Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

Equine Cancer: Difficult To Detect, Expensive To Treat

Diagnosing systemic cancer in horses can be difficult. Clinical signs are often vague and include things like weight loss, fever, disinterest and exercise intolerance – all issues that could be indicative of another issue.

If common causes like disease, parasites, digestive disorders, and other common ailments have been ruled out, Dr. Liya Wang and other researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences suggest that systemic cancers should be considered. The research team also notes that cancer should be suspected if a horse doesn't respond well to traditional therapies, or if he begins to lose organ function.

Bloodwork run on horses that have cancer often comes back as nonspecific, but it may show that the horse is anemic and has elevated globulin concentrations and increased neutrophils. Though additional diagnostic work in search of conclusive results is available, it's often quite invasive and extensive.
The inability to find a reliable cancer biomarker often delays diagnosis, and results in ineffective treatments and poor chances of survival.

Wang and her team crafted a study to see if thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) could be used as a cancer biomarker in horses with lymphoma.

Serum TK1 is used as a cancer biomarker in humans. TK1 is important for DNA replication and cell proliferation. In healthy cells, TK1 degrades rapidly after cell division. In cancer cells, TK1 production is increased and leaks into the blood.

[Story Continues Below]

The researchers measured serum TK1 in seven horses with lymphoma, five horses suspected to have lymphoma, 107 horses with diseases that weren't tumor related, and 42 horses with no sign of disease. Serum TK1 was significantly higher in horses with lymphoma and suspected lymphoma. Serum TK1 was also elevated in the diseased horses without lymphoma.

The team concludes that these findings indicate that serum TK1 could be used as a cancer biomarker in horses.

Read the study here.

The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: The Value Of A Really Good Brain

“You have GOT to stop pulling.”

I feel like I say that a lot these days to my 4-year-old off-track Thoroughbred in what I think is our sixth week of stall rest but feels more like the sixtieth. Although his progress healing from a cracked splint bone has been good, he is not yet at the level of soundness he'll need to withstand the rough and tumble play in the field which probably led to this injury, so a month after our last update, we are still basically in the same place.

We are cleared for twice-daily hand grazes and just this week, under-saddle walks. After a Christmas week that included lots of texts to my veterinarian about reserpine and horse poo consistency, as well as a particularly rough hand walk where Blueberry had a rare temper tantrum and spent several minutes as a balloon, I told my friends at the barn I'd had just about enough of stall rest.

'He's driving me crazy,' I said.

But it's often in the most unexpected circumstances that we learn to appreciate the best in our horses. In the background of nursing Blueberry through his splint, I've also been exploring new career options for my 17-year-old draft cross mare. As I've written before, Jitterbug's start in life was not an easy one, and as a result, the start of her training was rocky. She was easy to start under saddle; the challenge came in when she realized I expected her to take instructions from me. We learned dressage, eventing, and jumpers together after I had spent my riding career in hunt seat, and as you can imagine, that was a slow transition. She was not – and still isn't – a particularly willing partner in dressage, but to balance her large frame and downhill canter for the jumps, we had to do a lot of it. It would be a step too far to say dressage judges hated us, but they were usually pretty happy to see us amble out of the ring.

The first horse (at right) and the second (at left)

When it came time for her to find a less rigorous job, I began making inquiries. There was interest from both a local lesson barn whose owner I know well and a nearby therapeutic riding program to lease her on trial (with the provision I retain ownership and be able to come ride and snuggle her frequently – a requirement for me after years of covering stories of well-intentioned sales gone wrong). As I've introduced her to new people, I've had to answer a lot of questions about her.

How is she with kids? Oh she loves kids; kids are her favorite people because they take the least amount of effort and are the most grateful for it. It's the perfect formula.

How is she with a busy environment? Well, since her normal exercise takes place with other (sometimes very green) horses working around her, surrounded by dogs and children, sometimes in blustery wind with pastured horses zooming around just over the fence, I'd say there's not much that bothers her. Except (ironically) carriages. Don't let her see a carriage.

Cows? Thinks they're a bit weird and doesn't really want one for a friend, so mostly just stares at them. Is turned out near a goat, a mini horse, chickens, and mini donkey, so other farmyard animals are no problem.

Is she hard to stop if she gets going with a forward trot? You're kidding, right?

What about ground manners? Her favorite thing in the world is eating. Her second favorite is sleeping. Her third favorite is days when her only job is to stand in the crossties while I clean tack, clean the stall, or clean her. She has quite literally stood there lazily in the midst of multiple fireworks displays while the barn cat weaved in between her legs.

Does she trail ride? She gets very excited on trail rides, and by that I mean she carries her head about four inches higher and sometimes snorts at trees.

