A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study of Prevalence and Severity of Bit-Induced Oral Trauma in Polo Ponies and Race Horses

Mata, Fernando; Johnson, Claire; Bishop, Charlotte

doi:10.1080/10888705.2015.1004407

Cited by 26 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…The bit is a potential source of considerable discomfort for the horse, as the named tissues of the mouth are extremely sensitive to mechanical stimulation. This statement is supported by clear behavioural evidence that horses find bits aversive [62,132] (see Section 5.2), as well as by convincing skeletal evidence of long-term bit-inflicted mouth injuries that would induce pain [133,134,135], features which were absent or had a much lower prevalence in feral equidae [133,134]. …”

Section: Some Implications Of Bitted and Bitless Bridle Usementioning

confidence: 92%

“…Use of such bits is increasingly regarded as inhumane [138], abusive [139] and, if tested in some jurisdictions, would likely be illegal (e.g., [140]). Of course, even simple bits that may be used gently, for example, the snaffle bit [36,37,131], when used inexpertly [132,135] or with malicious intent may cause significant injury and pain.…”

Section: Some Implications Of Bitted and Bitless Bridle Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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Equine Welfare during Exercise: An Evaluation of Breathing, Breathlessness and Bridles

Mellor

Beausoleil

2017

Animals

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Simple SummaryHorses have superior athletic capabilities due largely to their exceptional cardiorespiratory responses during exercise. This has particular relevance to horses’ potential to experience breathlessness, especially when their athletic performance is reduced by impaired respiratory function. Breathlessness, incorporating three types of unpleasant experiences, has been noted as of significant animal welfare concern in other mammals. However, the potential for breathlessness to occur in horses as usually ridden wearing bitted bridles has not yet been evaluated in detail. Accordingly, key physiological responses to exercise and the consequences of impaired respiratory function are outlined. Then the physiological control of breathing and the generation of the aversive experiences of breathlessness are explained. Finally, the potential for horses with unimpaired and impaired respiratory function to experience the different types of breathlessness is evaluated. This information provides a basis for considering the circumstances in which breathlessness may have significant negative welfare impacts on horses as currently ridden wearing bitted bridles. Potential beneficial impacts on respiratory function of using bitless bridles are then discussed with emphasis on the underlying mechanisms and their relevance to breathlessness. It is noted that direct comparisons of cardiorespiratory responses to exercise in horses wearing bitless and bitted bridles are not available and it is recommended that such studies be undertaken.AbstractHorses engaged in strenuous exercise display physiological responses that approach the upper functional limits of key organ systems, in particular their cardiorespiratory systems. Maximum athletic performance is therefore vulnerable to factors that diminish these functional capacities, and such impairment might also lead to horses experiencing unpleasant respiratory sensations, i.e., breathlessness. The aim of this review is to use existing literature on equine cardiorespiratory physiology and athletic performance to evaluate the potential for various types of breathlessness to occur in exercising horses. In addition, we investigate the influence of management factors such as rein and bit use and of respiratory pathology on the likelihood and intensity of equine breathlessness occurring during exercise. In ridden horses, rein use that reduces the jowl angle, sometimes markedly, and conditions that partially obstruct the nasopharynx and/or larynx, impair airflow in the upper respiratory tract and lead to increased flow resistance. The associated upper airway pressure changes, transmitted to the lower airways, may have pathophysiological sequelae in the alveolae, which, in their turn, may increase airflow resistance in the lower airways and impede respiratory gas exchange. Other sequelae include decreases in respiratory minute volume and worsening of the hypoxaemia, hypercapnia and acidaemia commonly observed in healthy horses during strenuous exercise. These and other factors are implica...

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Section: Some Implications Of Bitted and Bitless Bridle Usementioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Some Implications Of Bitted and Bitless Bridle Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Equine Welfare during Exercise: An Evaluation of Breathing, Breathlessness and Bridles

Mellor

Beausoleil

2017

Animals

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“…Three postmortem studies of equid mandibles illustrate this: (1) interdental bone spurs were found in~88% of 32 working horses but there were none in 28 Przewalski horses [119]; (2) interdental space roughness was reported in 48% of 87 Warmbloods or trotters, in 25% of eight donkeys, but only in 7% of 68 zebra [108]; and (3) spurs were observed in~61% of mandibles from 66 domestic horses, but none were seen in 12 feral and Przewalski horses [7]. In addition, live assessment of oral lesions revealed that 28-30% of 50 polo ponies and 50 racehorses had interdental bone spurs, which were generally more severe in the racehorses [120]. Finally, in the first postmortem study mentioned above, the erosion of enamel and dentine of the first mandibular premolar, indicative of bit wear, was observed in 62% of 29 working horses [119].…”

