not what is a fibrillating heart but why?

​When one of the I.T.V. team said of Goshen after his disappointing run on Saturday, ‘Let’s hope when they get him home, they find he’s okay’, my immediate reaction was ‘Hell, no, let’s hope they find a problem they can put right!’ In that sense I was pleased to read that the vets diagnosed a fibrillating heart. At least now the Moores have a reason and a plan of action to put the matter right.
Atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, was what stymied the brilliance of both Denman and Sprinter Sacre. Can you imagine what they might have achieved if the condition had not waylaid them at the very peak of their racing lives? Arguably, once recovered, both horses went on to achieve their most famous victories, even if they were never so good as they were; Denman winning a second Hennessey and Sprinter Sacre regaining his 2-mile crown, three years after his first. Incidentally, two of the greatest training fetes of my lifetime and deserving of greater recognition if not some sort of tangible accolade.
So, the future may not look quite so bleak for Goshen, not my tip but my certainty for the Champion Hurdle this year. I have no doubt if he recovers in quick order from his weekend blip and ridden as he was in the Triumph and not restrained as he was on Saturday, that the hope remains that he will bring home my prediction, a prediction based on my belief that he is the most exciting young hurdler in many a long year.
In my opinion, the Moores deserve a superstar. Grafters, and the Moore family are as gifted as they are dedicated workaholics, usually only get as their reward with horses who win lots of races at the minor meetings, only rarely visiting the winners’ enclosure at the top meeting. Ryan Moore, obviously, being the exception in the Moore family dynasty. Gary Moore is on record as saying Goshen is the best he has trained, so let’s pray the gods are on his side.
My problem with atrial fibrillation is that I am unsure if it is a condition that is on the increase or whether it is being more regularly diagnosed because of the advancement of veterinary science? When Denman was diagnosed with the condition it was talked about as if it was a serious condition that might finish his career. With Sprinter Sacre, albeit he was treated for the condition differently to Denman, I believe, it took Nicky Henderson the best part of three seasons to get him back to anything close to his imperious best. Yet Paisley Park, who was also diagnosed with the condition after the Stayers Hurdle last season, has seemingly recovered in double quick time, well enough to run an encouraging first race back at Newbury a few weeks ago.
If it is a condition that is on the increase, I would hope studies are being conducted to discover the cause as the top horses disappointing in the top races may only be the tip of a fibrillating iceberg. 
I have long had my suspicions about the constant us of sand canters and gallops and artificial surfaces. Sand in particular can throw-up tiny particles when it becomes dry and there is the potential for horses following closely after one another to inhale these particles. I believe it would be the same potential threat when horses are worked on poorly maintained all-weather surfaces. I believe horses bedded on dusty shavings and sawdust (the clue is in the name) and poor-quality straw will also be subject to inhaling lung irritants.
I realise Goshen’s problem was due to an irregular heartbeat and not poor lung function but the two organs work in harmony and anything affecting one will impose itself on the other, I believe.
There is also the modern trend for working horses on sharp inclines and in deep sand, two wonderful methods for tuning a horse to full fitness but would such strenuous workloads compromise the heart?
In the days before all-weather surfaces becoming the go-to gallops for fitness, horses very often were expected to improve for their first runs of the season and it was considered a fine achievement for a trainer to win a race with a horse having its first run against horses that had run one or more times that season. Nowadays, especially when the top trainers are concerned, it is hardly a consideration when making a selection for a race if a horse is having its first run of the season. I suspect in the days of my youth jockeys took it into consideration when riding a horse first time out that it would not be quite ‘straight’ and would ride accordingly to ensure it was not put under unnecessary pressure. Perhaps stewards, too, also paid heed to the same consideration when assessing whether a horse had been fairly ridden.
I do not hold the view that Epatante is home and hosed for the Champion Hurdle – if only because Nicky Henderson can’t keep on winning the race – and that there are many hurdles around that could be legitimately aimed at the race, with quite a few trained in Ireland alone, most of whom were whooped out-of-sight in the Triumph last season by Goshen.