Browsing by Author "Legg K"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Commercial equine production in New Zealand 4: welfare implications of the New Zealand production systems
    (CSIRO Publishing, 2023-07-10) Rogers CW; Legg K; Gibson M; Gee EK; Bryden W
    From racehorses to family pets, equine production and management is primarily pasture-based in New Zealand. Pasture-based equine production systems largely reflect the horse’s ecological niche and have a unique set of management and welfare challenges. This review examines the potential welfare issues related to the management of horses in New Zealand. The economic value of horses varies greatly depending on their usage, which covers a wide spectrum from pest species (e.g. feral horses) to production (e.g. racehorses) and companion animals (e.g. leisure and sport horses). The view of where the horse is positioned on this spectrum may cause differing welfare threats to horses, due to the economic considerations, which drive the majority of welfare and managemental decisions. The organisation, management, racing and wastage metrics of the Thoroughbred racehorse industry are well documented, and the benefits of the pasture-based system have become evident through less stressful weaning practices and opportunity for early exercise (which has been associated with longer careers and fewer musculoskeletal injuries). Identification of equine-welfare research priorities in New Zealand remains challenging, given the lack of vertical integration of many sectors of the equine industry resulting in fragmented and limited availability of data.
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    Comparison of the cyathostomin egg reappearance times for ivermectin, moxidectin and abamectin in horses in consecutive egg count reduction tests in winter and summer over two years
    (New Zealand Veterinary Association, 2021) Scott I; Gee E; Rogers C; Pomroy B; Reilly M; Adlington B; Miller F; Smith A; Legg K; Adams B
    Shortened cyathostomin egg reappearance periods (ERP) serve as a warning of developing anthelmintic resistance (Scott et al., 2015). Efficacy is thought to have declined more rapidly for the later larval stages (L4) than for the egg laying adults, so that animals still show zero or near zero counts for a period after treatment, but with L4 now surviving treatment the ERP has shortened.
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    Jockey Career Length and Risk Factors for Loss from Thoroughbred Race Riding
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2020-09-10) Legg K; Cochrane D; Gee E; Rogers C
    Professional thoroughbred racing jockeys repeatedly work close to physiological capacity during races, whilst maintaining low body weights, on a daily basis with no off-season. The effects of this on their career length is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the career lengths and reasons for loss from the industry of 674 jockeys and apprentices who rode over 14 racing seasons and 421,596 race day starts in New Zealand. Descriptors were compared between jockeys in short (1–2 years), middle (3–9 years) and long (>10 years) career cohorts with descriptive statistics and Kaplan–Meier survival curves. The median career length for jockeys was 2 years (IQR 1–6). Long career cohort jockeys (11%) had lower carried weights (IQR 56–57 kg, p = 0.03), 40 times the median number of rides per season (248, IQR 61–434, p < 0.001), half the rate per 1000 rides of falling (1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.2, p = 0.009) and 1.3 times the rate of winning (100, 95% CI 99–101, p < 0.01) than jockeys in the short career cohort. Jockeys who rode over 200 races per season had careers three times longer than jockeys with fewer races per season (p < 0.001). Half of the 40% of jockeys who failed to complete their apprenticeship were lost from the industry in their first year of race riding. In conclusion, most jockeys had short careers where the workload of a jockey and their ability to obtain rides had greater impact on career longevity than their performance.
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    Physiological Demands and Muscle Activity of Jockeys in Trial and Race Riding.
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-09) Legg K; Cochrane D; Gee E; Macdermid P; Rogers C
    Physiological parameters and muscle activity of jockeys may affect their fall and injury risk, performance, and career longevity, as well as the performance and welfare of the horses they ride. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the physiological demands, body displacement, and electromyographic (EMG) activity of twelve jockeys riding 52 trials and 16 professional races. The jockeys were instrumented with heart rate (HR) monitors, accelerometers, and integrated EMG clothing (recording eight muscle groups: quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal, erector spinae/lower back, abdominal external obliques, abdominal, trapezial and pectoral) which recorded continuously whilst riding. During race day, jockeys rode an average of 5 ± 4 trials and 4 ± 2 races over 2–2.5 h. The trials represented lower intensity cardiovascular demand (~81% HRmax) and Training Impulse (TRIMP) scores (4.4 ± 1.8) than races at maximal intensity effort (~94% HRmax, 7.2 ± 1.8 TRIMP, p < 0.05). Jockey head displacement was similar in trials (5.4 ± 2.1 cm) and races (5.6 ± 2.2 cm, p > 0.05), with more vertical (6.7 ± 2.7 cm) and less medio/lateral (2.3 ± 0.7 cm) and fore/aft (3.7 ± 1.6 cm) displacement for jockeys riding in trials than races (5.5 ± 2.3, 2.8 ± 1.0, 5.6 ± 2.5 cm, p < 0.05). Jockeys in races adopted a lower crouched posture, with their centre of mass (COM) shifted anteriorly, using greater hamstring activation and less upper arm muscle activation than in trials. The differences in riding posture and physiological demands on jockeys riding in a race rather than a trial, highlight the requirement for an off-horse race-specific training programme to improve jockey fitness and performance. Greater jockey stability and coordination will have mutual benefits for both horse welfare and performance.
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    The external workload of thoroughbred horse racing jockeys
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2020-09-14) Legg K; Cochrane D; Gee E; Rogers C
    The objectives of this study were to quantify the external workload of thoroughbred racing jockeys in relation to their experience and racing performance. The number of rides of 786 jockeys and apprentices who rode in 407,948 flat and 13,648 jumps racing starts over 14 seasons were examined. Jockey work (ride numbers, seasons riding) and performance characteristics (race falls or wins) between cohorts with low (1-10), middle (10-200) and high (>200) numbers of rides per season were compared. Flat racing apprentices had more rides per season (25, interquartile range [IQR] 7-97 vs. 14, IQR 3-222, p < 0.001) but fewer rides per race day (2, IQR 1-4 vs. 4, IQR 2-6, p < 0.001) than flat racing jockeys. Flat racing jockeys in the high workload cohort (23%) were responsible for 83% of the race-day rides, riding in a median of 375 (IQR 283-520) races per season. These jockeys had half the fall rate (Incidence rate [IR] 1.0, 95% CI 0.9-1.1) and 1.4 times the success rates per 1000 rides (IR 98, 95% CI 97-99) than jockeys in the low and middle workload cohorts (p < 0.05). Most jockeys had light workloads, greater risk of injury and lower winning rates than the smaller cohort of jockeys with heavier workloads. This disparity in opportunity and success between cohorts indicates inefficiencies within the industry in recruitment and retention of jockeys. These data provide a foundation to further studies investigating jockey competition-specific fitness and its effect on both riding success and reducing injury risk.