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03/16/2017 04:00 PMThe complex dance-like moves of a dressage horse make the sport what it is—that, and years of training. Unfortunately, that combination of age and athleticism can lead to arthritis and other conditions that in years past would lead to a horse's retirement.
And for horses taking to the track in Kentucky for the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, the risk of fatal injuries has dropped significantly in recent years. Veterinarians involved with the Kentucky Derby and other high-profile horse racing events like the Preakness and Belmont Stakes point to a wide-range of safety initiatives, regulations, and medical policies as key contributors for increasing safety for the four-legged competitors.
In 2015, race horses suffered 1.62 fatal injuries per 1,000 starts, according to an Equine Injury Database (EID) analysis performed in conjunction with The Jockey Club, an organization founded in 1894 dedicated to improving breeding and racing. That number is down 14 percent from 2014.
"When we first started collecting data in 2007, we realized that the more data we obtained and analyzed, the more we would learn," said Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and a consultant to the EID. "These improving fatality rates are clear evidence that we can move the needle and that the efforts of so many are truly bearing fruit."
Today, part of moving the needle can be found with the use alternative therapies such as cold laser therapy which have entered the arena as a way to keep companion animals and competition horses in tip-top shape.
Laser therapy was first discovered in the 1960s. A Hungarian scientist, Endre Mester, was studying the effects of laser therapy on tumors in mice. Although it didn't affect the tumors, Mester discovered that the mice who underwent laser therapy grew back the hair that he had shaved off for the experiment faster than the untreated mice. Today, elite athletes both human—it's used by major league baseball players—and equine are reaping the benefits of laser therapy.
According to Lisa Miksis of Respond Systems in Branford, a company that builds laser therapy devices for animals, laser technology can both speed up wound healing and also help keep tissue sound. A family-run business based out of Branford for 30 years, Respond Systems has constructed various technologies to administer both laser therapy and magnetic therapy, as well.
"We make the equipment here in Branford," says Miksis. "We sell all over the world."
With laser therapy, a professional administers the laser at a low level for healing—too high, and the dose could simply block the pain.
"Laser therapy works to reduce inflammation," Miksis explains. "There's receptors in your body for different wavelengths of sun. It targets one of those photoreceptors and stimulates the cell to produce more ATP [adenosine triphosphate]."
Increased levels of ATP speed healing and boost the production of collagen and elastin.
"It leads to more cellular repair, more energy, [and] increases circulation," says Miksis.
For competition horses, damage typically occurs below the knee. The horse must support not just its own body weight, but that of a rider as well.
"You have this giant body with a rider on them and these tiny little legs," Miksis notes. "Anything you can do to keep that tissue sound, to prevent injury to that area, is where our therapy comes in as well."
Laser therapy also helps reduce the creation of scar tissue, which can continue to impact a horse's performance even after the wound has healed.
"The last thing you want is scar tissue creation," says Miksis. "Any time you have a horse in competition where you've limited the mobility of their joints they're just not going to perform as well as they should."
Tom Meyers, the 2016 equine physiotherapist for the United States Olympic dressage team in Rio, used laser therapy on Steffen Peters' 1996 Olympic horse, Udon.
"In the fall and winter of 1995, Udon—who was 17—tore the medial branch of his left hind suspensory, and two months later tears his right hind medial branch suspensory—complete tear, big hole!" says Meyers. "Not only did he make the team at a two-week trials, he also helped Team USA dressage win a bronze medal. He was 18 at the Atlanta Olympics. He retired sound."
Arthritic horses with pain or stiffness may benefit from a pulsing electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) blanket. The blanket can also be used after a race to cool a horse down. According to Respond Systems, magnetic pulses stimulate the cells, with results typically seen after one or two weeks of therapy.
"We have a blanket that covers their entire body," Miksis syas of the PEMF technology. "A lot of horses in competition use it because it helps boost overall immunity and prevention of injury."
"It impacts the cell membrane potential—positive and negative ions," she continued. "When your cell is leaking due to age, injury, just from excessive use or stress, the positive and negative ions don't flow across as they should. That causes inflammation—oxygen doesn't get into the cell as it should. EMF helps regulate that, keeps things moving across the cell membrane so inflammation is reduced all naturally."
In general, as more people turn to alternative therapies, there's a corresponding rise in people seeking alternative therapies for their companion animals, as well. Some of the therapies have been around for decades. Only recently, as focus shifts from pharmaceutical-based therapy to natural remedies, have they entered veterinary medicine as well.
"The adoption of therapies that are non-pharmaceutical has been slower, but the trend is moving toward natural foods, organic things that are better for the environment and your body," says Miksis. "There's this definite trend, especially with small animals as well."
"When we first started we were the only ones manufacturing the EMF blankets," she continued. "It's definitely having a mega-resurgence. Now even major pharmaceutical companies are launching laser therapy."
Alternative therapies that involve simply wearing a blanket or having a warm light shone on the affected area are especially useful for animals who might be spooked by other treatments.
"You can't feel it," Miksis notes. "It's just a relaxing, noninvasive therapy."
As with any therapy, a veterinarian should be consulted before use of laser therapy or electromagnetic field therapy. More research is still needed to conclusively determine whether or not the therapies are beneficial.
However, Miksis says that pretty much anyone who tries the equipment ends up purchasing it, as the results speak for themselves.
"We do a three-month rental program," she says. "They rent it because they're skeptical, and then they always wind up purchasing it. It's amazing the response that we get."