In addition to presentations at scientific meetings, the group has made numerous presentations to industry and written articles for horse owners and trainers. Funding support for the laboratory is derived from competitive granting agencies, research sponsors and industry friends. In 1997, a major gift from the Dolly Green Foundation ensured, in perpetuity, the laboratory's future and further increased its competitiveness for sponsored research that directly benefits the equine industry. Ahead Great strides have been made in discovering the causes of catastrophic injury in racehorses, understanding the events leading to bone fracture, enhancing techniques to detect stress fractures in live horses, identifying exercise factors that place horses at increased risk for catastrophic injury, and providing horseshoe recommendations to prevent suspensory apparatus injury. But the Challenge continues in order to make horse racing a safe sport for horse and man.
Opportunities are ripe for advancement.
Our focus on factors that can be managed by the industry will greatly facilitate implementation and change for injury prevention. The racetrack surface is one of the most frequently blamed factors for racehorse injuries. It is also one of the most manageable factors. The J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory has plans for a multi-faceted program for the study of the effect of racetrack surface and horseshoe characteristics on the likelihood for suspensory ligament and tendon injury. A gift dedicated to these programs would be focused on developing racetrack surfaces and horseshoes for the prevention of injury, and perhaps, even increasing performance as noted by race times.