Orthopedics

More than Falls: New Data Show What Takes the Biggest Toll on Sport Horses

By Adam Marcus

Roughly two-thirds of equine deaths during sporting events are not the result of falls during the cross-country stage of the competition, according to a new analysis of data on the fatalities. Instead, most equine deaths stem from musculoskeletal injury or sudden death.

The findings, reported in the Equine Veterinary Journal, help paint a more detailed picture of the risks to horses during eventing and suggest that safety efforts should focus more on identifying and managing musculoskeletal and cardiovascular issues in the lead-up to competitions.

Heather Cameron-Whytock, PhD, a veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Lancashire, in England, said the field—including researchers, governing bodies, owners and others—has not paid enough attention to

“From our perspective, the first step is to conduct research that investigates these outcomes directly, seeking to identify risk factors associated with them, comparable to our research on horse falls,” Dr.
Cameron-Whytock said. “The findings of this research can then feed into practical changes for the sport with the aim of reducing those risks. Governing bodies can commission the research and provide data where it exists, so it is a collective effort.”

Study Parameters
For the new study, Dr. Cameron-Whytock and her colleagues analyzed 110 confirmed cases of the equine deaths during events in the United Kingdom between 1998 and 2023. Overall, 36.4% were associated with musculoskeletal injury, and 36.4% involved sudden cardiac death. The cause of death was not available for 27.3% of cases.

Roughly two-thirds (62.7%) of the equine deaths were not linked with a horse fall at a fence during the cross-country phase of the competition. Moreover, 90% of sudden deaths and nearly half of all deaths related to a musculoskeletal injury occurred during this phase, yet were unrelated to falls at fences, indicating that factors other than falls at fences contribute significantly to deaths in this phase of competition.

Most deaths or fatal injuries occurred during the cross-country stage, or immediately following that phase, according to the analysis. “This finding indicates that the cross-country aspect of eventing is indeed the most dangerous for horses in the sport. Risk management strategies should therefore continue to focus on the cross-country phase of competition but should perhaps broaden the focus from horse falls to more general equine health,” the researchers wrote.

Dr. Cameron-Whytock said the new findings also point to a role for equine veterinarians in reducing the risk for death in eventing horses. “They could consider more comprehensive evaluations of horses prior to competition, where rather than just ‘fitness to compete’ is assessed, underlying issues are more closely investigated, such as any musculoskeletal issues, and cardiovascular health,” she said. “Research shows that acute or catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries often occur due to repeated damage over time. Therefore, there is the potential to identify these areas of weakness.”

Such problems may be subclinical, she added, suggesting the use of scans for screening may be necessary.

Screening Is Possible
“Racing has shown that it is possible to implement screening; however, it is not widely implemented, and they will have access to more capital due to the nature of the sport,” she said. “It could be that some of the top-level professional riders have this sort of thing done for their horses independently, but it certainly isn’t mandated within the sport at the moment.”

To be sure, the new research does not give a pass to track conditions and other factors that can increase the risk for death and injury during competition.

One of these variables is fence design, which Dr. Cameron-Whytock and her colleagues said deserves more attention from researchers and others with a stake in equine sports. “Certain fence designs could have an effect on the mechanics of the horse’s jump, which may be associated with injury, and some of the materials used may increase the risk of injury due to their surface characteristics,” she said. MeV

For more information:
Cameron-Whytock HA, O’Brien D, Lewis V, et al. Equine fatalities in equestrian eventing. Equine Vet J. 2025 May 15.
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evj.14529