Horse Care NL Article | Horse Racing Free Tips

Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New

The eponymously-named First Pharoah has a distinction shared by no other Thoroughbred. As the first offspring of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, the colt made headlines soon after he was born on Jan. 3, 2017. Three years later, First Pharoah has displayed more of a likeness to his dam rather than favoring his sire, who quickly proved himself as a source of quality runners.

First Pharoah showed little promise in training, so late last year owner/breeder Oussama Aboughazale (of International Equities Holdings and Sumaya U.S. Stable) sent him to Brooke Schafer and Tay Wienold to redirect his talent. The Lexington-based business partners are experienced in schooling off-track Thoroughbreds in general and members of the First Pharoah clan in particular. The women were first introduced to the family when a friend recommended them for First Pharoah's dam Kakadu. A well-beaten ninth as a 2-year-old in her only start, Kakadu retired to the broodmare ranks but she experienced reproductive problems and never produced another foal. With Schafer handling the ground work and flat work and Wienold doing the jumping, Kakadu made a seamless transition to show horse. Now seven, Kakadu's specialty is eventing, combining refined movements of dressage with jumping in open fields and arenas.

Aboughazale was so impressed with the refashioned Kakadu that he channeled First Pharoah and Kakadu's half-brother Lock Keeper (by Quality Road) to them. Schafer and Wienold transformed Lock Keeper's laid-back personality and athleticism into a willing pleasure mount and sold him to an amateur rider who enjoys dressage with him. As a racehorse, he was unplaced in two starts as a 3-year-old in 2019.

First Pharoah's evolution has been slower than his relatives because of his physique. He is built like his dam with a stout body reminiscent of larger breeds so he was given plenty of downtime to develop into his frame.

“We ride him lightly just to keep him reminded about his job and to slowly mold him into the sport horse we know he is capable of becoming,” Schafer said. “Tay rode him first and he rode beautifully. She said he is one of the most comfortable horses she has ever sat on. She looked at me grinning during the first ride and said 'I could sit this trot all day.' ”

First Pharoah, pictured in late August

During this growing phase, First Pharoah mostly has been doing a whole lot of nothing while socializing with pasture mates and human friends.

“He is like a playful teenager who enjoys challenging his buddies to a game of tag when he's feeling frisky,” Schafer said. “He loves his horse companions dearly and gets very attached to every horse we put with him. He lives outside 24/7 in a field with a large run-in shed but loves to come in on hot days and take a nap in his stall. He gets checked daily and gets lots of treats from the neighbors.”

Schafer and Wienold balance their sport horse business and recreational riding with full-time jobs. Schafer is a speech pathologist in a Central Kentucky public school system and supplements her income by selling her customized painted drinking glasses and other equine-centric artwork. Wienold is an accountant who moonlights with a monogramming service. In their OTTB endeavors, they have established a reputation for transforming their projects into reliable mounts for other activities and placing them with suitable owners. Both strive for the perfect match and offer advice for those obtaining an OTTB with fundamental retraining.

“Take your time and start with the basics,” Schafer said. “Most Thoroughbreds are started in professional programs and know how to tie, lunge, get bathed, stand to be mounted, etc. But just because they do, don't assume they know how to do that in a new environment. Take the time to get to know the horse before you give them too many new pieces of information.

Behind the ears of First Pharoah

“Horses love routine and the more you can work with them on a daily basis, the better. I like to learn about my horses by working with them on the ground before we ride them. I like to know their personalities and what they are comfortable with. By knowing this, I feel like it gives Tay and I a better expectation of what we may encounter under saddle.”

The post Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Is Racing ‘Natural?’ Industry Participants And Animal Advocates Respond

Thoroughbred industry participants and animal welfare advocates often have differing views over how natural racing truly is. Those involved in the racing industry often say that “horses love to race,” even when presented with equine behaviors that don't support this idea. Industry enthusiasts also tend to claim that horses are hardwired to run if given the opportunity. This claim is unsubstantiated as horses in the wild spend the majority of their time grazing and walking, rarely galloping, researchers report.

University of Sydney researcher Dr. Iris Bergmann notes that the equation between horses moving freely and the regimented training protocol many racehorses undergo seems to be flawed. Bergmann created a study, recently published in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Animals, in which researchers interviewed nine Thoroughbred senior and executive-level industry participants from the United States and Australia, as well as from one international organization. Seven people affiliated with animal advocacy groups also participated. They were from Australia, Britain and the United States.

Bergmann showed each participant four racing-related images (which can be seen here) and sought their opinions. She found that the people involved in the racing industry used assumptions of Thoroughbred nature as explanations for their expressions and behaviors; for example, that the horses are “hot” and needed various methods and means to control them.

