VETERINARY
ExERcIsE INducEd PulmoNARY HAEmoRRhAgE
The latest research into bleeding in racehorses Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage, also known as EIPH or “bleeding,” is a common problem in racehorses. Many trainers know from bitter experience that it can have a significant impact on some horses’ performance. Yet, other horses that bleed continue to race effectively. A recent issue of Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) contained three exciting new studies, each of which looked at the impact of bleeding on different aspects of race performance. These studies were accompanied by an article by Professor N Ed Robinson, a leading EIPH researcher from the University of Michigan, which summarised what we know about how bleeding arises and explained why some horses are affected more than others. WORDS: PROFESSOR CElia M MaRR, EquinE VEtERinaRy JOuRnal PHOtOS: CElia MaRR/EVJ
When looking for blood within the trachea (windpipe), it is important that sufficient time is given for the blood to have travelled up from the deepest parts of the lungs. A minimum of 30 minutes is considered ideal
Capillary stress failure
The racehorse is fuelled by oxygen, and an extremely efficient heart is needed to carry this fuel from the lungs to the body. At peak output, the equine heart is pumping up to 450 litres of blood each minute and beating 20
around four times every second. To operate at this rate, the heart must work at a very high pressure that is also maintained in the blood vessels. In the lung, the transfer of oxygen occurs within the capillaries. These form
a meshwork of very fine vessels around the air sacs: the thinner the capillaries, the more efficient the transfer of oxygen. But the thinner the capillaries, the less they can resist the pressure needed to fill the heart. EIPh happens when the pressure inside the
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