn 100 on July 15.

Dr. Melissa Esser, DVM and assistant professor at MSU, heads the team that also includes Dr. Lisanne Gallant, DVM and medicine resident at MSU, and Madison Dale, an undergraduate student.

Esser stated, “I chose five rides to do over the summer of 2017, the Big Horn of course, we’re here, the Bitmore Challenge Endurance race (Asheville, N.C) we did that in May, The Old Dominion (northern Virginia) in June, and of course we’ll be going to the Tevis Cup (Placer County, Calif.) and Virginia City (Virginia City, Nev.)...”

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