For Bergmann, this implies that those involved in the industry normalize and occasionally downplay the behavior and expression of Thoroughbreds. Industry participants viewed the images they were shown more as visual issues than equine welfare problems, holding to the idea that the horse is actually excited and ready to race. Bergmann notes that this reaction is consistent with the view that racing is a natural activity for Thoroughbreds.

Study participants from the animal welfare organizations felt that Thoroughbreds have become a product of human breeding. These individuals viewed the images as expressions of stress and anxiety. They reported that they felt these horses were “hot” because of the practices used on them to encourage them to race. These advocates also cited a problem with the images, but they feel it involved the lack of public visibility of other welfare issues facing racing Thoroughbreds.

Bergmann's study concluded that the way “naturalness” for horses is viewed directly impacts the welfare of racing Thoroughbreds; the problem is much broader than what those involved in the industry consider attention-worthy. Bergmann believes that the industry's limited interest in addressing common handling, training and racing practices poses significant threats to Thoroughbred welfare and questions the legitimacy of the industry as a whole.

Read the full study here.

Colic: What Researchers Are Learning About Signs Of Pain, The Best Treatments

Colic has long been one of the most common and most deadly conditions for horses in this country. Because “colic” refers to a set of symptoms (primarily abdominal pain) rather than a specific cause of symptoms, veterinarians and researchers are still learning about the best types of treatment and prevention for different causes of colic.

In a recent edition of its Vet Chats series, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation asked two veterinarians at North Carolina State University to provide some updates on new research into the illness that is every horse owner's worst nightmare.

According to Drs. Anthony Blikslager and Amanda Ziegler, researchers are learning more about how to detect signs of serious pain in colicking horses. While some signs, like rolling, thrashing, and flank-biting, are well-known to be classic colic symptoms for many horses, there are some whose instinct as prey animals can make them more stoic and less inclined to be demonstrative of their discomfort.

Blikslager cited recent research on “equine pain face” in which the muscles around the eye tense, producing an angled effect around the top edge of the eye, and ears are frequently held asymmetrically and turned slightly toward the sides of the head. In addition to pain face, Blikslager said more subtle signs can also correspond to signs of pain like increased heart rate. Horses who are inclined to stand with their heads lower than their withers, particularly those parked at the back of their stall, unwilling to move, showing no interest in activity by the door may also be in pain and trying to be low-key about it.

“We are now beginning to understand that a horse that's just standing still like that, with his head a little bit low, ears back, trying not to be noticed toward the back of the stall, is actually a horse showing behavioral signs of pain,” said Blikslager.

A really tuned-in owner will notice if the horse's behavior is atypical for that individual, even if it's not classic for a painful colic. That's information veterinarians need when they get a call from an owner who has spotted a problem, or as they try to assess how a horse is feeling after treatment. Heart rate is also an important indicator for a horse's pain level, which is why owners and managers need to be familiar with using a stethoscope. Heart rates at or above 48 beats per minute are at an elevated risk for requiring surgery.

This slide shows a normal horse and a rendering of a horse displaying behavioral signs of pain

Owners who have called a veterinarian for a colic case before know that there is a menu of potential treatments a horse can receive. Blikslager explained why each option is used at a specific point during a colic treatment.

A veterinarian's initial goal upon arriving to the barn is to provide some temporary pain relief that will allow a thorough examination to try to detect the cause of symptoms. Veterinarians want something that will wear off fairly quickly so they can see if the pain recurs or not. Xylazine or butorphanol are good options for this stage, though the former will lower heart rate, which can be deceptive for veterinarians. The latter, which is an opiate, has the undesirable effect of constipation, which is not ideal for a colic case, but research shows it doesn't inhibit the horse's overall recovery.

“The horses you really want to watch out for, regardless of how you start treating them, is the ones that are in recurrent pain,” said Blikslager. “Those are the ones who are in a higher risk category for needing something more than what you can do in the field.”

For longer-term pain relief, Blikslager tends to reach for flunixin or firocoxib. The trick to longer-term management is it becomes important for owners to know when pain recurs, and what to do if they see the horse acting painful again. Horses that don't respond to initial sedation treatment need a shorter exam and a heavier-hitting drug like detomidine or potentially a trip to a clinic, as surgery may be necessary.

Ziegler presented data from recent studies examining the action of different non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) on the lining of intestines. NSAIDs can operate on two different types of prostaglandins referred to as COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 supports normal physiological function, while COX-2 is involved in pain and inflammation. Some NSAIDs are selective about their actions and focus on fighting COX-2 prostaglandins, while others are nonselective, meaning they operate on COX-1 also.

