Consensus study sets framework for yearling sales endoscopy
Bottom line
A new Delphi consensus study in Equine Veterinary Journal says expert equine veterinarians in Australia and New Zealand have agreed on a more standardized way to perform and interpret Thoroughbred yearling sales endoscopy in Australasia. The panel reached consensus after three survey rounds, backing use of the Havemeyer grading system for yearling laryngeal function, standardized pre-sale endoscopic technique, and a four-tier risk framework: low risk for grades I and II.1, low-moderate for II.2, moderate for III.1, and high risk for III.2 and above. The work builds on earlier stakeholder research that found industry concern about inconsistent grading, especially around “grade 3” horses, and on follow-up research linking finer-grained Havemeyer scores with later performance and laryngoplasty risk. (madbarn.com)
Why it matters: For veterinarians working yearling sales, the paper gives a clearer, evidence-based structure for both scope technique and client communication. Standardization could reduce interobserver variability, improve transparency for buyers and consignors, and align endoscopy reporting more closely with actual downstream risk, rather than relying on older, broader categories that left too much ambiguity in the middle grades. That matters not just commercially, but clinically, because poor laryngeal function at sale has been associated with later airway surgery risk, and the study’s authors explicitly frame consistency as an animal welfare issue as well. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: Watch for broader 2026 rollout of risk-based reporting at Australasian sales, as researchers and sales companies move from grade labels toward simpler risk communication for veterinarians, buyers, and breeders. (agrifutures.com.au)
A Delphi consensus study published in Equine Veterinary Journal is aiming to bring more consistency to one of the most commercially sensitive parts of the Thoroughbred yearling sale exam: resting upper-airway endoscopy. The Australasian expert panel agreed on standardized guidance for how yearling laryngeal function should be assessed and reported, and endorsed a four-tier risk system designed to make findings easier to interpret in the sales setting. (madbarn.com)
The paper lands after several years of industry debate about whether traditional grading methods were precise enough for modern sales practice. In a 2024 stakeholder study, breeders, buyers, and veterinarians described persistent uncertainty around how yearling laryngeal grades relate to future performance, highlighted disagreement between veterinarians reviewing the same scope, and singled out “grade 3” findings as a particular pain point. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
That concern helped drive a broader AgriFutures-backed research program. According to AgriFutures Australia, the team reviewed more than 5,000 sales endoscopic videos and linked yearling laryngeal grades with later racing outcomes, finding that the seven-grade Havemeyer system separated risk more effectively than the older five-grade Lane system. In particular, horses classified as Havemeyer II.2 and III.1 had different later performance profiles, even though both would previously have sat inside the old Lane grade 3 bucket. (agrifutures.com.au)
The new Delphi paper takes that evidence and turns it into practical guidance. Across three survey rounds, consensus was reached on using the Havemeyer grading system, standardizing pre-sale videoendoscopy technique, and mapping grades to four risk bands: low for grades I and II.1, low-moderate for II.2, moderate for III.1, and high for III.2 or worse. Existing Equine Veterinarians Australia guidance already spells out technical elements such as continuous recording, documentation of horse identity and sedation, and capturing swallowing events clearly enough to assess arytenoid abduction; the Delphi work appears to move the field toward a more uniform expectation that those exams be performed and interpreted the same way across sales. (madbarn.com)
Industry reaction has been broadly supportive. AgriFutures reported that Inglis, Magic Millions, and New Zealand Bloodstock reviewed the research in late 2024 and accepted the proposed new grading system for the 2025 sales season. Jonathan D’Arcy of Inglis said the updated approach gave buyers more confidence and reduced the commercial drag created by equivocal middle-grade findings under the older system. AgriFutures also reported that the Delphi-derived risk framework was intended for wider communication to industry participants in 2026. (agrifutures.com.au)
The clinical rationale is also getting stronger. In a 2025 Equine Veterinary Journal case-control study, Hardwick and colleagues found that yearlings with poorer laryngeal function grades had materially higher odds of later prosthetic laryngoplasty, supporting the idea that sales endoscopy findings are not just cosmetic repository data, but potentially meaningful markers of future airway intervention risk. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For equine veterinarians, this is less about replacing judgment than about making that judgment more reproducible, and easier to explain. A shared grading language, paired with a risk-based communication model, could reduce disputes between repository veterinarians and buyer-side reviewers, improve auditability of sale exams, and help veterinarians counsel clients with more nuance. It may also help separate horses that are truly high risk from those that were previously penalized by broad legacy categories, which has implications for sale decisions, referral planning, and welfare-focused follow-up. (madbarn.com)
What to watch: The next step is implementation. Watch for how widely the four-tier risk language is adopted across Australasian sale repositories in 2026, whether formal training or calibration efforts are introduced to reduce observer variation, and whether future validation studies confirm that this framework improves consistency, buyer understanding, and clinical decision-making in the field. (agrifutures.com.au)