cribbing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Older Horses At Higher Risk For Colic, Euthanasia

Colic is the No. 1 cause of death in horses and it disproportionately affects older horses. Surgery isn't always the best option for elderly equines because of the high cost and generally less-successful outcomes, so many older horses that colic are euthanized.

Colic, which is a catch-all term for abdominal pain, can be caused by a variety of things, including gas buildup, a blockage or twisting of the gut. Though minor colic can be handled with medical intervention and pain relievers, other episodes require surgery to resolve.

A study out of Germany looked at nearly 1,000 horses that were admitted to a veterinary clinic for symptoms of colic. The average age was 19.9 years old and the majority of the horses were treated medically; these horses had a better survival rate than those horses that underwent surgery.

The most-common type of colic for horses between 21 and 29 years old were strangulating lipomas. This occurs when a fatty tumor develops and becomes so heavy that it weighs down part of the horse's digestive tract, sometimes looping around areas and strangulating either the intestines or the blood flow to them. There is no way to prevent these types tumors.

However, there are some risk factors for colic that can be mitigated by feeding and management changes. A review of colic studies in 2019 reported that horses that crib have a higher risk of colic, specifically epiploic foramen entrapment, where part of the small intestine are strangulated. Horses that spend most of their time in a stall are at higher risk of colic episodes than those that live out or those that spend more time on pasture. Changes in stabling also increase colic risk.

Changes in hay or grain increase the risk of colic, as does feeing higher amounts of grain. The type of hay fed also increases colic risk; horses fed coastal hay and alfalfa are more likely to colic than horse fed other types of hay.

Dental issues, to which older horses are particularly susceptible, increase colic risk. It's imperative that horse owners work closely with an equine dentist and adjust the horse's diet as necessary to mitigate the risk of colic. This might include changing feed or hay options or soaking feed. The addition of a ration balancer or oil may be necessary if an older horse is struggling to maintain weight.

Colic will affect one in 10 horses during their lifetime; older horses tend to have less-favorable outcomes. Adjusting elderly horse management, feeding and care can help decrease colic risk.

Weaning Woes: Is Artificial Weaning Hard On Horses?

Weaning, where a foal is removed from his dam, can be heartwrenching for both the humans and the animals involved. During traditional weaning, foals are forcibly separated from their dams at six months of age. However, left to their own devices, a foal will eventually separate from his mother on his own accord; this is considered “natural weaning.” Little research has been done on natural weaning.

The relationship between a mare and her foal focuses not only on providing sustenance to the youngster, but on the imparting of social skills that will allow the foal to become a well-adjusted part of an equine herd. Researchers in France studied natural weaning to determine if it could offer benefits to the mare and foal.
Drs. Séverine Henry, Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir, Aziliz Klapper, Julie Joubert, Gabrielle Montier and Martine Hausberger studied three groups of semi-feral Icelandic horses: 16 mares with their foals, all owned by a riding school. The researchers discovered that the weaning age of foals varied greatly, but that foals were on average nine months old when they willingly stopped nursing from their mother.

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Surprisingly, the foal didn't gradually taper off his suckling before weaning nor did the mare become more aggressive with her foal before weaning; it seems the foal simply stopped nursing. Immediately after weaning, the foals spent about as much time with and stayed as close to their mothers as before weaning, indicating that they still needed social contact with their mothers.
None of the mares lost any body condition even though they were in foal and had a nursing foal on their side, though their breeding may have something to do with this: Icelandic horses are notoriously hardy.

Artificial weaning generally causes high levels of stress in foals and this is often the time when stereotypies like cribbing or weaving begin. The scientists hope that this data will assist in providing a better understanding of what happens in the mare-foal relationship, specifically from a social point of view, and how artificial weaning can affect foals.

Sale Voided On Seven-Figure Speightster Colt At OBS Spring Auction

One of the highlights of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale was undone when buyer Larry Best of OXO Equine turned back the purchase of a $1.1-million Speightster colt, BloodHorse reports.

The purchase was voided under the Conditions of Sale after staff at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., found the colt to be a cribber; a condition that was not announced at the time he was in the ring. Video was taken of the horse cribbing, and sent to the OBS staff, with Best formally announcing his intention to return the horse shortly before the end of the seven-day window to do so.

To learn more about cribbing in relationship to sales, click here.

Tom McCrocklin consigned the colt as agent for Solana Beach Sales, the pinhooking wing of the Little Red Feather Racing partnership. The colt will be sent to trainer Bob Baffert to begin his racetrack career. McCrocklin told BloodHorse that the colt had showed no signs of cribbing prior to the sale, thus an announcement was not warranted, but the sellers were happy to retain the horse to race.

Named Fortunate Son, the New York-bred colt is out of the stakes-placed Indian Charlie mare Auspicious, who is the dam of three winners from four foals to race. He sold for $110,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale.