Researchers know that exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or EIPH, can hinder a horse's lung function and athletic performance. What they're still not clear on, however, is which horses will bleed and when. But an Australian research team recently took a step closer to finding the answer.

Ellie Crispe, BSc, BVMS, a resident in equine surgery and medicine at Murdoch University, in Murdoch, Western Australia, and colleagues recently set out to identify EIPH risk factors in a population of Australian racehorses. She shared the study's results during a poster presentation at the 2014 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, held June 4-7 in Nashville, Tennessee.

At least 30 minutes after each race, the team performed tracheobronchial endoscopy on 583 racehorses competing at tracks in Perth, Australia. Experienced clinicians (blinded to the horse's identity, race performance, and other factors) evaluated each horse and scored its EIPH on a 5-point scale (with 0 being no evidence of EIPH and 4 being severe EIPH). The team also collected and evaluated 28 horse-, track-, equipment-, and climatic-related variables to pinpoint risk factors