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Veterinarians: Dewormer Resistance Must Be Addressed To Avert Equine Welfare Disaster

Though veterinarians and equine caretakers around the world have stressed the importance of forgoing the once-standard practice of rotational deworming, a recent study shows that dewormer resistance is still looming. Currently, small redworms and large roundworms are resistant to all available dewormers; no new dewormers are currently in creation.

Members of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) anthelmintic working group wrote to the Veterinary Record to express their concern over the findings of a small-scale study. Dr. David Rendle and his colleagues state that a “anthelmintic resistance disaster” is looming unless horse owners change horse-keeping ways.

The study found that although there has been an uptick in the number of fecal worm egg counts (FWECs) performed, there has not been a corresponding downward trend in dewormer sales. The BEVA working group gathered information on the number of fecal worm egg counts completed and the sale of dewormers in the U.K. from 2015 to 2018.

Though FWECs increased by 29 percent, the doses of dewormer sold only fell by 2.9 percent over the same period. The sale of these drugs dropped 8 percent between 2015 and 2016, and then rose every year after that.

If the deworming guidelines were being followed correctly, and dewormers would only be given when a FWEC deemed them necessary. There should be at least twice as many FWECs completed as doses of dewormer sold. However, the data shows that there was only one FWEC completed for every 11 doses of dewormer sold.

The authors also point out that moxidectin sales remained high throughout the study period though experts have noted that it should not be used as a routine dewormer in horses.

Kentucky Boarding Operation Owner Wanted On 13 Counts Of Animal Cruelty Related To Neglect Case

A Kentucky boarding operations owner is the subject of a criminal complaint in Bourbon County, Ky., alleging 13 counts of animal cruelty in the second degree after horses in his care were found starving. Xavier McGrapth has not yet been arrested on the charges, which arose out of a neglect investigation by county and state officials that began in late March.

Animal cruelty in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor in Kentucky.

Around two dozen horses were discovered at a property McGrapth was leasing; half of those horses were determined by a veterinarian to be neglected.

McGrapth advertised his services on Facebook under business names McGrapth Breaking and Training and Whispering Creek Thoroughbreds, offering breaking and training for young horses and broodmare board. McGrapth ran those operations out of a property owned by longtime Central Kentucky horseman Steve Johnson.

The Bourbon County Sheriff's Department released the following statement to media about the case earlier this week:

“On the afternoon of March 19, 2021, the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office received a complaint of equine welfare at a farm on Brentsville Road here in Bourbon County. Deputies responded to the scene and immediately started an investigation into the welfare of the equine[s] present. The Bourbon County Sheriff's Office has received support from The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, who assisted us with locating and contacting owners and started the process of relocating horses to a safe environment for care and treatment. They are also assisting with the investigation and have sent an investigator to work closely with us throughout this case.

“As of now all the horses have been identified and the process of relocating them to various locations is coming to an end. The Bourbon County Sheriff's Office has identified a suspect in the case and a criminal complaint has been issued. This investigation is still ongoing, and all authorities involved are actively working together to bring this to a close.”

Johnson said that he had rented the barn and surrounding paddocks to McGrapth last year after vetting McGrapth's references, and had no issues until November when McGrapth fell behind on his rental payments. At least one of McGrapth's clients, many of whom are based out-of-state, was satisfied with his care of broodmares for the 2020 foaling season and sent him horses again this year.

On March 19, locally-based client Alyssa Evans visited McGrapth's operation to check on her pregnant mare and discovered two dead horses in a field near the barn. Additional checks revealed other horses in poor body condition. Evans removed her mare from the property and contacted law enforcement and Johnson. Johnson said the barn McGrapth leased was at the back of his property and the horses visible in the front of the parcel looked a little light but were not in bad shape. Johnson urged McGrapth to provide them more feed and said he hadn't seen the horses that were being kept in the back of the barn until around the time Evans contacted him.

“It was his business, and I will tell you I did not go back and monitor his operation, primarily because it was his operation and I didn't consider that to be my responsibility,” said Johnson. “I tried to help him out. I gave him hay.

“It took me three days to get the barns cleaned properly. Why people will do this, I really don't know.”

Johnson said he hasn't been able to reach McGrapth or seen him on the property in six weeks, during which time he fed the abandoned horses until officials could verify ownership and supervise their removal. He also said McGrapth told him he had client horses at other facilities but does not know how many or where they may be.

McGrapth's clients, many of whom say they had no written contract with him, were attracted to him in part because of his competitive board rate. Now, several of them are questioning whether their horses will recover from the neglect they suffered in his care.

One pregnant mare, sold by McGrapth for a client, lost significant weight in the two weeks she was in McGrapth's care. By the time her purchaser picked her up at another facility, veterinarians determined her overall health was “extremely poor” and questioned whether she would be able to survive foaling or nurse a foal if she did survive.

