ALTERED BEHAVIOUR-RESPIRATORY SYSTEM (BREATHING)
Altered behaviour particularly associated with high performance (racing) has been recognised for decades. Race day nervousness (shivering shaking sweating) and or irritability which often commences when the race day routine begins (grooming, shampooing, travel to track stalls ......etc) in the past had simply been attributed to 'individual personalities' and if any association had been made it was that these horses as a result of this behaviour often failed to breathe normally in races. The reverse however seems nearer the truth. Having monitored (observed) hundreds of horses that have been treated surgically or medically for upper (throat) respiratory tract problems and or lower (lung) respiratory tract disease, and noted the progressive and then often permanent regression of these altered behaviours......... . It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to appreciate the thoughts that might pass through the brain of a horse which regularly chokes (pharynx collapses) or semi asphyxiates with laryngeal collapse whilst travelling at 60 Km's /Hr. THINK ABOUT THAT!!!! Also following this lung wrenching event it is equally possible that those suffering from significant lower airway inflammation would experience varying degrees of bronchospasm and if you are not sure of how that feels then you should ask an asthma suffer. This may well contribute to post race hypertension and abnormal respiratory (breathing) recoveries.
N.B: There are of course other causes of inappropriate race day behaviour not associated with breathing problems.
Now how can we best utilise this newfound appreciation of .............. .......'respiratory altered behaviour'"'???
RACE PERFORMANCE:
If altered behaviour exists along with poor performance. particularly given 1) the results of surveys which suggest 30% of horses that choke do not present with a history of abnormal noise and 2) the extremely high incidences of lower respiratory tract disease and exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH);......... an endoscopic exam, particularly at high speed (treadmill) and ,or a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) may turn up some interesting results.
POST TRACK (DRESSAGE,SHOW JUMPING,HACKING)
The forms of respiratory distress experienced by your horse at the track may well not occur with reduced performance demand BUT does NED know this??? Eventually this behaviour will subside in the majority of cases but it can be quite a frustrating wait. Prior to purchasing a horse off the track it may be prudent to do some detective work and learn a little of its race day behaviour. It will most probably take a while (often years) to differentiate race day from show day!!
Also if you require these horses to compete in gruelling cross country events a competent respiratory system is mandatory.
FURTHER READING
Ahern T J: Acquired pharyngeal dysfunction (APD). J of Equine Vet Sci 1993; 13:125-128.