The Reported Use of Tongue-Ties and Nosebands in Thoroughbred and Standardbred Horse Racing—A Pilot Study

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Tongue-ties (TTs) are commonly used in racing to restrain a horse’s tongue to aid a rider’s/driver’s control of the horse and optimise upper airway function. Nosebands (NBs) may also be employed for similar purposes. This article reports on a survey that asked people involved in Thoroughbred (TB) and Standardbred (SB) racing whether they used TTs and NBs and, if they did, the reasons for their use, the preferred design of device, the devices’ perceived effectiveness at achieving the respondents’ desired outcome(s), any complications due to their use and whether or not these complications altered their decision to use a particular type of TT or NB. A total of 112 participants involved with TB and SB racing answered TT questions. It revealed that respondents who used TTs believed them to be very or extremely effective at preventing the tongue from moving over the bit and improving upper airway function. Both physical and behavioural complications due to the use of a TT were reported. The likelihood of a respondent reporting a complication due to TT use increased with every minute of reported application and a nine-minute increment in the reported duration of application doubled the odds of a respondent reporting a behavioural complication. The findings of this study should be considered only as those of a pilot study and should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of responses. ABSTRACT: This article reports on the results of a survey of racehorse trainers (n = 112) outlining the reasons for tongue-tie (TT) and noseband (NB) use by Thoroughbred trainers (TBTs) (n = 72) and Standardbred trainers (SBTs) (n = 40). The study also investigated the reported effectiveness of TTs and possible complications arising from their use. Tongue-tie use was reported by 62.5% (n = 70) of racehorse trainers. The reasons for TT use varied between TBTs and SBTs. For TBTs, the most common reason for TT use was to prevent or reduce airway obstruction (72.3%, n = 34), followed closely by to prevent or reduce airway noise (55.3%, n = 16). Standardbred trainers assigned equal importance for TT use [to prevent or reduce airway obstruction (69.6%, n = 16) and to prevent the horse from moving its tongue over the bit (69.6%, n = 16)]. Tongue-ties were considered significantly less effective at improving performance than at reducing airway obstruction and preventing the tongue from moving over the bit (t = −2.700, p = 0.0007). For respondents who used both TTs and NBs, there was a mild to moderate positive association between the reasons for using TTs and NBs. Of the 70 TT-using respondents, 51.4% (n = 36) recorded having encountered either a physical or behavioural complication due to TT use, with redness/bruising of the tongue (20.0%, n = 14) being the most common physical complication reported. Duration of use influenced the risk of observing complications. The likelihood of a respondent reporting a behavioural complication due to TT use increased with every minute of reported application and a nine-minute increment in application period doubled the odds of a respondent reporting a complication. Tightness was a risk factor for physical complications: Checking TT tightness by noting the tongue as not moving was associated with increased reporting of physical complications (OR = 6.59; CI 1.1–67.5). This pilot study provides some insight into how and why TTs are applied by some racehorse trainers, and the potential risks associated with their use. A further study of a larger cohort is recommended because these results are valid for only the 112 trainers who responded and cannot be generalized to the equine industry.