Asthma, Performance and Omega-3s in Racing Thoroughbreds

Included in the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s 2021 funded research, is a project from Dr. Laurent Couetil, Purdue University that investigate the variability of asthma severity in horses racing across the US, its effect on performance and determine if omega-3 PUFA supplementation is beneficial. Equine asthma is an important cause of poor racing performance. A study of Thoroughbreds racing in Indiana demonstrated that 80% of examined horses had mild asthma. It is not known if asthma is equally common among horses racing elsewhere in the US or if the type of inflammation varies based upon climate or geographic location. The effect of asthma upon racing performance varies with the type of inflammation present. The airways of asthmatic horses may have an increase in one or any combination of inflammatory cells: mast cells, neutrophils, or, rarely, eosinophils. In Indiana Thoroughbreds, mast cell in