Horse-related injuries in a thoroughbred stabling area in Japan

To investigate the demographic details and patterns of injuries related to horse handling, we reviewed 637 horse-related injuries in 581 stable- or st ud-workers in a representative area of thoroughbred stabling in Japan. We f ound that (1) injuries occurred most frequently in a group of a relatively young workers, with a seasonal variation; (2) the principal mechanism of in jury was kicks, which accounted for 39.2% of all injuries, including 11 ser ious and one lethal visceral injuries; (3) the upper half of the body was m ore frequently involved than the lower half; and (4) the peripheral bones ( hand and foot) and the ribs accounted for more than half of 148 fractures. These findings are distinct from those in horse-riding injuries reported in the literature and emphasize the importance in developing preventive strat egies specifically for workers in horse stables.