Ziegler has conducted research to see whether this nonselective action can sometimes cause problems.

In the case of colic caused by intestinal twists, bacteria can enter the blood, causing widespread inflammation in the body (lots of COX-2). (This, by the way, is why dark purple gums are a sign of a more serious colic case, because they are a sign toxins have entered the bloodstream.)

A twist can cause part of the intestine to lose some of its blood supply, which is why that type of colic is so dangerous to horses. Unfortunately, COX-1 is needed to help intestinal lining bounce back after blood supply is restored, so an NSAID that reduces both types of prostaglandins may help relieve pain but could also make recovery more difficult.

Flunixin, firocoxib, and meloxicam will all go to work against COX-2 prostaglandins, and flunixin will also work against COX-1.

On a microscopic level, Blikslager said the healed gut lining didn't immediately appear different in flunixin-treated horses, but on the cellular level there are some gaps in cells that didn't close properly, leaving a risk for bacteria to enter the bloodstream. In a 2007 study in the American Journal of Veterinary Research showed both flunixin and meloxicam seemed to do similarly well controlling pain in horses post-surgery, but by 48 hours post-surgery, horses receiving flunixin did show increased endotoxin levels in the blood compared to those on meloxicam. A 2009 study showed similar impacts to firocoxib.

Ziegler presented a recent study that sought to quantify whether those microscopic differences in cells were actually impactful on a clinical level. In that study, horses undergoing surgery for intestinal twists were given either flunixin or firocoxib post-surgery and they were monitored for post-operative pain and signs of endotoxins. Both drugs did well on pain control and heart rate measurements. When researchers looked at enzymes to gauge COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition, both drugs did similarly well against COX-2, but by 48 hours post-surgery, COX-1 markers were significantly lower in horses treated with flunixin as compared to firocoxib-treated horses. The group also found elevated levels of biomarkers indicating endotoxin presence in horses treated with flunixin as compared to firocoxib by the time they hit that 48-hour mark.

That doesn't mean it isn't safe to use flunixin in colicking horses or after surgery, Blikslager cautioned — it depends on the root cause of the colic symptoms.

“It isn't something you'd worry about in a standard field colic; it is something you'd worry about with a horse who'd had an intestinal twist,” said Blikslager. “This initial observation wasn't all that popular with veterinarians, because we felt like we were doing the right thing using Banamine. It's a side effect we have to be aware of.”

With repeated cases of colic, the veterinarians agreed they encourage owners to look to see whether there are any environmental triggers that could be contributing.

“It's really easiest to think of as a management disease, not meaning anyone's doing something incorrectly, but the first places to look for cases of recurrent colic are changes in diet, changes in exercise, or even just whether the diet or the exercise you're already giving that horse is the right combination,” said Blikslager. “The ones that probably recurrently colic are the ones like the show horses where you're probably trying to push them a bit on the energy of the feed, and they get these changes in their bacterial populations and they get a little gassy periodically. Also, they're under some level of stress, and also they're being shipped and stalled more often. That's kind of a combination for a repeat colic patient.”

Catch a replay of the seminar here:

The post Colic: What Researchers Are Learning About Signs Of Pain, The Best Treatments appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

When ‘Free To A Good Home’ Is Anything But

In times of economic strife, it's not hard to find them – ads on Craigslist or posts on Facebook (despite its ban on the sale of animals) advertising horses “free to a good home.” Sometimes they're just “free.” Of course, for every horse that isn't publicly advertised in search of a new placement, there are those who are given away or sold for low prices to acquaintances of acquaintances.

For one small breeder in Central Kentucky who asked to remain anonymous, it was something of a relief when a longtime friend offered to take 23-year-old pensioned broodmare Procession. The mare was on the farm, having been retired from breeding a couple of seasons before. She was in good health and her owner thought she could benefit from a job, though she wasn't comfortable with asking her to carry another foal. The friend was interested in artificially-induced lactation, allowing mares to nurse orphaned foals without having to go through the process of breeding and delivering a foal themselves to start producing milk. That would be fine, Procession's owner thought. She'll have a purpose and I know the person she'll be with.

One day, local horseman Tommy Browning came to Procession's new home to collect one of his nurse mares, who he had leased out as an artificially-induced lactating mare (meaning there was no foal produced to stimulate milk flow). Browning took an interest in Procession. He was looking for more mares to help him meet the demand for foal-free nurse mares for next season, he said. Both breeders had had nurse mares from Browning before, and those mares seemed to arrive in good physical condition, so neither had serious concerns about giving him Procession.