Amanda Scarsella said she sent McGrapth six horses – five young horses in training and one mare by Uncle Mo named Fresh Face, whose fate is still unclear. All five are recovering from various levels of starvation, significant skin disease, and lice infestations. Three of them are expected to improve enough to make it to the track; the other two – both colts from the only crop of Effinex – will have a much longer road to recovery and Scarsella said while she's hopeful for their futures, their careers may be over before they'd begun.

“I've been trying to stay up to date through the other owners, the sheriff and those who helped rescue them. With that being said it's been draining in every way,” said Scarsella, who is based in New York. “Ultimately I feel responsible because they are like my kids. I try to compartmentalize the Kentucky ordeal to deal with it as I can when needed so I can concentrate on running my farm here and foaling mares at night. I'm mostly a one woman show so it's quite a challenge but I'm managing.”

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IFAR: Why The Term ‘Retraining’ May Not Be Best For OTTBs

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) kicked off its 2021 virtual conference on Tuesday with a panel of international racing leaders discussing the importance of Thoroughbred aftercare to the health of the sport.

Irish trainer Jessica Harrington, American trainers Graham and Anita Motion, Aga Khan Stud racing manager Nemone Routh and former British eventing team coach Yogi Breisner gathered to offer their thoughts on the state of aftercare and its interaction with other equestrian sports.

A few key takeaways:

Breisner, who has worked with many former racehorses, believes a language shift is in order when discussing off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). Often, the process of transitioning a horse from the track to another discipline is framed as “retraining,” but Breisner points out that conveys an implication that the horse's earlier training was somehow wrong.”Actually most racehorses I've taken don't need much true retraining,” he said. “They've already learned a lot.”
Routh said that aftercare in France, where the Aga Khan Stud is based, now receives financial support from France Galop, racing's regulatory body there. Previously it had been dependent on charitable donations, but Routh said after a certain point that was no longer sustainable. France Galop now encourages people to share their stories of their OTTBs as part of its tactic to market racing.
Also in France, racing connections are expected to pay for a horse's castration and transport to an accredited rehoming center. That can be a tough pill to swallow, especially for owners who are also discovering the horse that once had value as a racing animal may be retiring with very little market value. Routh suggests owners who set aside as modest a sum as two weeks' training fees could be enough to make sure the owner doesn't feel surprised by those retirement costs later.
Harrington believes education is key for new owners, especially those who join in as part of a large syndicate where they are able to approach racehorse ownership with no equine background or racing experience. Many don't even know a horse can live another 20 to 25 years after its racing retirement, let alone that they will need to find a new vocation for that time. “I think people don't think about it,” she said. “I think it's ignorance rather than willfully saying, 'I'm not going to look after my horse.”
Motion believes part of the key to making aftercare sustainable — particularly in the United States, where it's still so reliant on charitable giving — is to think twice about whether a horse needs to go to a retirement organization, where they will be on the organization's books for many years. Motion believes that many horses are suitable for some kind of active job where they might be useful as privately-owned animals, and that retirement sanctuaries are often asked to shoulder the burden of horses who could find vocations elsewhere.
Breisner said there could be more exchange between the racing and sport horse world as far as the education of riders. As stable help has become more difficult to find in Britain, Breisner said he sometimes has racing staff who ask to spend time training with him to improve their overall horsemanship, which benefits the racehorses they'll work with on and off the track. Likewise, he suggested that the many international racing schools that train jockeys and exercise riders could also include education on the basics of transitioning OTTBs off track. Riders who have the skills to be versatile will benefit the horses they work with.

The next IFAR virtual session will focus on aftercare for racing administrators and regulators and will take place April 13 at 8 a.m. Eastern. Registration is free and is available here.

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Study: More Than Half Of Eventers Coming Back From Cross Country With Mouth Sores

Concern over oral injuries from bit use has equine advocates questioning horse welfare in many disciplines, including harness racing and eventing. A Finnish study has shown that horses competing in eventing are at greater risk of developing mouth sores after the cross-country phase of competition.

Drs. Kati Tuomola, Nina Mäki-Kihniä, Anna Valros, Anna Mykkänen and Minna Kujala-Wirth looked into the mouths of 208 event horses at the conclusion of the cross-country phase at eight competitions. They found that 52 percent of the horses had acute oral lesions; of these, 22 percent were mild, 26 percent were moderate and 4 percent of the horses had severe lesions. The team found that oral bruising was more common than open wounds.

Researchers also found that horses competing in particularly thin or thick bits were at greater risk of oral lesions, likely due to mechanics and fit. Additionally, Warmbloods and cold-blooded horses were at higher risk of having oral lesions than ponies, and mares were more likely to have serious lesions than geldings.

The researchers advise that bit monitoring be implemented by horse owners and by competition management to ensure equine welfare. There was no association between lesions and competition placement during the study; high-performing horses are still at risk of oral lesions.

Read the article here.