Instead of focusing on what she couldn't (or wouldn't) do anymore, the process has made me realize what a terribly useful horse she is for a low-key job with riders in a lesson or therapeutic program, mostly because of how smart she is. She is very good at assessing any given situation and mentally filtering out what she doesn't need to spend energy on. (And in her case, there's very little she thinks is worth spending energy on – a liability in a dressage test, but a strength for the young students she has had through the years.)

That was what drew me to Blueberry's mother when I first met her at Keeneland. She was sweet, but above all, she was smart. She considered new things calmly, curiously. She learned habits – she could shift her weight to give me the next hoof when I finished picking one, and learned which direction I went around her body. She quickly figured out that it was easiest after a show to wait for me at the front of the stall; I might be back for her in a minute and a half because she was so popular, or if I had to get another filly out, she probably had about ten minutes to grab a snack before her next trip.

[Story Continues Below]

When I swung a leg over Blueberry for our first under-tack walk earlier this week, I was taking extra precautions. Including his vacation after the Makeover and some downtime before his splint diagnosis, he hadn't been under saddle in two months. I checked my girth a few extra times. I asked my husband to hold him by the mounting block. I closed the arena gate.

And – he was serene. Forward and cheerful, but utterly unflappable. Our rides since have been exactly the same.

Sure, part of it was probably the low dose of reserpine a couple of weeks ago. But I think most of that is his brain. I think he's mostly happy to be doing something, but is smart enough to realize it's not worth too many airs above the ground. My friends keep pointing out what an incredible testimonial it is to him that at the age of four, he has been stalled for six weeks with comparatively minimal drama. There are some horses, particularly young ones and particularly hot-blooded breeds, who can't tolerate stall rest even with much heavier-hitting drugs at higher doses, and who would never have made it a month without needing some kind of sedation. He still stands quietly in the crossties for his standing wraps, ignores the gusts of wind rocking the barn and rattling the doors. He gets through each day not worrying about the one before or the one after, and I'm trying to channel his very smart coping mechanism.

I look really clever, having now hand-picked two incredibly rational, intelligent horses as partners. When I adopted Blueberry, I had been thinking about picking up a young prospect for some time, as I knew Jitter would soon need a lower-stress job. I wasn't committed to getting a Thoroughbred, actually. I wanted a really smart horse, and if they were athletic then that was a nice bonus. I was determined to reunite with him before exploring any other options, and see if he was the personality match I'd hoped for.

As I get ready to get back in the car for a second trip to the farm this holiday, I may feel tired but I also feel lucky. Even as our dressage training is on ice, Blueberry reminds me a little each day what an extraordinary individual he is. There was a Thoroughbred out there for me. I really believe there's a Thoroughbred out there for everyone.

The post The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: The Value Of A Really Good Brain appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Tasty Treat: Are Sweet Potatoes Better Than Carrots?

Question: A friend suggested feeding my horses raw sweet potatoes as treats because they have less sugar than carrots. I hadn't given much thought to this. Is she onto something here?

Kentucky Equine Research responds: Both sweet potatoes and carrots can be offered to your horses as treats. Carrots contain about 88 percent water, while sweet potatoes have about 77 percent, making sweet potatoes slightly more nutrient-dense. Both are relatively poor sources of protein because of the high water content (carrot, 0.9 percent; sweet potato, 1.6 percent; as fed).

The primary nutrient difference lies in the carbohydrate content of the two root vegetables. Although the fiber content (carrot, 2.8 percent; sweet potato, 3 percent; as fed) and the simple sugar content (carrot, 4.7 percent; sweet potato, 4.2 percent; as fed) are similar, sweet potatoes are much higher than carrots in starch (12.9 percent and 2.1 percent; as fed, respectively). Looking more closely at the type of starch in the sweet potatoes, 80 percent is rapidly digestible (enzymatic digestion), while only 11 percent is resistant starch only fermentable by microbes). Sweet potatoes provide over twice the calories that carrots do (86 and 41 calories, respectively, per 100 g), mostly because of the difference in starch content. In this context, “as fed” refers to raw vegetables and “dry matter” to dehydrated vegetables.

While dehydrated sweet potatoes have less sugar than dehydrated carrots (18 percent and 40 percent, respectively), they have similar levels when fed raw (4.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively), as noted previously.

Both are rich sources of beta-carotene, which is the precursor to vitamin A.

[Story Continues Below]

Despite their names, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes are not closely related from a botanical standpoint. Sweet potatoes and yams are vines in the morning glory family, whereas Irish potatoes are in the nightshade family. Sweet potatoes do not contain the nutritional anti-factors that make raw Irish potatoes unsafe for horses to consume.