Browning also picked up 20-year-old mare Tack Room as a freebie from another farm after telling her owner the same story.

Browning has been charged with animal cruelty twice in the state of Kentucky, though both times charges were dropped. One charge stemmed from an incident in January 2019 in which Browning's trailer broke down along I-75 and Browning allegedly left a mare tied inside with no food or water from mid-afternoon until the next icy-cold morning when a policeman was called to check on the trailer.

In 2014, concerned neighbors took to social media to accuse Browning of starving mares kept on a dry lot in the middle of spring. Browning told the Georgetown News-Graphic he was keeping the mares off grass to avoid exposing them to tall fescue, which can be infected with a fungus that can be harmful to lactating mares. Browning said he fed the mares hay and had every financial incentive to keep them in the best of health.

In 2011, Browning pleaded guilty on six misdemeanor charges of failing to dispose of equine carcasses on his property in Stamping Ground, Ky.

One month after Procession left her owner's farm, she and Tack Room would be discovered in a pen owned by a Pennsylvania-based contractor for a Canadian horse slaughter facility. They were part of a group of seven Thoroughbred mares who all arrived at about the same time.

“I didn't feel spooked by the guy,” Procession's owner said. “In a year when I could just as easily have to give away all my sales yearlings, I was happy to get her off the payroll. I just didn't feel scared about it – until I got a call. 'Your mare is in a kill pen.' And I was shocked.

“I know that what I thought doesn't matter. What matters is what happened to my mare, and that is tragic. If I could put a stop to it without stepping away from my day to day job, I would. If I could take it all back, I would. I wish I never gave her away, I wish I'd said, 'No I'm not sure they'll take care of her.' But in my world, why wouldn't someone take care of a mare?”

Browning did not return a voice message seeking comment on what happened to Procession and Tack Room.

Tack Room after her rescue from the pen

One of the other mares in the pen was Canora, a 20-year-old daughter of Runaway Groom. Until July 23, Canora was on Final Furlong Farm in Sparta, Tenn., with a 2020 filly by her side. Earlier this year, Final Furlong owner Lee Blaisdell made the difficult decision to reduce her stock of horses and goats due to nagging physical problems. She got ahold of Josh Key, a local horseman who had purchased horses from her before. Key agreed to buy the mare for $200 in hopes she could be a children's riding horse, and Blaisdell told him to bring her back if there were any problems.

Blaisdell didn't know that Key didn't still have the mare until she was contacted for this story.

“I'm devastated. She was to come back here if it didn't work out,” said Blaisdell. “I owe Canora nothing less than the best I can provide. Never, ever will a horse I've owned or bred see a kill pen.“

Key said he works as a horse trader but is adamant he does not deal with slaughter buyers. He makes his living buying and selling horses, sometimes privately and sometimes at public auction. In the case of an auction, he said, he has no control over who purchases the horse or what they do with it afterward, but that's the trade-off in selling an animal. In Canora's case, Key said she was sold privately and he didn't know she had left her new home.

“I sold her to a family and I don't know what they did with her, it ain't any of my business,” said Key. “I buy horses and try to match them with riders. If they didn't want that mare sold, they shouldn't have sold her in the first place.

“People think that because we trade horses I'm a killer buyer. I don't want that [expletive] at my house.”

Key said that because he is well known to be a trader, he has known of people who refuse to sell him horses – and then list them online for cheap with a handful of poor photos showing a muddy horse standing in a field. If anything, he thinks that kind of ad is more likely to attract a kill buyer than he is.

“People need to know that when they put her on the internet for $250, they welcomed problems right then,” he said. “If they don't want their horses going to slaughter, they need to know something about them, they need to price them higher, put better saddles on them, advertise them right. We spend hours taking pictures of horses to put them on the internet. The way you advertise the horse means a lot, it means where he's going to go.”

Key also said Canora had been listed for $250 online when he messaged Blaisdell expressing interest, and he had made a profit when he sold her to what he thought was a riding home.

“I got what I thought was over kill price for her, if you go by the weight of her,” he said. “I got way more than what [the sellers] asked for. I don't know what happened there after I sold her, but [the buyers] were not a kill buyer, to my knowledge, and I pretty much know 'em all.”

Key said “there's no blue book” for selling horses to slaughter facilities, and the amount he's seen kill buyers pay depends on how much competition they get at an auction, but it ranges from $.20 to $.50 or $.60 per pound.

“Y'all need to stop the damn backyard breeders,” said Key. “All the backyard breeders are doing is supplying kill buyers. I'm emotional about it, because I think people who trade horses like me get a bad rap for that [expletive], and we're not all like that.”

