Out of how many starts? (I thought there were stats on this upthread but I’m not seeing them.)
Flat racing is 1-2 deaths on course per thousand starts depending on where and when you look. Looking up endurance just now I get a number of 0.32 deaths per thousand starts for endurance events in the US 2002-2014. (link)
A horse was euthanized after an injury at Badminton. I don’t have his name. Could someone please add him?
It was Redpath Ransom.
Catastrophic injury to a front suspensory while galloping between fences. The horse was vanned back to the barns, where the official vet determined that nothing could be done to save him. 
Ditto, but all I read or hear about is the same tired bs. Eventing is dangerous, horses kill themselves in their pastures, etc. Meanwhile we see a rider with a bloody mouth horse get congratulated on a good ride.
Added Redpath Ransom RIP
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/05/07/injury-claims-leventer-badminton-horse-trials/
5 horses have died so far in 2018. Interesting to note that none were from falls, but all from collapsing or breaking down on course. Not sure what it means but I am sure it is significant somehow.
Definitely significant. There’s something going on, reminds me of the issues with certain racing barns with a lot of the same injuries.
Fewer horses fall compared to years past.
Is this a general statement? Not sure what you are getting at. There were quite a few falls this year.
Let me explain, if I may:
A. In years past, there have been fatal horse falls.
B. This year, there are none.
C. It is possible that 1. there are fewer falls this year; and/or 2. there are just as many falls but those falls are not fatal.
D. It seems that you are arguing that there are “quite a few falls” this year. So perhaps then, you agree with C-2 above, that, in comparison to years past, falls are not as serious this year. In this case, my statement should’ve read: “there are no fatal horse falls this year, which is less than years past.”
Any individual year can have statistical anomalies, so it is best to compare data across multiple years, and not just one year compared to another.
I’m not arguing anything, I am trying to understand what your comment “Fewer horses fall compared to years past.” meant. Did you mean at Badminton? Did you mean in General in eventing? What stats are you using?
Thanks for the lecture on how to read stats…considering this thread has discussed this with many research papers involved and FEI stats over the years I think I can safely come to the conclusion on how to read stats and see patterns :lol:
My comment was not about how many horse falls, my comment was on how the deaths have mostly been injury related.
Updated to add Second Supreme. RIP
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/…bramham-655725
4 horses have collapsed on course and died since Feb. Are we sure this is “natural” causes.
It doesn’t sit right with me when a sudden, massive coronary event in a fit event horse or brain aneurysm blowing or whatever is described as “natural causes.”
It’s had me wondering also. Wonder if there’s something about repeated stress on heart/vessels/organs that suddenly goes wrong during the cross country phase. If it were just a natural progression as the horse becomes older, then why doesn’t it occur during some of the other phases? And yes, I do realize that “things happen” all the time, and I have witnessed an older horse suddenly drop dead under saddle unexpectedly.
You have to remember that when a horse gallops at speed the internal organs move quite a lot in connection with their stride. They work like a huge pump to increase the air inflow, and can be described as slamming against the lungs (and maybe the heart?). I would wonder myself if the courses that seem to demand extreme acceleration between jumps might have something to do with weakened vessels not holding up.
Even though the overall speed is set at a meters per minute figure, didn’t the speed study show that in between the jumping complexes speeds increase enormously. For some reason I have a figure of 700 or 900 mpms in my head.
RAyers?
Does anyone know if the rate of deaths are different at the different competition levels?
Well I went and searched the racing forum for the article about the race horses in CA that have died. I could have sworn I read that on CoTH regarding certain trainers with higher than “sudden” average deaths.
Does anyone else remember that conversation? It seemed to swirl around the trainers that give most of their horses drugs that they don’t necessarily need, but that aren’t prohibited.
I am still thinking supplements are involved. No one has done any research on what these horses were taking, but now might be a good time to look.
There is a fairly recent link between omeprazole and aortic rupture in humans. I have to wonder if ulcer treatment is involved…
Adequn is associated with bleeding disorders in birds and dogs. http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1638/1042-7260-44.1.93?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&
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