Sweet potatoes can be a tasty treat for horses either raw or cooked. Due to their relatively high starch and sugar content, they should be fed in only small amounts. Feeding large amounts carries some risk, especially when given to starch-sensitive horses. In addition to beta-carotene, sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C and potassium.

Horowitz On OTTBs: Looking Forward To 2022 With Hope For Ex-Racehorses

Last month, I wrote about “nature,” genetics, and how the Thoroughbred breed “has evolved over more than three centuries to be an elite sport horse, regardless of what that sport is.”

“Understanding and embracing the true nature of the Thoroughbred means that events like the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, programs like The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program, and retired racehorses competing at horse shows can be appreciated as representations of the strengths of the breed, and not just something different that happens after a racing career ends.”

Now, I'd like to explore “nurture” and how the ability for Thoroughbreds to excel in new sports after racing is actually honed by what they learn on the racetrack.

The Thoroughbred breed was developed with the primary goal of being an elite racehorse. Certain key skills learned through racing and the racetrack serve these horses well for future endeavors. Plus, we're at the stage in the breed's evolution where racing can be seen as a first discipline in which Thoroughbreds will compete but will not necessarily be the end game.

There is still a learning curve to go from horse racing to, say, jumping or polo, but there would also be a learning curve with similar amplitude for a horse going from being a show hunter to an eventer. The foundations of being an equine athlete are similar across all disciplines, and the racetrack does a great job of instilling those foundations.

“The training that a horse gets before the track, like when they're being started under saddle, is like someone going through kindergarten and elementary school in their formative years,” said Jen Roytz, the outgoing executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project who is heavily involved in understanding and promoting the successes of Thoroughbreds both on and off the racetrack. “It's like the most basic building blocks of how to be a riding horse. Then, they get to the track, and that's kind of like their high school education. They start to do several things at once, and they're faster and responding to cues faster. Then, they get off the track where they're going to do other equestrian sports, and people have more time to hone those skills.”

By the time racehorses finish their racing careers, they will likely have travelled by trailer to multiple locations, been handled by many people, and been exposed to high-stimulation environments. They will have been ridden many times by different riders and, in the process, been asked to go through the different gaits of walk, trot, and canter and change leads.

Perhaps of most benefit, a career in horse racing instills a mindset that a horse should go forward.

“You want the horse's answer to always be forward,” Roytz said. “Like, if you're jumping, you want the horse to go forward over the jump and not spook and shy away. People try to train a 'yes' horse. I think racing does them such a benefit in that way because they come off the track eager to go forward.”

The forward-thinking nurturing of Thoroughbreds matches with their forward-thinking nature. It's worth repeating what Chris Ryan, the subject of my “nature” article about the Thoroughbred breed last month, said, “The Thoroughbred looks out into the far distance. His horizon is way out there and he feels he can get there whenever he wishes. This gives him tremendous forward thinking. A horse thinking forward is going forward. Watch his ears!”

The Thoroughbred often knows where he will go before we do. That makes the journey and the possibilities of destinations incredibly exciting.

[Story Continues Below]

To be fair, there are certain areas that horse racing does not emphasize or emphasizes in a different way, but most of those things shouldn't be seen as a knock against racing. A British literature class will emphasize different material than a course in American literature. But a student going from one of these classes to the other does not need to reinvent the wheel, and neither does a Thoroughbred when going from a racehorse to a sport horse career.

Roytz gives a specific example, saying when it comes to changing leads: “Horses at the track know how to change leads, going from their right lead on straightaways to their left lead going around the turns. They learn how to do it at speed based off the riders' weight distribution and a cue on the reins usually. Then, they get off the track, and they learn to do it in a slower, more proper way, balancing themselves differently, pushing off from behind, making a much more purposeful change of lead with a more subtle, nuanced cue.”

And, yes, there are certain areas that horse racing in the United States can improve upon for the future well-being of the horse, like instilling good ground manners, offering turnout, and simply giving horses more opportunities to stand still to get used to high-stimulation settings.

However, at the end of the day, horse racing should not be seen as an outlier for Thoroughbreds nor should an appearance in another sport be a novelty for Thoroughbreds.

As we wrap up a roller coaster 2021, I'm not saying that the horse racing industry is free from criticism. This year will very well be remembered as the year that a Kentucky Derby winner tested positive for betamethasone and that prominent trainers who had made a mockery of fair play were finally brought to justice.

However, we should celebrate that, through trying to prepare horses for their racing careers, many racing connections are giving their horses the skills they need for whatever lies ahead. And that gives me hope for the Thoroughbred industry in 2022.

The post Horowitz On OTTBs: Looking Forward To 2022 With Hope For Ex-Racehorses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post