Thoroughbred Daily News, in conjunction with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA), has an ongoing series that addresses what sales X-rays can show and their impact on success on the track.
Trainer Wesley Ward detailed what he feels is important when buying a horse to race – and what is not.
One piece of vet work Ward will not negotiate on is scoping. The horse has to scope “fine,” with no airway abnormalities.
When Ward buys yearlings, he forgives a lot of the issues people seeking to resell consider death knells, like OCDs or chips. A lot of the horses he has purchased would not have passed vet exams as yearlings or 2-year-olds, he noted.
He works around any issues by tailoring training programs to any veterinary issues a horse may have. If a horse has issues, he doesn't train them very hard and his riders are all under 110 pounds. He's also adds in a lot of jogging to get the horse fit.
Ward also has success with his homebreds. He focuses heavily on allowing the horses to be horses as they grow, with minimal human interaction and a near-constant outdoor lifestyle. Though the foals do get petted so that they are not afraid of people, there is minimal handling until the foals are weaned.
Once weaned, the horses come into the barn for about a week, leaning to wear a halter and walk before being turned back out. When they turn one, the horses begin swimming – more for the mental component than the fitness component, Ward explained. Then they're turned back out until September when breaking begins.
Breaking in Kentucky is a group affair, with two or more horses being worked together. Once the horses ship to Florida, they learn to do things on their own.
Dr. Tami Gillon x-rays all of Ward's horses to check for issues. If a joint issue is found, Dr. Wayne McIlwraith will often clean it up. Though sometimes Ward may wait up to a month for McIlwraith to come see the horse, the extended time away from work and stall rest helps the horse's joint calm down before the surgery.
Read more at Thoroughbred Daily News.
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