Twenty-three (40%) of the study horses were three-day eventers. | Photo: Stephanie L. Church/The Horse

Sudden death in sport horses is a rare, but traumatizing, tragedy. While it often gets significant media attention, particularly when it happens during high-level and/or international events, there’s been very little scientific study into these occurrences.

That’s why researchers in the U.S. and Switzerland recently teamed up with the Swiss Equestrian Federation to look into the statistics of sudden death in sport horses. Their overview of incident details, they said, is a good starting point for further research into the phenomenon in hopes of reducing the number of incidents.

“Sudden death is important because it affects not only the health of horses but also the safety of riders and the public perception of welfare during equestrian sports,” said Cristobal Navas de Solis, MS, PhD, LV, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of Bern Vetsuisse Faculty, in Switzerland, and Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in College Station, Texas