Nasal strips

krizon

krizon

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Watching the showjumping on Beeb 2, and a horse has appeared wearing a wide strip stuck over its nose to assist its breathing, like an enlarged version of the strips used by some athletes. It's probably old hat to Trudi, but it's new to me, and I'm wondering whether these could be used in racing?
 
krizon said:
Watching the showjumping on Beeb 2, and a horse has appeared wearing a wide strip stuck over its nose to assist its breathing, like an enlarged version of the strips used by some athletes. It's probably old hat to Trudi, but it's new to me, and I'm wondering whether these could be used in racing?
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They are specifically banned in racing; someone did try a couple of years ago, but the stewards ordered the strip removed.
 
Really? Considering the crap that's shoved onto them these days to aid breathing or focus or block out noise, it doesn't look any more intrusive. How odd that the FEI doesn't disallow them for showjumping - the World Cup Qualifier at Olympia tonight, too, with a pot of over 30,000 Euros to Ben Maher on Tripple X III, for Grrrrreat Britain, no less. So you can represent your country in a premier event attended by thousands and on tv and use nasal strips - but not in racing. 'Ow queer, sir, 'ow queer!

So, Rory, given that other apparatus like tongue ties can be used, what was the objection to using the strips? It appears arbitrary and illogical.
 
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I attended a lecture at the NRC a few years ago and the vet giving the talk discussed the use of nasal strips. His professional opinion was that they're ineffective as the volume of air that the horse can breathe in is determined by the bone structure around the nasal cavity, something that the strips have no effect on.
 
krizon said:
Really? Considering the crap that's shoved onto them these days to aid breathing or focus or block out noise, it doesn't look any more intrusive. How odd that the FEI doesn't disallow them for showjumping - the World Cup Qualifier at Olympia tonight, too, with a pot of over 30,000 Euros to Ben Maher on Tripple X III, for Grrrrreat Britain, no less. So you can represent your country in a premier event attended by thousands and on tv and use nasal strips - but not in racing. 'Ow queer, sir, 'ow queer!

So, Rory, given that other apparatus like tongue ties can be used, what was the objection to using the strips? It appears arbitrary and illogical.
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http://www.britishhorseracing.com/resources/equine-science-and-welfare/raceday.asp
No great explanation there.
 
Used by many eventers. Info below from Horse & Hound.



The strips were invented in 1987 by a gentleman suffering from allergies. By the early 1990s they were in production for humans, and used for a variety of reasons, including colds, allergies, snoring and athletic performance. They work by restricting the partial collapse of the soft tissues of the nose when it is under pressure because of the vacuum caused by the lungs — during exercise or infection, for example. This natural partial collapse increases the effort needed to fill the lungs.

Two vets, Edward Blach and James Chiapetta, began researching the possibilities that the strips could benefit equine athletes, who also suffer from this partial collapse of nasal soft tissue during intense exercise. As a result they developed the Flair strip.
 
Thanks both of you, Ballydoyle and Rory. Imagine - interesting, but surely nothing could spread the nasal bone structure, which is fixed? But I think where the strips are placed they're working on the turbinates, just like in our own noses. Human athletes use them in a position similar to where the horses are sporting them in that very useful picture Ballydoyle's put up for us, and there is presumably enough soft tissue there to keep the airway open to make the items practical. I wouldn't have thought a number of overseas trainers would use them if they'd proved useless. (I'm not arguing against your vet, of course, or you - just that as humans use them to improve respiratory performance and say they are of benefit, then an equine version shouldn't be entirely without some, too?)

