Tag: Horse Care

The Bluegrass State is the heart of Thoroughbred country, so it's fitting that this year's TAKE2 Jet Run Awards have been won by a pair of Kentucky-breds who transitioned to second careers through Kentucky-based Thoroughbred aftercare programs.

Irbywood, who captured the 2022 Jet Run Award in the Jumper division, represents Second Stride. Located in Prospect, Ky., Second Stride was founded in 2005 by Kim Smith, a veteran horsewoman who also established Moserwood Farms, a broodmare care, foaling, breaking and lay-up facility. This year's Jet Run Award in the Hunter division, Tavish was retired through New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program; he was also named the 2022 TAKE2 High-Score Hunter. New Vocations has rehomed more than 8,000 retired Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds since its inception in 1992. The oldest and largest racehorse adoption program in the country, it is based in Lexington, KY, and has facilities in Florida, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The Jet Run Award was created to highlight the role of aftercare organizations in the successful second careers of retired racehorses. It is open to all TAKE2 Thoroughbred League members who are graduates of an aftercare program accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, affiliated with a recognized horsemen's organization, and/or approved for a grant from Thoroughbred Charities of America.

Both of this year's Jet Run Award winners boast enviable pedigrees.

A repeat winner of the Jet Run Award in the Jumper division, Irbywood is by the late stallion Indian Charlie, who finished third in the 1998 Kentucky Derby, his only loss in a five-race career. Irbywood sold as a two-year-old for $625,000, going to Thoroughbred racing and breeding powerhouse Stonestreet Stables in 2011. After finishing third in his racing debut, he sustained an injury that required surgery and significant time off, returning from a layoff of more than two years to win his second start. Unfortunately for his connections, that would be his final race, but despite that early injury, he has flourished as a jumper for owners Michael and Sharon Kvistad.

Now 13, Irbywood exemplifies what retired Thoroughbreds can achieve with patience, good training, and physicality.

“He was eight years in the making,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations' Thoroughbred Program Director. “Mike and Sharon have really taken their time with him.”

Both are experienced horsepeople, and they have adopted several horses from New Vocations to show. Neither was concerned that Irbywood's injury had been surgically repaired.

“Irbywood is a perfect example of what a well-bred, athletic Thoroughbred can do,” said Ford. “Stonestreet did right by him; they took care of him when he was injured and they retired him when he needed to be retired. And we had adopters that were willing to go at the pace that suited the horse and rest him when necessary.”

Cinthia McGreevy's Black Tavish, known in the show ring as Tavish, descends from bloodstock royalty. Sired by Giant's Causeway, the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up who earned $3 million on the track, Tavish was offered at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale, drawing a final bid of $165,000. He earned $167,000 during a 27-race career, running his final race for trainer Matt Shirer at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

“Matt transitioned him through us,” said Second Stride's Smith. “Tavish came in with a bow [bowed tendon], but he was very correct and very sound. And obviously he was very attractive with that big white face. He was very desirable as an adoptee because of his looks.”

Tavish made his final appearance at the racetrack in 2018. He was given plenty of time to learn his new career before McGreevy entered him in the 2021 Retired Racehorse Project; he won the award for Best Conditioned Horse.

“It's so cool to see his success, and to watch his adopter develop him and do right by him,” said Smith. “He's such a cool horse, and now that he's won the TAKE2 High-Score Championship, he's the bomb.”

Smith's voice glows with affection when she talks about the Second Stride alumnus. She also has high praise for the TAKE2 Program.

“Industry programs like TAKE2 give horses a chance at making a name for themselves, and they educate people about what horses can do and how to handle injuries,” said Smith. “Before programs like TAKE2, a horse like Tavish would have been with us for six months, because people would have been wary of him. Now we have clients who are educated and who have complete veterinary histories of the horses they're adopting.”

She added, “The educational outreach [of Second Stride and TAKE2] is showing the riding community that when treated properly, a horse with an injury like a bowed tendon can go on to be successful.”

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Public image has been on the minds of many in horse racing more in the past few years than ever before. Stakeholders in the sport are becoming increasingly familiar with the phrase “social license to operate,” a term that refers to the tolerance of the general public for an activity, independent of its legality.

World Horse Welfare, a UK-based charity, has dedicated significant resources to studying the social license of various equestrian sports. Recently, two of the charity's representatives co-authored a paper in the academic journal Animals reviewing the social license of equestrian sports and comparing them to other industries.

