A Texas A&M University (TAMU) study has found that horses used for barrel racing were more often lame in their forelimbs than horses used for other disciplines. The study examined 118 Quarter Horses and Appendix Quarter Horses brought to TAMU for lameness and performance problems. The study results were published in the Nov. 15, 2005, edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

According to the researchers, changes in performance are more obvious in barrel racing than in other disciplines because they compete in timed events on an identical clover leaf pattern, and times generally remain consistent. An increased time to complete the pattern can indicate a physical ailment.

Barrel horses are subjected to sharp turns at high speeds. Researchers found these conditions placed heavy loading and torque on the horses’ forelimbs. The majority of horses exhibited forelimb lameness (48% right and 43% left), while 47% showed only hind limb lameness.

Foot pain was most common and accounted for 33% of the problems, followed by osteoarthritis in the distal tarsal (hock) joint (14%) and desmitis in the suspensory ligament (13%), said Robin Dabareiner, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of medicine at TAMU