ARTICLE BY KENTUCKY EQUINE RESEARCH
The 28th Equine Health and Nutrition Conference continued today in Ocala, Florida, featuring a lineup of internationally renowned speakers. Hosted by Kentucky Equine Research at the World Equestrian Center, the day’s sessions explored Thoroughbred growth and development, the impact of mare nutrition on foal athleticism, sport-specific musculoskeletal injuries, and the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.
Joe Pagan, Ph.D., founder and president of Kentucky Equine Research, opened the second day of the conference. His presentation, “Modeling Growth in Thoroughbreds,” detailed key findings from over two decades of growth data collection. He reviewed several factors affecting global Thoroughbred growth rates, specifically geographic region, month of birth, and parity, defined here as the number of times a mare has foaled.
Looking ahead, Pagan aims to develop more complex growth models to create custom reference curves for individual foals.
While regional reference curves are currently the standard, these individualized models would allow for more precision and be especially helpful for farm managers.
Although most of his current data focuses on Thoroughbreds, Pagan noted that he is beginning to assemble similar data for other breeds, such as Warmbloods. He expects to compare growth patterns across different breeds as these databases mature.
Pascale Chavatte-Palmer, D.V.M., Ph.D., gave a presentation titled, “Effect of Mare Nutrition and Management on the Development and Sports Career of Offspring and the Role of Epigenetics.”
Developmental origins of health and disease (DoHaD) is the concept that conditions during early development, especially around conception, gestation, and early neonatal life, influence long-term health.
These adaptations may maximize immediate survival, but they could have implications later in life, according to Chavatte-Palmer.
The fetus uses maternal cues to predict postnatal environment. For example, if nutrient availability appears limited during gestation, the fetus may adapt by becoming metabolically efficient. If the postnatal environment matches the prediction, the adaptation might be beneficial. However, if a nutrient-restricted fetus is born into a nutrient-rich environment, that same adaptation may increase the risk of obesity or insulin resistance.
Regarding parity and success in sport, Chavatte-Palmer said, “Data suggest that the offspring of first-time dams may have slightly reduced performance in racing and show jumping compared to the offspring of mares that have had multiple foals, regardless of genetic merit.”
Chris Rogers, Ph.D., provided the final morning presentation, “Equine Musculoskeletal Development and Performance: Impact of the Production System and Early Training.”
In his talk, Rogers indicated that there are two approaches to reducing the risk of injury in Thoroughbred racehorses: improving methods to identify injuries before they become significant or optimizing early-life experiences so the risk of injuries is reduced.
“The rapid growth and development of the horse clearly signals it is highly receptive to environmental prompts early in life. GPS tracking of foals has demonstrated this, with foal play activity, called osteoinductive exercise, perfectly overlying the theoretical ideal of type and frequency of load to stimulate bone growth and development.”
The first presentation of the afternoon session provided a veterinary perspective on athletic injuries. Given by Chris Kawcak, D.V.M., Ph.D., “Sport-Specific Musculoskeletal Injuries: Differences and Similarities” compared common ailments of racehorses and sport horses.
After providing some information regarding injuries specific to each discipline, Kawcak addressed some knowledge gaps in sport-specific musculoskeletal injury distribution.
“We are much better at understanding the factors associated with injury, those practices that are helpful and hurtful.
The difficult part now, and it is the same in human sport performance, is characterizing injury susceptibility in an individual athlete,” Kawcak said. “Answering why injury occurs in one individual and not in another is critical. We are closer to getting to athlete-specific monitoring and management.”
The final two talks of the afternoon session dealt specifically with omega-3 nutrition. William Harris, Ph.D., founder of OmegaQuant Analytics, gave a presentation titled “Omega-3 Index: Relevance for Human Health and Disease.” Harris codeveloped an omega-3 blood test called the Omega-3 Index to assess whole-body omega-3 status.
He spoke specifically about the use of the Omega-3 Index as a measure of health in humans. The higher the levels of certain omega-3 fatty acids, the better the heart health. This positive relationship has been proven repeatedly in clinical research.
Harris’s presentation provided the framework for the final talk of the day, “Omega-3 Index: An Equine Perspective,” given by Joe Pagan, Ph.D.
“For over 40 years, researchers have studied the use of fat as an energy source for horses, but they rarely focused on fatty acid composition of these fats. Today, we recognize that specific fatty acids play a key role in the structure and function of cell membranes,” Pagan said. “They also act as precursors for bioactive lipid mediators, and these mediators either promote or resolve inflammation.”
Kentucky Equine Research continues to gather fatty acid data from horses in the field and is building a more robust population database, which will refine its ability to make more precise dietary recommendations.
“We are also studying the effect of various vegetable oils on fatty acid metabolism in horses and the interaction between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidant status during exercise,” Pagan said.
“We have learned a tremendous amount about fatty acids in horses over the past five years, but I suspect we have just scratched the surface of their importance for equine health and performance.”