Unraveling Matters Of The Heart

At the U.S. Eventing Association Safety Summit in the summer of 2008, it became apparent that there are many more questions than there are answers when it comes to some of the troubles that have bedeviled the sport of eventing.

But in at least one area, that’s going to change.

The USEA Cardiovascular Study Task Force has been teleconferencing regularly since the Safety Summit and is preparing to collect some baseline data on what happens to a horse’s heart and lungs during the cross-country phase via a pilot study at the Plantation Field CIC*** (Pa.) in September.

It’s the first of what may be many studies seeking to unravel the mystery behind many of the horse fatalities that have occurred at recent events, when apparently healthy and well-prepared equine athletes have been felled on course by catastrophic cardiovascular events.

In addition, a proposed U.S. Equestrian Federation rule change will require that any horse that dies during the course of an event be necropsied, and the USEA will continue to cover the cost of the procedure, a policy put in place after the Safety Summit.

The Heart Of The Issue

The idea of a USEA-funded study of cardiovascular issues in event horses had been percolating for several years, according to Jo Whitehouse, the USEA’s executive director.

After the 2008 Red Hills event in Florida, during which two horses—Jonathan Holling’s Direct Merger and Melissa Miller’s Leprechauns Rowdy Boy—died suddenly from what appeared to be cardiovascular issues, Whitehouse called Kent Allen, DVM, the chairman of the USEF Veterinary Committee, with a renewed sense of urgency to make the theoretical project reality.

By the time the Safety Summit took place in June, three months later, the planning had already begun.

The task force is chaired by Allen and includes veterinarians Catherine Kohn, who conducted the heat studies prior to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; Carol Clark, a partner at Peterson & Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, Fla.; Eleanor Green, professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine; and Mark Revenaugh, owner of the Equine Performance Institute in Mulino, Ore.

The group also includes two human cardiologists—Mark Hart, owner of Amy Tryon’s Poggio, and Lynn Cronin, an amateur eventer from Michigan. Leigh Anne Claywell, the USEF director of competitions, Whitehouse, and Wendy Weinstein of the USEA round out the panel.

At issue are the mysterious and sudden deaths of horses that seemingly had no health problems, were well-prepared for the event and were not struggling on course.

Kingpin, ridden by Mike Winter, suffered a hemorrhage of the large vessels of the abdomen at the Rolex Kentucky CCI*** in April. In 2008, Tigger Too, ridden by Lauren Kieffer, died from an aortic rupture on course at the Jersey Fresh CCI***, just weeks after the loss of Direct Merger and Leprechauns Rowdy Boy at Red Hills from pulmonary hemorrhages. In 2007 Laine Ashker’s Eight Saint James Place also died at the Jersey Fresh CCI after rupturing an abdominal blood vessel on cross-country.

Although sudden death from a cardiovascular issue isn’t a new phenomenon, many eventing enthusiasts believe that it’s happening with increasing frequency. Experts also wonder how many other horses have experienced similar problems that went undetected.