Article authors looked at other animal use industries like dairy and sheep farming, wildlife zoos, hunting, and circuses as well as natural resource areas like fishing, forestry and energy production. They found that the public is at risk of withholding its social license to operate from an industry if they lose trust in its stakeholders and do not believe those stakeholders will do an adequate job of protecting animal and human welfare.

In the case of animal use industries like equestrian sport, the study's authors pointed to changing public views on what constitutes animal welfare, together with the development of technology that makes it easy for someone to record video or photos and distribute them en masse. An increase in the academic study of animal learning and welfare has also influenced the way people look at animals.

The study authors say these evolutions aren't just impacting a non-horsey public—they're also seeing shifts within equine sport as well.

“These evolving attitudes are reflected in changes to the rules of competition and, in some cases, the introduction of overarching equine welfare strategies and recommendations,” the authors wrote. “Initiatives that aim to promote best practice have also been implemented in a number of disciplines, including awards for best body condition, best condition in endurance competition and best shoeing. Other recently introduced measures that aim to promote the positive protection of equine safety and welfare include improved provision for the rehoming and retraining of retired racehorses, pre-race 'suitability to race' examinations, the use of deformable and frangible devices in cross country fences, alterations to the design and placement of hurdles and steeplechase fences, advances in the safety training of officials, evolution of rules relating to types and fitting of tack, and horse falls, generation of falls and safety databases, and improved post-exercise cooling protocols.”

Still other protocols have sought to address psychological welfare of horses, like the clipping of nose hairs, abusive training method, and whip use.

All of that may not be enough, though.

The authors suggest that proactive, simultaneous strategies are needed to maintain the public's trust in an industry.

“In this context, proactivity involves taking ownership of issues and embracing reform,” the review noted. “When combined with the transparency of operations, this approach has been successful in both protecting and repairing an industry's SLO. This contrasts with a reactive approach to social license problems which essentially involves denying that there is an issue and relying on positive public messaging for reputational repair.”

The public, the authors claim, is more discerning than many may give them credit for and can distinguish between meaningful reforms based on science and “unsubstantiated positive messaging.”

Establishing public trust means that the public must both trust that stakeholders are willing and also capable of remaining proactive to anticipate and reduce risks to animals and people. That sometimes means talking to the public – even though they're outside the self-limited world of equestrianism.

“The optimal stakeholder engagement is honest, transparent, and collaborative consultation and communication,” the report read. “If communication is to be truly collaborative, the sport must gain an understanding of the beliefs and desires of all stakeholders – including the sport's critics – and engage with them in a constructive dialogue. Undoubtedly, corresponding with the wider public and those who criticize equestrianism may be uncomfortable, but proactive engagement with stakeholders and the establishment of a shared vision for the future of the sport are key drivers of social license.”

You can find the complete article here.

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The suicide rate among veterinarians is nearly four times greater than the suicide rate among the general population, according to the National Library of Medicine. Many factors contribute to veterinarian's feelings of hopelessness, including financial burdens, lack of a work-life balance, shortages of adequate staff, and client relationship pressures, among others. 

Small animal medicine has recently begun incorporating veterinary social work, a newer field that addresses human needs in veterinary medicine, into the vet-health arsenal. This up-and-coming field is designed to assist pet owners feeling stress or grief during a pet's illness or death; pets are often viewed as part of the family, making their passing feel like the loss of a family member.

Veterinary social work offers compassion, empathy, understanding, validation, and compassion to pet owners suffering a loss, says Kathleen Dunbar, a veterinary social worker with Carnegy Animal Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

The  veterinary social worker role is also designed to support vets and veterinary staff who are experiencing workplace stress and burnout, which is often exacerbated by staffing shortages. Dunbar is hopeful that the support she provides to veterinarians will alleviate some of the stress of their job. 

The impact of veterinary social work on the veterinarians could be profound, mitigating stress and providing coping mechanisms that will hopefully translate into declining veterinarian suicides.

Read more at CBC Radio Canada. 

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Following a call for aid coordinated by the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation Charity Foundation (UEF-CF), the FEI Solidarity Relief Fund with financial help from the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) purchased equine medicines and veterinary supplies for distribution to Ukrainian veterinarians. The total value of the donated medical supplies is $100,000, and the supplies include aid for emergency cases, including colic, infections, lameness, and other common diseases. All donated medicines have been delivered to Ukraine and distributed to equine veterinarians free of charge. This corresponds to over seven tons of supplies, which will ensure treatment for 5,700 horses all over Ukraine.

