Trainers should be on the lookout for “non-specific” lameness in the hind ends of horses that are entering training as a precaution for avoiding fatal injuries in the upper bones of the rear legs, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority said in an Equine Health Advisory issued on Thursday. The advisory on hind-end injuries was the latest in a series of recommendations that HISA has issued following the analysis of fatality data collected over the past several years. HISA has said that the advisories are critical to issuing real-time guidance to horsemen to avoid fatal injuries. In the latest advisory, HISA said that injuries to the rear tibia or to one of several bones in the hip have most often occurred in horses who are just entering training or reentering training after a prolonged layoff. It said that the risk factors for the injuries are different from those identified with lower-bone fractures, which most often occur in horses that have a large number of high-speed workouts or are “in more advanced stages of training and racing.”  Injuries to the tibia and hip bones are rarer than those to the lower leg bones, which typically handle higher stress loads during high-speed exercise. Early in 2025, HISA issued a health advisory regarding fractures to the upper bones of the front legs that also encouraged horsemen to exercise caution on horses returning to training. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. In the advisory issued on Thursday, HISA said that 28 fatal injuries from fractures to the upper hind-limb bones had been reported for 2024 and 2025. The fractures “typically occur” in horses with pre-existing damage to the bones in the area, but the damage can often be hard to diagnosis. The health advisory said that trainers and veterinarians should “be cautious” when returning horses to training, “especially if they exhibit non-specific hind-end lameness following exercise – even if that lameness resolves in a short period of time.” HISA recommended that trainers and veterinarians use diagnostic tools to determine whether those horses have pre-existing damage in the bones. The advisory contended that horses diagnosed with stress fractures in the area “typically have a positive prognosis for healing and a full return to racing performance – if discovered early and managed appropriately.” In addition to non-specific lameness, the advisory said that horses who “bunny hop” when returning to training or horses that suddenly begin to balk at entering the gate should be evaluated for pre-existing conditions in the upper hind legs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.