Tag: Horse Care

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) will once again be the beneficiary of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC) Challenge Cup Golf Scramble at the University Club of Kentucky. The 30th annual event will be held Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Check-in will begin at 11 AM and shotgun start at 12 PM.

Team entries sold out on June 7, 2022. There will be a first, second, and third place team winner for both courses and an overall champion team decided by a one-hole playoff between the first-place team from each course. Lunch will be provided, and a barbecue dinner will follow the golf scramble.

“It's going to be another great turnout at the Challenge Cup Golf Scramble,” said KTFMC President and Taylor Made Vice President of Boarding & General Farm Manager, Logan Payne. “We're thrilled to welcome the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and Kentucky Equine Management Internship once again as our beneficiaries. Join us for a beautiful day on the links for two important causes.”

“We can't wait for another fun-filled day at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club Golf Scramble,” said Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Funding and Events Manager, Emily (Dresen) Scandore. “Thanks to the generosity of the KTFMC and all who participated in last year's event, over $10,000 was raised for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. We'll see you out on the green for the 30^th annual scramble.”

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Society's acceptance of equestrian sport and all its related activities – called a “Social License to Operate” (SLO)–has come under fire recently, most notably with the removal of the riding portion of the modern pentathlon from the Olympic Games. 

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the governing body of Olympic sport, has created a commission to help ensure riding remains socially accepted. The commission is tasked with creating a framework that will assist the organization in addressing current and future concerns related to using horses in sporting events, reports Horses and People. 

The majority of discussion around SLO includes how horses are treated, though whether a sport is seen to adhere to moral and ethical norms, both formal and informal, is also considered. 

The French National Assembly (FNA) requested 46 rule changes it felt would assist in the sustainability of riding as a sport. The FNA noted in its request that societal acceptance of how horses are treated is integral to the sport's continuity as the public becomes more concerned with animal welfare.

The FEI has followed suit, noting that while there are mechanisms in place to protect the horse, more must be done transparently and quickly. It have created a 10-person commission, of which five members are not directly associated with the FEI. The commission is chaired by Dr. Natalie Waran of New Zealand, an animal welfare expert and Fellow of the International Society for Equitation Science. She is a Professor of One Welfare and Executive Dean at the Eastern Institute of Technology (Te Pūkenga).

The commission is expected to work over an 18-month period, with the first meeting taking place in June of 2022. That meeting will focus on identifying stakeholders and creating engagement plans. 

Other commission members include:

• Dr. Kathalijne Visser-Riedstra, External Expert, Professor (UAS) Human-Animal Interactions at Aeres University of Applied Sciences – Almere, Flevoland, The Netherlands
• Dr. Camie Heleski, External Expert, Senior Lecturer College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky
• Dr. Madeleine Campbell, External Expert, Senior Lecturer in Human-Animal Interactions & Ethics at the Royal Veterinary College University of London
• Jessica Stark, External Expert, World Horse Welfare Communication and Public Affairs Director
• Theo Ploegmakers, European Equestrian Federation President, FEI Board Member
• Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, Spanish jumping rider – International Jumping Riders Club
• Ken E. Lalo, CAS Arbiter, former Chair of the FEI Tribunal, President of the Israel Equestrian Federation
• Sabrina Ibanez, FEI Secretary General, Association of Paralympic Sports Organizations President
• Cesar Hirsch, FEI Judge and Steward Level 3 and President of the Pan American Equestrian Confederation

Read more at Horses and People. 

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The wild Assateague Island horse who was removed from the Maryland tourist attraction by the National Park Service last month, “Chip” is settling in seamlessly at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, part of the Humane Society of the United States.

The 13-year-old horse named Delegate's Pride—also known as Chip—is currently acclimating to his own four-acre pasture. Once he clears the mandatory quarantine for new sanctuary residents, he will move to a 1,000-acre pasture and join hundreds of other equines living their happily-ever-after at Black Beauty.

Noelle Almrud, senior director of Black Beauty Ranch, said: “When Chip arrived, he calmly walked off the trailer with the ease of an experienced world traveler. He dropped his head and started grazing to his heart's content. He meanders around and when his caregivers check on him or when he sees other horses in surrounding pastures—like Dino and Durango—he takes a quick look and then goes right back to tasting every blade of grass. He appears lean and fit and we are carefully examining him to make sure he is healthy, including that he has no damage from eating inappropriate human snacks constantly available from Assateague visitors. Chip seems happy, alert and very responsive, and we are honored to provide for him everything he needs for the rest of his life.”