“Following the invasion by Russian military forces, the FEI set aside a Solidarity Relief Fund of one million Swiss francs for the equestrian community in Ukraine,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“The USEF joined forces with the FEI Solidarity Relief Fund, establishing the USEF Ukraine Relief Fund to support Ukraine horses and equestrians, with 100% of funds raised going to the FEI Solidarity Relief Fund to be distributed by the FEI for specific projects approved by the USEF. We are very grateful to the U.S. equestrian community for their dedication and swift action. Thanks to their generosity, veterinary equipment and supplies have been purchased and donated to the Ukrainian equestrian community to address their most pressing needs. Our efforts continue and the welfare of Ukrainian athletes, both human and equine, remains our priority.”

Prior to the launch of the project in Ukraine, the UEF-CF reached out to the majority of equine veterinarians from Ukrainian regions to map the horse welfare situation and assess the help needed. Several problem areas were highlighted, including a lack of medicines, such as painkillers, anesthetics, sedatives, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs; a general lack of equipment, including portable x-rays, ultrasound, endoscope machines; and the very limited financial resources of horse owners to pay for treatment. The FEI Solidarity Relief Fund in cooperation with the USEF stepped in to help. The most needed medicines and supplies were commissioned in Europe and delivered to Ukraine.

In Ukraine, the UEF-CF coordinated the distribution of donated medicine and supplies in a collaborative and inclusive manner with the Ukrainian FEI's accredited veterinarians who chose the distribution principles and distribution plan. The main objective was to increase accessibility and quality of veterinary services for horses in Ukraine. All donated medicines and supplies were distributed to equine veterinarians to the eight regions with the largest number of horses – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Lviv.

“Assistance for veterinarians is extremely important in Ukraine. For many horse owners, even simple veterinary care is out of reach now, and veterinarians often work on a volunteer basis. Free medicines will make it possible to save and help many horses in this difficult time. We are very grateful to our colleagues at the USEF and the FEI Solidarity Fund for responding to our request and providing our veterinarians with the medical supplies they need now and in sufficient quantities,” said Mykhaylo Parkhomchuk, founder of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation Charity Foundation.

As a follow-up, the FEI veterinary department plans to hold a seminar to provide general information about the medical supplies and to discuss specific use cases and difficult situations that Ukrainian veterinarians face when treating horses.

“The US Equestrian community, and notably Brooke USA, were important contributors to this incredible effort to rally around the needs of horses in Ukraine where help is needed so desperately. The global equestrian community is powerful and cohesive and demonstrates how much can be accomplished when people come together. We would like to thank you, our members, for once again stepping up with your generosity,” said Tom O'Mara, President of USEF.

The winter will create additional challenges for the horses and veterinarians of Ukraine. Donations to the USEF Ukraine Relief Fund will continue to support their needs.

FEI Solidarity Foundation

Launched in 2011, FEI Solidarity promotes and develops equestrian culture and sport worldwide in a sustainable and structured way. We work directly with the FEI's member National Federations and recognized Continental Associations by providing the tools, the knowledge, and the infrastructure required to develop the sport and nurture talent from grassroots to the world stage.

FEI support is focused on four key pillars of activity (National Federation, Athlete, Coach, and Values) with specific programs available in each of the pillars in order to best target and fulfill specific development needs. We do this through financial support, consultancy services, and technical programs, and we collaborate closely with over 40 Technical Experts to deliver the programs around the world and oversee the global development of the sport.

Since 2012, the foundation has supported 284 projects and programs in all four corners of the globe, using one of our three types of assistance across the four FEI Solidarity pillars.

Ukrainian Equestrian Federation Charity Foundation (UEF-CF)

The UEF Charity Foundation is one of the youngest and rapidly growing organizations in Ukraine and focuses on helping equestrians and their horses during the war in Ukraine. Founded on the fourth day of the conflict, the foundation has provided help to more than 5000 horses in 200 stable yards in Ukraine, assisted in evacuation and relocation of more than 300 horses, and established two free evacuation stable yards (100 boxes) for relocated horses in safe areas, providing food and bedding for their inhabitants. Currently over 1200 tons of food and bedding have been distributed in Ukraine through the transparent system of help requests, strong logistics, and the tireless work of 30 volunteers. UEF-CF is registered in Belgium and its mission is to help the Ukrainian equestrian community during the crisis. The Foundation works closely with the FEI, European Equestrian Federation, and National Equestrian Federations. For all the latest information and activities visit https://helpukrainehorses.eu/

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