THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ROUTINE RADIOGRAPHIC FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO SUBSEQUENT RACING PERFORMANCE AND LONGEVITY IN STANDARD-BRED TROTTERS

A retrospective cohort study was made of the racing performance of tro tters which had been subjected routinely to radiography before they st arted training and racing. Sixty-one per cent (148) of the 243 horses, foaled in 3 consecutive years, had one or more abnormal findings cate gorised into 5 relevant groups based on radiography, of which osteocho ndrosis (OCD) was the most specific diagnosis. Parameters used to refl ect racing performance were: proportion of horses starting in races, n umber of starts per year, earnings per year, earnings per start and ra cing longevity. No significant association between the presence or typ e of radiological abnormalities and the subsequent performance and lon gevity could be found, Horses With multiple lesions, however, had a te ndency to lower earnings and poorer survival than horses with single l esions.