Do You Know Why Racehorse Tongues Are Often Tied?

Racehorses wear a lot of equipment when competing. One is a strap fastened beneath the lower jaw and attached to a horse’s tongue. Why are racehorses unable to speak?

Racehorses’ tongues are knotted for two reasons: first, to stop the animal’s tongue from slipping past the bit, and second, to prevent respiratory problems brought on by the soft palate’s displacement. A fabric strip or an elastic band are common materials used to tie a horse’s tongue. For racing purposes, a horse’s language has been connected for ages.

The Function of a Tongue Strap

The tongue knot can be seen in the horse’s mouth and can be found under the chin the next time you’re at the racetrack. A horse is usually not damaged by it, but it does serve a purpose.

A strap holds a horse’s tongue in place during a race to prevent movement. A horse must be able to inhale as much oxygen as possible and cannot have his tongue moved over the bit.

What occurs when a horse’s tongue slips past the bit?

To prevent a horse’s tongue from slipping beyond the bit, tongue ties are employed. Why is it crucial to keep a horse’s tongue from falling past the bit, though?

The rider loses much control over the horse when the animal puts its tongue over the bit. In addition to increasing the likelihood that the jockey would lose the race, losing control of the horse puts the track in danger.

By applying pressure on various parts of a horse’s mouth, including its tongue, bits are used to regulate a horse’s movements. Bits can be painful for horses because they press on their tongues.

A horse’s natural response is to try to reduce the pressure by adjusting. A horse will tilt its head back, open and close its mouth, and pull its tongue in and out of its mouth to move the bit. The horse’s tongue frequently slips over the bit due to these evasive manoeuvres.

Different training techniques and bit modifications can be used to treat the behaviour in horses not used for racing. Tongue ports and port bits are made to stop a horse’s tongue from slipping under the bit.

The flap of tongue ports sits on top of the horse’s tongue and is attached to the bit’s central mouthpiece. If a bit hurts your horse’s language, you can ride with a hackamore or bitless bridle.

How can bind the mouth help horses who have breathing issues?

A tongue tie helps a horse breathe more easily when racing, which helps to avoid the tongue from slipping out of the bit and losing control of the horse.

Horses with soft palates can breathe more easily thanks to tongue ties. A soft palate can prohibit a horse from living freely during a race; the tongue tie helps to avoid this obstruction.

Although maintaining control of a running horse is crucial, preventing airflow obstruction is an essential benefit of a tongue tie. In the upper part of their mouth, horses have a soft palate.

The horse’s soft palate acts as a seal to keep the opening to its oesophagus apart from the beginning of its windpipe. The palate becomes loosened and blocks the horses’ airways when they are working hard.

“Dorsal displacement of the soft palate” is the medical term for this disorder (DDSP). Due to the soft palate shifting upward, resting above the epiglottis and obstructing airflow, DDSP manifests in horses.

In some instances, tongue ties are successful in stopping DDSP from happening. The tongue constraint and the relationship have no adverse effects on respiration in horses.

According to researchers at The University of Edinburgh’s School of Veterinary Studies, ties proved helpful and improved performance.

The impact of tongue ties on healthy horses was investigated in a research published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research. It was shown that tongue ties were ineffective for these horses. However, they did find that they were practical for those with upper airway obstruction.

When horses’ tongues were tied, the researcher discovered that their upper respiratory stability was improved, leading to better breathing.

Why does a horse’s palate flip signify anything?

The dorsal displacement of the soft palate is referred to as flipping the palate by specific trainers. Both phrases can be used.

A horse’s airway is partially blocked when it flips its palate during a race. With no longer providing a seal, the floppy palate moves forward in front of the trachea, obstructing the airway when pressure is applied.

A horse must slow down to swallow during a race, which usually causes the palate to return to its natural position. Surgery is generally required to correct the problem when a horse’s palate cannot be repositioned by swallowing.

What causes a horse’s palate to flip?

There doesn’t appear to be agreement on what causes a horse to flip its palate. According to some theories, racehorses run with their mouths open, have congenital malformations and have localized inflammation.

Equine epiglottic entrapment is comparable to DDSP.

When the aryepiglottic fold completely encloses the epiglottis, epiglottic entrapment develops. As was previously mentioned, when the palate moves upward and rests over the epiglottis, it causes dorsal displacement of the soft palate.

In that they both cause respiratory noise and exercise intolerance, the symptoms are comparable. Other symptoms of epiglottic entrapment in horses include respiratory sound, poor performance during exercise, coughing, nasal discharge, and headshaking.

Epiglottic entrapment is accurately diagnosed with an endoscopic examination. If a horse has this issue, it is typically a persistent condition that requires surgical intervention to fix correctly.

A horse’s tongue can it be swallowed?

A horse’s tongue cannot be swallowed. The soft palate can occasionally be forced back and into the nasopharynx when a horse contracts and flexes its throat muscles. Airflow is decreased by the soft palate’s movement, which causes DDSP.

Some horsemen will remark that “the horse swallowed its tongue” when this happens. It is a different term for a misplaced soft palate. Horses’ tongues can move about and even retract quite a ways, but they cannot swallow them.

What Causes Race Horse Tongues to Flirt?

I’m sure you’ve seen horses cross the finish line with their tongues hanging if you’ve gone to a racetrack. My grandchild did, and she was curious as to why

A trainer may occasionally tie a racehorse’s tongue out to the side of its mouth before the race. Tying a horse’s tongue outside the animal’s mouth is improper.

The tongue most certainly has nerve damage if you see a horse with his tongue hanging out but not tethered. Horses’ tongues might get permanently damaged if they have their tongues tied all the time tightly.

As a result, the tongue of the horse hangs out to the side of its mouth, which is particularly obvious when the horse is at ease.

It’s not cruel to tie a horse’s tongue.

While tying a horse’s tongue is not cruel, there is some evidence that it stresses horses. According to research, tongue-tying helps racehorses breathe more easily while running and reduces the incidence of DDSP.

Researchers from Australia examined the effects of tongue-tying on racehorses and concluded that it significantly increases stress. The researchers played with the horses’ tongues but didn’t tie them down, so they could see how the horses reacted when their tongues were restrained.

They discovered that throughout the tongue-tie treatment, the tongue-tied horses tossed their heads more, turned their ears back, and gaped.

Other signs of a physiological stress reaction in the tongue-tied horses were lip-licking after the tongue tie was removed and increased salivation.

The Federation Equestre Internationale forbids tongue-tying in equine sports other than horse racing. Additionally, the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES), a non-profit group that promotes horse welfare, thinks that using constant pressure to alter a horse’s behaviour is contrary to moral training principles.

Tying a horse’s tongue might have adverse health effects.

Lacerations, bruising, swelling of the tongue, trouble swallowing, and stressed-out behaviour is prevalent issues linked to tongue-tying.

If a racehorse does not have an issue with an obstruction of the airway, research has shown that the horse does not benefit from having its tongue-tied. A horse’s tongue should be restricted only when a veterinarian deems it necessary. It would be helpful to conduct more research on tongue-tying.