Chip is not the first resident at Black Beauty who came from Assateague. In 2011, Fabio—now a sanctuary senior at 29 years old—arrived under similar circumstances. Fabio had also learned to associate people with food rewards. The result is dangerous to the animal and the public.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said: “Chip had to be removed from his home in the wild, through no fault of his own. He had become conditioned by tourists to come too close to people for food, which created a dangerous situation. This should have never happened. When people entice wild animals, like Chip, with treats, they are endangering their well-being and disrespecting their wild nature. That's why it's so important to properly store garbage and always keep your distance from wild animals. We are so glad to be able to offer Chip a safe home at our sanctuary, and yet it is a bittersweet arrival, since he never should have had to leave his wild home in the first place. People need to respect and appreciate wild animals so that we can safely co-exist with them and ensure that they thrive.”

There are nearly 800 animals living at the 1,400-acre sanctuary. In addition to the 400 equine residents, there are 40 other species including tigers, bears, primates, bison, kangaroos, exotic hoof stock, farm animals and more. These animals were rescued from testing laboratories, the exotic pet trade, roadside zoos and other circumstances of neglect and cruelty. Support Black Beauty and the Humane Society of the United States.

Founded in 1979, Black Beauty Ranch is one of America's largest and most diverse animal sanctuaries. Part of the Humane Society of the United States and located in Murchison, Texas, the 1,400-acre sanctuary provides a permanent haven to nearly 800 domestic and exotic animals rescued from research laboratories, circuses, the pet trade, roadside zoos and other circumstances of neglect and cruelty. Residents include tigers, bears, primates, kangaroos, bison, horses, burros, farm animals and more. Follow Black Beauty on Facebook.

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Rich Strike's 80-1 upset in the Kentucky Derby wasn't trainer Eric Reed's only May surprise.

Three weeks after Rick Dawson's Keen Ice colt stunned the racing world with his stretch-running victory at Churchill Downs, another 3-year-old trained by Reed – this one a filly – did something equally unusual, delivering a foal while in training at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The filly, Beautyatitsbest, is an unraced daughter of Gio Ponti who had just breezed a slow three furlongs in 40 seconds on May 26. Two days later, she delivered what Reed said is a healthy colt – much to his surprise.

“She never had a bag or had any signs of being pregnant,” Reed said of the filly.

Except one.

“We kept saying, 'We can't get the weight off her,'” Reed said.

Beautyatitsbest, bred by Jackie A. Willoughby Jr. and Stephen M. Brown, had been with Reed as a 2-year-old at his Mercury Equine Center in Lexington, Ky.

“She had worked well but bucked her shins,” he said.

The filly went back to the Georgetown, Ky., farm of her owner/breeder, Reed said, and that's where she apparently got pregnant.

“From what the owner tells me, he had four 2-year-olds and was moving the horses to another paddock to re-seed,” Reed said. “He had the colts gelded and the vet told him after two weeks they could be put together with fillies.”

Dr. Maria Schnobrich, VMD, DACT, a reproduction specialist at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, said two weeks is not a long enough period of time to separate newly castrated horses from fillies and mares.

“You don't want them to have exposure to any fillies or mares for a month and a half or two months,” said Schnobrich. “I prefer two months to be on the safe side.”

While gelding a horse stops the production of semen, Schnobrich said sperm remains in the vas deferens, the tubing from the testicles into the pelvic canal and urethra. Stallions can also have variable fertility and variably sized reproductive tracts, she said, which affect the timeline for the castration to take full effect.

“One sperm left can still achieve a pregnancy,” Schnobrich said.

When she returned to Reed's stable at Belterra, Beautyatitsbest wasn't training as enthusiastically as she was in 2021.

“When we brought her back she had gained a lot of weight,” Reed said. “As we put her back in training, she would do everything we asked of her but didn't do it very well.”

Normal outward signs of pregnancy in an equine are development of an udder (or bag) and a larger abdomen that is hanging down, said Schnobrich, adding that fillies and mares who are fit from exercise may not relax their stomach muscles and, thus, carry the foal very high. She said the vulva will typically elongate and relax, along with muscles in the hind end.

Reed said Willoughby will send Beautyatitsbest back to him to go into training at the appropriate time.

As for the colt?

“The owner said he's doing great,” Reed said. “He's been sending me pictures from the farm.”

Reed said a DNA test will be run to identify which of the geldings impregnated Beautyatitsbest.

While it's rare for fillies and mares in training to produce a surprise foal like Beautyatitsbest did, it's happened before.

Reed said he heard of a similar occurrence some years ago at Turfway Park when a filly gave birth shortly after a race. Schnobrich said it happens occasionally with show horses.

Barbara Borden, chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said she recalls similar incidents when she was working at Thistledown in northern Ohio.

“It's uncommon, but it has happened,” Borden said.

The post It’s A Boy! Derby-Winning Trainer Reed Has Surprise Foal From Filly In Training At Belterra Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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