Bugs, bones and vitamin D – A pilot project

Bone health is critical for the success of racehorses and the prevention of catastrophic bone fractures is a racing industry imperative. Surprisingly, very little is known about the role of vitamin D and gut bacteria in supporting the development of healthy bones in young racehorses. This pilot project is designed to develop our ability to measure vitamin D and associated metabolites in the blood of horses and to establish methods for measuring bone strength. Methods developed in this pilot project will be applied to a large-scale, longitudinal study of bugs, bones and vitamin D in foals bred for racing.

Hypothesis and key objectives

We hypothesise that we can reliably and consistently measure serum vitamin D status, markers of calcium metabolism and bone strength in foals and adult horses.

Objective 1

Measure serum levels of i) 25-hydroxyvitamin D, ii) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, iii) vitamin D binding protein, iv) parathyroid hormone, v) calcium, and vi) albumin in six Thoroughbred mares and their foals over a 6-month period.

Objective 2

Quantification of dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D by the six mares on the study.

Objective 3

Measure bone strength using ultrasonic speed of sound in six Thoroughbred mares and their foals over a  6-month period.

This pilot study lays the foundations for a larger project to understand how calcium, vitamin D and gut bacterial communities contribute to bone health in equine athletes.

Funder

Hong Kong Jockey Club Equine Welfare Foundation

Research groups and centres

Our research is supported by research groups and centres of excellence.

Horse Microbiome Research Group

Bioinformatics Core Facility