title: Use of tongue ties in thoroughbred racehorses in the United Kingdom, and its association with surgery for dorsal displacement of the soft palate.
abstract: The prevalence of the use of tongue ties, calculated from 60 randomly selected race meetings held in the UK during 2001 to 2003, was 5.0 per cent. After its first use on an individual horse a tongue tie was used in an average of 77 per cent of its races during the first 12 months, but after this time period, in only 55 per cent of its races. Thirty-nine per cent of horses that underwent surgery for dorsal displacement of the soft palate raced with a tongue tie preoperatively, and 41 per cent of these surgical cases raced with a tongue tie postoperatively.
authors.affiliation: Division of Veterinary Clinical Science, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK. safia.barakzai@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: S Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Barakzai
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finnegan
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hillyer
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Boden
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000601:surgery*; D015995:Prevalence; D013177:Sports; D014059:Tongue / Q000601:surgery*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology