Tag: Horse Care

Horse ownership is well known to be an expensive venture. The costs associated with feeding your horse, routine farrier visits, veterinary care and all of the necessary equipment for horse and rider can add up quickly. Depending on your goals and interests, there may be additional costs such as taking lessons, trail riding park fees, horse show entry fees, maintaining a truck and trailer and fuel cost. It's not uncommon for horse owners to look for ways to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses and make their hobby more affordable. While horse owners may consider skipping vaccinations as a way to capture short-term savings, veterinarians warn this risky practice can result in even more costs down the line.

A horse that isn't vaccinated is at a higher risk of contracting a preventable disease such as equine influenza, West Nile Virus, eastern equine encephalitis and more. The cost to vaccinate your horse against these diseases, while it can vary from veterinarian to veterinarian, can roughly be estimated to $65 to $100 twice a year, depending on what vaccines are recommended and the horse's vaccination plan. If a horse contracts a preventable disease, treatment can range anywhere from $500 to upwards of $2,000, depending on which disease is being treated and the severity of the clinical signs.

“Vaccinating your horses and sticking to a vaccination schedule is really the best way to save money in the long run,” explains Dr. Scott Hancock, Professional Services Veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim. “When you think about how much money is spent on these horses, why cut corners on vaccinations?”

When a horse contracts a preventable disease, it may look something like this: the horse begins exhibiting clinical signs and receives an examination from a veterinarian. The examination, plus laboratory testing, may confirm what disease is causing the clinical signs. Depending on the disease, the horse may need to be quarantined away from other horses on the property or trailered to a veterinary clinic for treatment and observation.

“Typically, treatment will include palliative care with the main goal of keeping the horse comfortable as the disease runs its course,” says Dr. Hancock. “In an optimal situation, and depending on which specific disease we're talking about, it would take the horse 10 to 21 days to recover.”

If a horse contracts a disease prior to or during a horse show, you may also lose entry fees and valuable experiences.

“All of that money goes down the drain if your horse gets sick and can't go to the horse show or arrives at the show grounds only to get exposed to one of the 'daycare' respiratory bugs such as influenza or herpes,” says Dr. Hancock. “Add in the heartbreak of not being able to compete, the risk of the horse possibly infecting other horses and the cost of veterinary treatment, and you're looking at a huge loss.”

Some diseases, such as eastern equine encephalitis, have a very poor prognosis for recovery. “To see a horse that's dying of encephalitis because they weren't vaccinated, knowing it could have been prevented, is very difficult to accept,” says Dr. Hancock. Diseases such as West Nile may respond to treatment but may have residual neurological issues that could also have been prevented with appropriate vaccination.

Vaccinating your horse has far more benefits than there are risks, both for the health of your horse as well as your wallet.

“There is no reason not to utilize the science of immunology to protect our horses, especially against diseases that are often terminal,” concludes Dr. Hancock. “Work with your local veterinarian to determine which vaccinations are appropriate for your horse and develop a strategic vaccination schedule.”

The post Vaccinations Protect Horses And Horse Owner Pocketbooks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It doesn't seem like a big thing, a retired steeplechase horse retraining to be a foxhunter. In fact, it seems perfectly appropriate. But, when a towering chestnut mare steps onto the grounds of the 2023 Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover, she'll be carrying a lot more than just her rider over the course. She'll be carrying a pedigree and a connection to some of the sport's most exceptional people.

Forgiving is a 9-year-old mare by Redeemed and out of the Mojave Moon mare, Confined. The Pennsylvania-bred mare earned more than $90,000 racing on the flat and over jumps, retiring after winning her final race in 2021 at Colonial Downs.

She won that race just like she ran every single fence race: manage the jumps, then surge to the lead on the flat.

“She had a lot of kick at the end,” said Sherry Fenwick, Forgiving's owner.

Her running style shouldn't be too much of a surprise. After all, her breeder/trainer liked to start his steeplechase horses racing on the flat for a few years before they pursued their speed over hurdles. That was just how Jonathan Sheppard liked to work with his young horses.

There's the connection. For the fifth time, Sheppard, a Hall of Fame trainer, will have a horse he bred compete at the Thoroughbred Makeover. Sheppard's career spans over five decades of training, winning more than $88.5 million from England to the United States, racing on the flat and steeplechase. He is the National Steeplechase Association's all-time learning trainer by wins and purse earnings, and the winner of 15 Eclipse Awards.

The Hall of Fame trainer retired from racing in 2021, after training such notable horses as Grade 1 winner and perennial sire Storm Cat and 2008 Female Turf Champion Forever Together.

Coincidentally, Forgiving retired in 2021 as well.

Fenwick brought Forgiving home to recover and relax before she decided on the next step for her beloved mare. There is a deep connection between Fenwick and the mare. Fenwick's the type of owner that loves all of her horses and is “crazy” about each one, but her appreciation for the mare's lineage and connections are what draws her closer to Forgiving.

“I've been involved in steeplechasing off and on for 30 years and I used to work for Jonathan,” she said. “I have owned a lot of horses of Jonathan's, ridden horses for him and just learned so much from him.”

Sheppard believed in quality, not quantity when it came to his breeding practices. He started breeding his own horses partway through his training career. The Sheppard/Fenwick connection bred multiple money earners following that simple rule. Sheppard took a liking to breeding mares to Northern Baby, who carried on the Northern Dancer line successfully over fences.

“Northern Baby was successful as a sire of steeplechase horses, as many Northern Dancer line horses are. They all had good stamina for sure,” Sheppard said.

Redeemed, Forgiving's sire, was one sire that he preferred towards the end of his breeding career.

“I loved his stamina and he was reasonably priced as a stallion,” said Sheppard.

While Redeemed was an earner of over $800,000, he never was very fashionable to breed to, which was helpful for the budget breeder like Sheppard.

“I wasn't interested in breeding commercially, I was breeding for myself,” he said.

After all the years of breeding and training, Sheppard still recalls characteristics and stats of just about every horse he was connected with.

“She was a lovely looking mare that was of good size and covered quite a bit of ground with her stride,” he remembered.

Foxhunting should be right up Forgiving's alley.

Fenwick sent Forgiving to her longtime friend Sara Katz Foley.

“Forgiving already showed that she was a beautiful mover and her disposition was kind and willing and she is a beauty,” said Fenwick. “Once away from racing her entire demeanor changed. She is very solid and straightforward. I knew Sara would do the best with her to transition to another discipline.”

Foley has worked with Fenwick for over 10 years, restarting her retired racehorses, helping them to find their niche and then move on to new homes for their second careers. She won the Field Hunters at the 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover aboard Grade 1 winner Diplomat.

Foley lives in foxhunting country and she got her first taste of the speed and power Forgiving has within the first weeks of the mare's arrival at her farm.

“I knew she was a nice mare, so I suggested to Sherry that we try her in the Thoroughbred Makeover,” said Foley. “One reason was because (Forgiving) was a homebred of Jonathan Shepherd, so she was successful over jumps and she's just a stunning mare. She's a pretty exquisite mare with a big body, comfortable and sweet. There's no naughtiness in her. She took to hunting very well. We're trying to show how amazing some of these ex-chasers are, and when they're retired, they can go on to being really good hunters.”

A common misconception about steeplechase horses is that they should be a natural at Field Hunting. While there are some traits that support that notion, such as being used to running in big groups, having stamina and are typically built sound and strong, there are also traits that make retraining a little more difficult.

“Most steeplechasers need to have a lot of flatwork done with a lot of slow jog sets,” explained Foley. “My job right now is to help redevelop her racing muscles into riding muscles.”

She also explains the difference in starting retired flat racers over jumps versus retired steeplechasers. Flat racers start off slow going over poles because they may not be comfortable with obstacles such as that, so they're more receptive to waiting for the rider to guide. On the contrary, steeplechasers can push to rush through ground poles and lower jumps because they're used to landing and moving forward.

“Galloping down to a hurdle that you brush through and galloping down to a 3'6” coop are two different things,” said Foley. “So, what I'm teaching her is basically how to rock back and develop her back muscles. I'm teaching her to be more round over her fences, versus just straight through them.”

All of this has been easy for Forgiving, whose transitions from flat racer to steeplechaser and now field hunter have shown what quality breeding and a start from the right trainer can do for a horse.

“It's nice to see how quickly and how happily she has made these transitions” said Fenwick, who is counting down to the start of the show in October. “After the Makeover, we'll just wait and see how things go. I'm not rushing her and I'm enjoying seeing what Sara is doing with her now.”

The post Forgiving Hopes To Bring Steeplechase Royalty To Thoroughbred Makeover appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Lymphedema in both horses and humans is caused by the accumulation of protein-rich fluid in the body, often in the legs. The fluid is usually drained by the lymphatic system, but lymphedema prevents this drainage. 

