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Scar Tissue Issues In Horses May Be Resolved With Standing Surgery

A horse that has experienced a hind-end injury such as a kick, fall or other trauma can develop a mechanical restriction from scar tissue that does not allow him to take normal strides, called a fibrotic myopathy, which can affect his athletic ability. The condition, which is not usually painful, is diagnosed by palpation and ultrasound around the horse's thigh.

The veterinary hospital at the University of California, Davis, did a retrospective study that used 22 horses with the condition that had a standing fibrotic myotomy performed. Drs. Charlene Noll, Isabelle Kilcoyne, Betsy Vaughan and Larry Galuppo reviewed the horse's long-term comfort and return to athletic endeavors.

Tenotomy is a more-standard treatment for this type of issue, but a standing myotomy is less expensive and less invasive. The horse can also be moved about during the procedure to assess the response to the incision into the fibrotic tissue.

Only two of the horses in the study developed complications during the surgery. There were additional complications in 18 percent of the horses, which included issues with drainage or infection that caused sutures to reopen.

After the surgery, the horses were on stall rest for two weeks and hand walked for 10 minutes three times a day. Once sutures were removed, the horses began trotting for five minutes each day and work was increased incrementally from there.

Four weeks after the surgery, canter work was added to the rehabilitation program. Passive range of motion exercises were also recommended twice daily throughout the rehabilitation time. Two months after the surgery, the horses could go back to regular work and could get turned out.

Follow up calls and questionnaires were sent to the horse owners between 6 months and 11 years after the surgery was performed. Ten of the 16 owners said they were satisfied with the long-term outcome of the surgery. Eight of the horses had a recurrence of issues, and eight of the 12 athletic horses returned to their previous level of use. The other four athletic horses needed repeat surgery.

The research team concluded that standing myotomy for fibrotic myopathy leads to fair outcomes with minimal complications, but proper rehabilitation was imperative to the surgery's success.

Read the full article here.

Meet the 2020 Kentucky Derby Jockeys

Whenever a horse crosses the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the first person you’ll see and hear a reaction from is the person on that horse’s back. The jockey usually gets much of the credit – and sometimes the blame – for a horse’s finish on the track. They’re also the ones who decide where to position their horses in a race, when to make their move for the lead and what path to take in doing it.

Midshipman Filly Tops Minnesota Yearling Sale

The Minnesota Thoroughbred Association's 2020 yearling sale took place Sunday, led by a $42,000 Midshipman filly.

A total of 34 Minnesota-bred yearlings changed hands during the auction for revenues of $359,800, down 34 percent from last year's auction when 44 horses brought $549,000. The average sale price fell 22 percent to $9,724 from $12,477.

Sunday's auction was topped by Hip 43, Harlow's Harmony, a Midshipman filly who sold to Barry and Joni Butzow for $42,000.

The bay filly is out of the stakes-winning Sahm filly Sahm Sweetheart, who is the dam of two winners from three runners, including stakes winner Dazzlingsweetheart and stakes-placed Blumin Sweetheart. Harlow's Harmony hails from the family of Grade 3 winner He's Vivacious and stakes winners including Plana Dance, Heliskier, and Gypsy Melody.

The sale-topper was bred in Minnesota and consigned by Mary and Eric Von Seggern. They finished the sale as the leading consignor by gross, with four horses sold for a combined $91,800.

Novogratz Racing Stable and trainer Mac Robertson secured the auction's second-most expensive horse, Hip 30, a Fed Biz filly, for $35,000.

A dark bay or brown filly out of the winning Sky Mesa mare Mesa Mirage, she is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Mister Banjoman and a full-sister to the winner Dreaming Biz. Her page features Grade 1 winner Cool and English Group 2 winner Mountain Kingdom.

Almar Farm partners bred the filly in Minnesota and consigned her at the sale.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

The post Midshipman Filly Tops Minnesota Yearling Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tiz The Law Reigns Over NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll Ahead Of Kentucky Derby Bid

Tiz the Law has spent much of his 2020 season in the driver's seat where divisional bragging rights are concerned and the son of Constitution will take that lofty status into his expected run in the 146th edition of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on September 5.

Trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law has been the clear choice among voters in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll for several weeks.The Belmont and Travers Stakes winner remains the dominant figure heading into the “Run for the Roses” with 35 first-place votes and 350 points. Should he prevail in the Kentucky Derby, it would mark his fifth career Grade 1 victory.

A win in the 1 ¼-miles classic would also be a second victory in the race for both Tagg and Sackatoga Stable, who teamed up to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide, who became the first and so far only New York-bred to win the prestigious event.

“He is a fairly easy horse to train and just does it,” Tagg said of Tiz the Law. “He's got a good constitution. He's fast, of course, and is willing to do what you ask him to do. Everything just kind of falls into place with him.”

Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector remains in second with 280 points followed by Honor A. P. (252 points) and fellow Grade 1 winner Authentic (219).

Gamine, who was deemed the even-money, morning-line favorite for the September 4 Kentucky Oaks, sits in the fifth position with 185 points while her top Oaks rival, Swiss Skydiver, is sixth with 182 points. Thousand Words (123 points) holds in seventh with King Guillermo (107), Ny Traffic (83) and Max Player (48) completing the top 10.

There was little change in the top 10 in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as champion Maximum Security holds first place for a second straight week with 16 first-place votes and 311 points.
The 4-year-old bay colt has won both of his starts since being transferred to the barn of Bob Baffert having captured Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 25 and most recently taking the August 22 Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes.

Multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma remains in second with 6 first-place votes and 264 points. Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 223 points) is third followed by Grade 1 Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (216 points) in fourth.

Tiz the Law (10 first-place votes, 200 points) ranks fifth and is the lone sophomore in the top 10 of the Thoroughbred Poll. Champion distaffer Midnight Bisou sits in the sixth position with 167 points while multiple Grade 1-winner Rushing Fall (105 points) moves up one spot to seventh.
Zulu Alpha (102 points) ranks eighth followed by champion Monomoy Girl (76 points) and By My Standards (63 points) to round out the top 10.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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