I'm also making an assumption that where one has uneven turbinates, say a little thicker inside one nostril than the other, the strips might help overcome that reduction in air inspiration? As a small child, I had sessions of rubber hoses shoved up my nose and air forced in (the crack! in the head was particularly exciting, as something gave way), in an effort to open up my airways. Not much use, as I remained a nasally stuffy kid. I have fairly small round-shaped nostrils versus some people's really big ones - surely the difference must count in sporting endeavours where effective air intake is essential? (I put my lack of lustre at school sports down to my small nostrils and tight turbinates - nasal strips might've made me a super star.) So, if a horse has a similarly smallish or uneven turbinate area like me, versus others with larger ones, it would seem to be helpful to try to increase its ingestion of air with the strips, just as one uses a pressure noseband or ties down the tongue to stop it getting in the way of its breathing.

I'm going to add a wide turbinate area and large nostrils to my list of must-haves for winning performances in humans and horses!
 
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Cant add anything at all Kri (sorry - been playing Santas elf in Somerset and Devon all day!) I dont know that they make a huge amount of difference to horses, but on the other hand, plenty of eventers use them now.
 
Even more interesting: eventers and showjumpers can use them without any fuss - racehorses cannot. The rule looks even more illogical now. Competition is competition - it doesn't matter whether you're doing a solo round or running in a field with other horses, it's all about winning times and getting round with the least mistakes, so I truly don't geddit.

I think the rule is so weird, I'm going to raise it with one of the course vets as soon as I get the chance.
 
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Its probably somethign to do with being an artificial "aid" thats there purely to artificially assist the horse (or some such silly rule) - I dont really see why they cant use them in racing - as you rightly say, theres no rules for eventing and showjumping - though neither of those depend mainly on speed, wether that has something to do with it im not sure. Be interesting to know why they cant wear them :)
 
krizon; nasal strips aside, were you as gripped by the showjumping as I was; was about to go out but was glued to the telly. Totally fell in love with that little chestnut horse that came out last. The S.O. and I were asking ourselves where all the money comes from for showjumping [I think that was when there was a mention of one horse costing 3 1/2 million euros]. As for the winning ride, like wow! Got bored with it years ago with the Whittaker brothers winning everything. A question; do thet all just carry the weight of the rider or do they have weights to carry? I would assume not, but there is one helluvalotof difference weightwise between what some of those hoses carry and others[not wishing to be 'weightist' in any way].
 
I loved today's showjumping from Olympia, too, it was compelling to watch. I also loved the dressage - Laura Bechtolsheimer's winning ride was absolutely stunning. Without being a rider myself, I imagine that takes far more skill than riding in any race. Magic.
 
Moehat: I've just trawled through a huge download of the FEI's rules and couldn't find a word on min or max weights, but from the 1996 Olympics, they ruled that the weight would be 154 lbs, or 11 stone, or 70 kg, whichever you prefer! So a short stubby rider versus a long thin one like Ben Maher today could do around the same weight. But that's for Olympic level.

The answer from me is that I don't know what applies, or even if any rule does, for non-Olympic jumping and other equine sports recognised by the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale, the body governing rules and regs for show events). If you go to http://www.fei.org, you'll find all the disciplines they govern, including jumping, dressage, driving, etc.

There would be a perceived advantage to riding as light as possible, but, on the other hand, showjumpers are often hefty animals - Oldenburgs around 17 hh, Holsteins well over 16 hh, for example - and as you saw from some of the quite fierce bitting and restraint tack applied, they can take a lot of managing. So being light could have some disadvantages. A showjumping saddle can weigh up to 14 lbs or one stone, depending on materials used, and if you were a bit worried about being overweight, there are always little tricks like using lightweight jackets and thinner boots, rather like jockeys.

It's interesting to note that the Olympics restricts horses to a start age of 9, when they are officially 'aged' (at 8), so pushing horses too early in life is discouraged.