Canora after her rescue

When rescuers got to Canora in the kill pen, it was the first week of August and she'd already been there seven to 10 days. The route Canora, Procession, and the other mares in the pen took to get there remains unclear after their stops with Browning and Key – both to their last long-term owners and to the rescues that worked to pull them out. What is clear is that those transitions from home to pen happened quickly.

For Marlene Murray, president of R.A.C.E. Fund, the shock and disappointment expressed by the mares' former owners is nothing new. As the co-founder of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organization, she frequently raises cash and organizes medical care and homes for horses in kill pens. In the case of these mares, Murray said they were not in a social media “bail lot” but a holding facility of a kill buyer who allows limited access to rescues and individuals who are then required to pay his last-chance price. Murray said the pen ships weekly and does not offer reprieves, even for horses in the middle of a fundraising effort.

“It is so expensive,” said Murray just after the rescue. “Last week I was about ready to pull my hair out. We actually got 10 horses out within two weeks' time, and that is a major, major undertaking and it's very expensive. A lot of people have to be involved to get funds, try to find places for them to go, trying to find quarantine. And we didn't put these horses in this situation.

“The killer buyer never tells us where he gets them. These buyers go to auctions, they buy horses privately. They probably even have horses given to them, I don't know. Once in a blue moon we'll find out that a horse has gone through a specific auction – New Holland or wherever – and then they end up here.”

A variety of organizations stepped up to fundraise and house the group of seven that included Procession, Tack Room, and Canora, including Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, LongRun, Galloping Out, Beyond the Roses, the Foxy G Fund, Impact Equine, and Leilani Mae Horse Rescue. The mares are in quarantine now and have homes waiting for them when they are well enough to travel.

Murray said that in addition to their sale price, quarantines, and a home for the rest of their lives, the mares also need medical care. They stood for seven to 10 days in a pen with no shelter in the midst of an especially hot summer. All were dehydrated by the time Murray got to them, and most had bites, scrapes, and bruises, presumably from herd confrontations. One mare had a bad hematoma on her chest and another had an abscess. A couple of them were in poor weight. Canora was still dripping milk for the filly weaned just before her sale. It's also unknown how many of them had health problems before they were given away or sold, as crowded pens and stressful situations can result in rapid weight loss and injuries for older horses.

As Murray struggled to raise money for the mares, she knows the kill contractor lined his wallet.

“The kill buyers, they make a profit,” she said. “Of course they do. They're not going to just give them to you. And the prices are getting higher. Some of them are extremely greedy. Some are not as bad as others. You're going to pay over what they paid for the horse.”

For Murray, it's hard to imagine there are still horse owners unaware of the slaughter pipeline or the risks of giving a horse away. Many people still sell or give horses away with no written contract cementing their desire to be given first right of refusal in the event the new owner wants to get rid of the horse. Even such a clause in a contract is unlikely to result in an owner actually reclaiming a horse that has passed into different hands; on a practical level, it becomes enforceable after a purchaser has violated the clause and the clause allows the owner to take them to court, not necessarily to reclaim the animal.

Over the years, Murray has grown frustrated by owners who, knowingly or unknowingly, put horses into the pipeline. She wonders how many of them get duped into giving their horses up, how many fail to do adequate research on the person they give the horse to, and how many just don't want to know where they're really going.

“This is what happens a lot of times — people in the industry, breeders, everybody needs to get it through their head: you can't just give a horse away to anybody,” she said. “Where do they think a 20-year-old mare is going to go? Did you have any paperwork? Did you check them out? Did you follow up? People need to start being more responsible and be more accountable.

“People need to truly understand what these horses go through when they experience what these mares went through, and others before them, and others that will end up like this after them.”

Procession's owner said she can understand that frustration. She's frustrated with herself for not knowing better, and not doing better. She said she's not on social media, had never heard about Browning's criminal history, and didn't know the slaughter pipeline existed before now, at least not in its modern form. She also knows her regret doesn't do anything to help the horse.

“The bottom line is the mare,” she said. “It doesn't matter how guilty I feel, or how much I didn't mean for this to happen. It's tragic. She was a giver. She wasn't hurting anybody and she never asked to be abused.

“Of course the other side of it is, how do people who can't afford it get rid of horses? Even if you shoot the horse, it costs $175 to have it hauled away. Some people don't have that. I'm not justifying another end, but I'm just saying that's the reality for many people. It's a tragedy, but I understand how it happens.”

Now, she hopes Procession's story and that of the other mares in that pen can serve as a warning.

“Don't give your mares away, or any horse away, no matter how innocent it seems.”

The post When ‘Free To A Good Home’ Is Anything But appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post