This condition can increase the risk of skin infections and sepsis as skin folds develop from the swelling. Affected horses typically develop the condition when they are young; as the disease progresses, the horse becomes disfigured and lame. Lymphedema can cause secondary infections in addition to lameness, and may eventually lead to death. 

Draft breeds are primarily affected, but the cause of the disease is unknown. Horses in particular are at risk of lymphedema as they have minimal muscling on their lower limbs and muscle contraction is what circulates lymph fluid through the lymphatic system. Treatment often includes the use of cold water, bandaging, and encouraging movement. 

Dr. Drew Koch and researchers from North Carolina State University took technology used for humans suffering from lymphedema and applied it to horses with the same condition. In humans, a pneumatic compression device is often applied to the legs that moves the fluid up the limbs to the lymph nodes. 

The scientists worked closely with manufacturers of the human-grade devices to create the EQ Press. To test its efficacy, the researchers injected the front leg coronary bands of six healthy Thoroughbreds with a tracer isotope, which is taken up and excreted through the lymphatic system. 

A special camera followed the isotope's movement through the lymphatic system and into an upper-limb lymph node. Each horse underwent this procedure twice, once without wearing the EQ Press and once while wearing the EQ Press. 

The horses wearing the device showed the isotope moving into the upper-limb lymph node within an hour; only one horse not wearing the EQ Press had the isotope move into the lymph node in that same amount of time. 

The researchers determined that horses wearing the EQ Press had significantly accelerated lymphatic flow compared to horses not wearing the device. More research is needed to test the device on horses that have lymphedema.

Read more at Equine Science Update. 

The post Pump It Up: Would A Lymphedema Compression Machine Work On Horses? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Stanfield was a kind fellow with a pretty face and eyes that would focus just on you. He was a big 16.3 hands at three years old and though broke to ride, he had not been trained for racing.  Most would think he was quite the opportunity for a competitive sport horse — that is until they saw his pictures.

Stanfield was “low backed,” a kinder word for sway backed. The conformation defect wouldn't hamper him for riding, many low backed horses actually race. However, Stanfield's conformation was a slap in the face for all the potential adopters that passed him over for 10 months.

“I felt Stanfield was special from the moment his hoof touched down in our barn,” said New Vocations trainer Leandra Cooper. “His personality was grandiose and his capacity to make us laugh seemed to know no bounds. He deeply endeared himself to all of us, but we also knew that his conformation would be a deterrent to most people despite the fact that our vets clarified that it didn't cause him any discomfort or limitations.

“Stanfield did a tremendous amount of learning and maturing in the time that he was in our program, and we continued to try to showcase the broadening breadth of his skill sets. He just needed someone to take a chance on him, so he could really shine and show how much he had to offer.”

Unbeknownst to Leandra and her team, nearly 500 miles away, Sonya Ericson had been stalking the New Vocations website for months and kept finding herself drawn to Stanfield, viewing and re-viewing his pictures and videos.

Sonya came from a background deeply rooted in horses.

“My Irish mother had a riding school – until she died in a car accident when I was six,” said Ericson. “My family were all about racing, point-to-points, and steeplechasing. I worked as a vet assistant and a flight attendant to pay the bills, but horses have always been my passion.”

Being so knowledgeable, it's no surprise that Sonya was a stickler for good conformation. She thought she wanted perfection in her next horse until her life dramatically changed two years ago.

“I broke my back, was diagnosed with breast cancer and grounded as an International flight attendant by COVID-19. I reached a point of perfect fragility,” she said. “I lost confidence in my body — that had never failed me; in people that I loved, in people that I did not even know…

“I watched Stanfield's posts many times over, for months. I had concerns regarding his back…and well, he was flawed. But he seemed so kind and that expression on his face – just wide open and willing.”

After waiting ten long months for someone to choose him, Sonya stepped up and adopted Stanfield.

“It's the best chance I have ever taken,” she said. “I needed a horse to take care of me, which he does every day. Horses are intuitive and emotional and extraordinarily perceptive.

“I have no family, other than my dad. I never married or had kids; I was too scared after my childhood. The things that I have survived I have survived because of my horses and dogs. Thank God!  In all of my years with horses, I can honestly say Stanfield is one in a million; he is so ridiculously special. He lights up the moment he sees me; it fills my heart. We ride almost every day. He makes me laugh a lot and he has never taken a step wrong.”

Stanfield is doing exactly what Leandra believed he would, “truly shining and radiating in his new home!”

Dot Morgan is the founder and executive director of the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program.

The post ‘The Best Chance I’ve Ever Taken’: Despite Conformational Challenge, Stanfield Finds His Perfect Match appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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