I love watching jumping and dressage. The big chestnut manoeuvred himself very well, although came off-centre a few times at the canter pirouette - a difficult move for such a big horse to make. His extended trot was light and airy, though, with no harshness to it. Simon, dressage is probably the most difficult of equine disciplines in that it requires the horse and rider to be in total harmony throughout. There is never a moment when you are applying anything stronger than signals with your hands, legs, and the movement of your body weight, to indicate what result you're looking for. Basic, simple dressage movements are a wonderful workout for any horse at any age, though - there are lots of movements which create suppleness (rather like yoga for humans), and, particularly for racehorses, help to counteract getting too one-sided due to mostly working their left side on British tracks. Many ex-racers are very stiff at the canter when asked to use the right-side leg to lead, often unbalanced even at the trot when a rider does what is called changing diagonals - the rider does a double bump in the saddle and rises on the opposite lead leg. This exercise provides balancing for the horse, especially those which have been ridden almost exclusively one-sidedly. Yes, there's a helluva lot more to dressage - it's hours and hours of painstaking gentle 'asking' and encouraging, not getting out 'the persuader' to ask for a greater effort.
 
With regard to the dressage part, I went to see the Spanish Riding School of Vienna the other week at Wembley - stunning. One horse did the whole range of movements WITHOUT a rider and was simply controlled by long reins and the rider on the ground next to him - turned out that stallion was 23yrs old!!!

Non horsey people couldnt understand why I wanted to spend 2hrs watching horses "dance/prance". Its only when you see it up close and personal you realise what power these horses have (all stallions at least 9 yrs old if not all teenagers)and the total trust they have in their riders.

They are so valuable that they have to transport them in at least 2 trucks to preserve the bloodlines which can all be traced back to the 17th Century.

There was a treat before hand too - the Para Olympic Gold Medallist, Lee Pearson, and Carl Hester (Member of the GB Gold Dressage World Champion Team) performed before hand and several of our group admitted to being moved to tears by the whole show. Its THAT impressive.

(Sorry its a long thread but it was an amazing show!)
 
I think that was his point Kri, you can't change the bone structure so the nasal strips are relatively ineffective (in his opinion). They've definitely been around in eventing for a while.

Really been enjoying the coverage from Olympia. The dressage riders make it look so easy, beautiful to watch. There's further coverage on tonight on the red button from 6:45 - I think it's a review of the whole show.
 
I'm not sure that my red button works, Imagine! I tried it out some time back and I'm pretty sure it didn't. However, I did get the final of Masterchef on iPlayer last night, after every possible avenue turned out to be the wrong part of the series via On Demand, so I'm learning!

That's it, you can't possibly spread the bone - I'm not even sure how really effective pressure nosebands are, either. I honestly feel that if your own nose doesn't have a big enough cavity, you'll be mouth breathing under exertions much sooner than someone with a bigger one - it must be the same for all animals, especially dogs, where we've bred to deform their faces for our sport. If we think of the respiration problems the 'squashed nose' breeds have, it just follows, doesn't it? I wonder if breeding those 'mini animals' also results in inadequate physical processes - like to know what the vets think of that trend!
 
I can see there being the need for yet another code after the horses name on the racecard, are there any alphanumerics left to indicate use of nasal strips?

When I take the non-racing members of the family to a meeting, its already taking half an hour explaining various codes on a racecard!


MR2
 
Simon said:
I loved today's showjumping from Olympia, too, it was compelling to watch. I also loved the dressage - Laura Bechtolsheimer's winning ride was absolutely stunning. Without being a rider myself, I imagine that takes far more skill than riding in any race. Magic.
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Hopefully Ben Maher (a North London boy) will be selected for the Olympics again, especially after his World Cup win… although it may not be guaranteed, with some of the old farts clinging to their stranglehold on selection.
 
I watched most of the show yesterday too. Loved it. I wanted Cedric to win probably as they kept going on about how small he was but that he tried so it felt like he was the underdog. Cracking jump off and loved the dressage. Sadly I'll miss the red button coverage tonight. Anyone know if it will be on i player later?
 
I'm North Lunnun born, so I feel extra proud of Ben - didn't do either of us any harm! (Edgware General Horsepital, to be precise.)
 
Ben deserves to get one the team again - if only so we get a re-run of the table dancing after the medal dinner at London that we got at Beijing.....!!
 
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