Section: The Interdental Spacementioning

confidence: 98%

“…The formation of bone spurs in affected horses is apparently due to inflammation associated with repeated incidents of bit-induced bruising, laceration, and/or ulceration of the interdental gums [7,[121][122][123]. Such gum lesions reportedly occurred in 26% of 261 Trotters observed after a race [124], increased from 8% before to 31% after events in 77 competition horses [125], and were more common and severe in racehorses than polo ponies [120]. All such lesions are painful [107], and human experience would suggest that the intensity of that pain would be increased when there is further direct compressive contact between these lesions and a bit.…”

Section: The Interdental Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, several observations suggest that the tongue may be somewhat protected from bit-induced penetrative injuries. Studies that reveal significant bit-related injuries at multiple oral sites report no or very low occurrences of significant tongue lacerations or ulcers [120,124,125,129,130]. The tough keratinized squamous epithelial lining of at least the dorsal surface of the tongue [131] may contribute to this, but it might also make bruises from non-penetrative bit-related compression more difficult to detect.…”

Section: The Tonguementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mouth Pain in Horses: Physiological Foundations, Behavioural Indices, Welfare Implications, and a Suggested Solution

Mellor

2020

Animals

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A proposition addressed here is that, although bitted horses are viewed by many equestrians as being largely free of bit-related mouth pain, it seems likely that most behavioural signs of such pain are simply not recognised. Background information is provided on the following: the major features of pain generation and experience; cerebrocortical involvement in the conscious experience of pain by mammals; the numerous other subjective experiences mammals can have; adjunct physiological responses to pain; some general feature of behavioural responses to pain; and the neural bases of sensations generated within the mouth. Mouth pain in horses is then discussed. The areas considered exclude dental disease, but they include the stimulation of pain receptors by bits in the interdental space, the tongue, the commissures of the mouth, and the buccal mucosa. Compression, laceration, inflammation, impeded tissue blood flow, and tissue stretching are evaluated as noxious stimuli. The high pain sensitivity of the interdental space is described, as are likely increases in pain sensitivity due to repeated bit contact with bruises, cuts, tears, and/or ulcers wherever they are located in the mouth. Behavioural indices of mouth pain are then identified by contrasting the behaviours of horses when wearing bitted bridles, when changed from bitted to bit-free bridles, and when free-roaming unbitted in the wild. Observed indicative behaviours involve mouth movements, head-neck position, and facial expression (“pain face”), as well as characteristic body movements and gait. The welfare impacts of bit-related pain include the noxiousness of the pain itself as well as likely anxiety when anticipating the pain and fear whilst experiencing it, especially if the pain is severe. In addition, particular mouth behaviours impede airflow within the air passages of the upper respiratory system, effects that, in their turn, adversely affect the air passages in the lungs. Here, they increase airflow resistance and decrease alveolar gas exchange, giving rise to suffocating experiences of breathlessness. In addition, breathlessness is a likely consequence of the low jowl angles commonly maintained during dressage. If severe, as with pain, the prospect of breathlessness is likely to give rise to anxiety and the direct experience of breathlessness to fear. The related components of welfare compromise therefore likely involve pain, breathlessness, anxiety, and fear. Finally, a 12-point strategy is proposed to give greater impetus to a wider adoption of bit-free bridles in order to avoid bit-induced mouth pain.

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Oral Cavity and Salivary Glands

Dixon¹,

Gerard²

2019

Equine Surgery

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A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study of Prevalence and Severity of Bit-Induced Oral Trauma in Polo Ponies and Race Horses

Cited by 26 publications

References 14 publications

Equine Welfare during Exercise: An Evaluation of Breathing, Breathlessness and Bridles

Equine Welfare during Exercise: An Evaluation of Breathing, Breathlessness and Bridles

Mouth Pain in Horses: Physiological Foundations, Behavioural Indices, Welfare Implications, and a Suggested Solution

Oral Cavity and Salivary Glands

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