Blanket | Horse Racing Free Tips

Blankets of Ashford Champions Up for Charity Auction

Coolmore America's Ashford has donated the blankets worn by three of the champions in their stallion barn–2015 and 2018 Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, as well as 2022 champion 3-year-old colt Epicenter–to CASA of Lexington's annual “Bourbon and the Bayou” silent auction. The blankets will be auctioned individually to support advocacy for abused and neglected children in the family court systems of seven Central Kentucky counties.

“There haven't been many opportunities ever before to acquire the actual blankets worn by celebrity Thoroughbreds,” said Melynda Jamison, CASA of Lexington's executive director. “We are excited to have these unique items in our auction! Whoever wins them will also be supporting brighter futures for abused children in the heart of horse country.”

For more information or to bid until 9:45 p.m. Feb. 24, visit BandB2023.givesmart.com.

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Horse Owners: Input Needed On Blanketing Preferences

To blanket or not to blanket – that is the never-ending question facing may horse owners. Wright State University is looking for responses to a blanketing survey to help researchers better understand horse owner's blanketing and management practices during winter months. If you:

Are over 18
Own one or more horses (if you own more than one, please respond with the majority of the horse's care in mind)
Live in the United States or Canada

Please click here to take the brief survey. Wright State asks that horse owners respond only once. The survey will be open until January 5, 2021. Results will be summarized and shared at a later date.

The post Horse Owners: Input Needed On Blanketing Preferences appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Research Update: Hay Intake Of Blanketed And Non-Blanketed Horses

Thermoregulation in the horse is an energy-expensive process, which can be mitigated by blanketing horses in cold climates, potentially preventing weight loss or leading to decreased feed intake.

The objective of a recently published research project, conducted at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, was to evaluate feed intake, body weight, and body condition scores in blanketed and non-blanketed horses.

Starting in October, 16 adult horses were either blanketed (n = 8) or not blanketed (n = 8). From December through January data was collected, including body weight, body condition scores, hay nutritive value, and round bale weights. Round bales were offered continuously to the horses, and hay waste and any remaining hay was weighed to calculate horse dry matter intake.

Average bale weight, forage nutritive value, body weight, and body condition score were not different between blanketed and non-blanketed horses. However, the daily dry matter intake was different. Blanketed horses consumed 2.3 percent of their body weight, while non-blankets horses consumed 2.5 percent of their body weight. These results suggest blanketed horses conserve energy, leading to decreased feed intake.

For more information on this research, read the article in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.

Subscribe to the University of Minnesota e-newsletter here.

The post Research Update: Hay Intake Of Blanketed And Non-Blanketed Horses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Equine Recurrent Uveitis And Appaloosas: What’s The Correlation?

Every Appaloosa over the age of 12 should have an eye exam to ensure the horse isn't suffering from equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) or moon blindness, a disease that disproportionately affects the breed. As the disease progresses, it can lead to blindness.

A study by Drs. Sandmeyer, Nicole Kingsley, Cheryl Walder, Sheila Archer, Marina Leis, Rebecca Bellone and Bianca Bauer completed a retrospective study using horses that were referred to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Canada.The research team found that ERU occurred 13 percent more often in Apps than in other breeds; of all horses at the hospital who had ERU, Appaloosas made up 62.5 percent of the ERU cases.

The study team then had board-certified ophthalmologists examine 145 Appaloosas on 11 farms in Western Canada to determine what risk factors Appaloosas have that may be relevant to ERU development. They sought to study if coat pattern correlated at all with ERU risk: Specifically, if Appaloosas that had extensive white were more at risk to develop ERU.

Horses were categorized as having no signs or mild, moderate or severe signs of ERU. Of the 145 horses examined, 20 (14%) were confirmed with ERU. The research team determined that:

ERU occurred 11 percent of the time in horses with few spots; 29 percent of the time in Apps with white blankets and no spots (called snowcap); 15 percent in leopard apps, which are white with spots all over; 11 percent on Apps with a white rump that has spots and 13 percent of the time in Apps with no patterning over the topline
There was no association between gender or base coat color and ERU
Age is a significant risk factor; 12.3 years old being the mean age of affected horses. For each year older, the odds of ERU increased 1.15 times
The study did not find ERU in horses that had white-flecked coats, lace blankets or solid coloration that does not roan with age
Apps with leopard spotting are at increased risk for ERU
A common ancestor was identified in 83 percent of affected horses within eight generations, and five were inbred to that ancestor

The scientists determined that many horses have chronic, low-grade clinical signs of ERU that go undetected until the condition worsens. Because of this, it's imperative that owners of Appaloosas have their eyes checked yearly, specifically after 12 years old.