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Hygain Acquires Arenus Animal Health

Hygain, a premium equine nutrition solutions brand, has announced that it has reached an agreement with owner and CEO Dr. Jay Altman to acquire 100 percent of Arenus Animal Health (Arenus).

Arenus is a leading animal supplement and nutraceuticals brand based in the United States. Developed by veterinarians and nutritionists, the products are supported by clinical research and backed by a team of animal health specialists.

Hygain CEO, Kevin Bareira, said: “Since our entry into the U.S. three years ago, Hygain has continued to scale with a customer base now spanning more than 20 states. We see a market opportunity with Arenus – the No. 1 endorsed brand by veterinarians – to grow our advanced and research-based nutrition solutions across a range of disciplines.

Together, we can build on a shared culture of technical excellence, customer care and passion for animal health, as well as our combined scale and customer service to take advantage of growth opportunities in the veterinary channel and the broader U.S. market. In a vote of confidence for the future of our combined business, Dr. Jay Altman will remain a shareholder and play a key role in guiding our growth plans in the U.S.”

Veterinarians play a significant role in the nutrition decisions of horse owners in the United States, where Arenus has established itself as the most endorsed brand of nutraceutical products. Hygain's strong international distribution networks will support Arenus' further growth, along with achieving potential supply chain efficiencies.

Hygain sees opportunities to better service customers with another highly efficacious and science-backed brand in its portfolio.

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Altman, added, “Arenus is delighted to join forces with the team at Hygain to better serve this industry we're all so passionate about. With both brands widely recognized in the U.S. for their superior quality, we can now combine our complementary product offerings to better meet the evolving needs of veterinarians and horse owners and customize nutritional packages for superior health, well-being and performance.”

Breakthrough Laminitis Research Opens Potential New Avenues For Treatment

Horse owners usually dread hearing the diagnosis of “Laminitis.” The disease plagues horses of many backgrounds, ages and disciplines. Using genetics, UF/IFAS and University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine scientists have made a breakthrough in the disease thanks to funding from The Foundation for the Horse.

A horse's hoof has a tough job. It must support a heavy animal which can move faster than 40 mph. Laminitis occurs when inflammation and damage of the tissue takes place between the hoof and coffin bone. It causes lameness, a diminished quality of life and often results in euthanasia.

“Laminitis is a tough problem for the horse and its owner,” said Dr. Samantha Brooks, UF/IFAS associate professor of equine physiology. “We have very few tools in our arsenal to manage the disease itself. We treat symptoms, pain and mechanical instability but do not have anything to target the cause just yet.”

Laminitis studies have previously been hindered by the scarcity of genetic information specific to hoof tissues. Scientists tapped into the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center Laminitis Discovery Database, an archive of data and sample sets from naturally occurring laminitis cases collected since 2008. Using that database, researchers examined 36 archived tissues of 20 Thoroughbred horses treated for laminitis.

There are three types of laminitis, and all impair the structure and function of the horse's foot. This research provided a snapshot of the active pathways and functions of the hoof, with a focus on supporting limb laminitis – the laminitis to which famous racehorse Barbaro succumbed.

“We understand the situations that trigger an episode of laminitis, but we do not have a good understanding of what is happening in the hoof,” said Brooks. “This study took a very comprehensive view of the processes early in the development of laminitis.”

Using gene expression analysis, researchers catalogued the changes in gene transcription across the 20 horses. Some had healthy feet, some were early in the disease process and others were more severe. Researchers identified trends in the disease process.

“By tapping into my lab's database and incorporating Dr. Brooks' unparalleled expertise in equine genetics and transcriptome analysis, we have identified new and promising pathways in cell stress and inflammatory response that significantly enhance our understanding of supporting limb laminitis and its disease processes,” said Hannah Galantino-Homer, VMD, PhD, DACT, senior investigator in Laminitis Research at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center.

The research resulted in three key findings.

The first related to keratin, an important structural protein that helps maintain the structural integrity of materials like hair, nails and horse hooves. This study was one of the first to examine the changes in the keratin family through the laminitis disease process. Some of the keratin-related genes and regulation of the cell's manufacturing process started to diminish as the disease began. This could be compared to when a car gets a flat tire; it may still be running but it loses appropriate function and slows down.

Another type of cell machinery often studied in laminitis are a class of enzymes called metalloproteinases; enzymes that help maintain the cytoskeleton. These enzymes must maintain a careful balance. Hooves must be able to grow and not break down under the weight of the horse, which requires a balance of remodeling and building tissues within the hoof. When the metalloproteinases become too active, the hoof begins to lose structural strength. One previous theory for treating this process was to stop these enzymes from becoming too active. But treatment targeted these enzymes might also stop hoof growth, which would likely lead to further issues.

When keratin degrades, inflammation in the hoof leads to laminitis. Scientists found a collection of genes responsible for triggering that inflammation which could pave the way for future medications to treat the inflammation. The genes led researchers to believe that some human inflammatory medications for autoimmune disorders may help horses with laminitis.

Changes in gene expression in diseased tissue are often reflected in changes in the proteins that can be detected in the blood as the disease progresses. For example, specific proteins, or biomarkers, that increase in the blood in humans following traumatic brain injury had increased expression in the samples from the horses with laminitis in this study. Medical doctors have used these compounds to understand the severity of these injuries in humans without using imaging or more invasive testing. Brooks hopes this could be used as a tool to monitor the progression of laminitis in the horse.

“We don't always recognize that a horse has severe laminitis until things have gotten quite bad,” said Brooks. “Early monitoring tools and ways to combat the disease were exciting findings, but we need further research before these new tools will be ready for use in the field.”

Brooks hopes that this research can lead to a blood test to detect these new laminitis-related biomarkers, and medications that are economical and effective for horses suffering from the disease.

“Ultimately, these new findings point us towards a more targeted approach for future exploration that we hope will help uncover novel solutions for preventing and treating this debilitating disease,” said Galantino-Homer.

“This is a big step in improving our understanding of laminitis,” said Brooks. “Something that could be completely untreatable ten years ago; in another ten years we may be able to intervene and make a significant difference in the disease early on.”

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Century Mile: Two Additional Race Dates Cancelled Due To Equine Influenza Outbreak

Horse Racing Alberta, Alberta Standardbred Horse Association and the Century Mile Race Office are continuing to monitor the equine influenza outbreak at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino. Our equine and human athletes' safety is our top priority, and it is the recommendation of the Official Veterinarian that live racing be cancelled on Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021.

Official qualifiers are currently scheduled for Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.

In response to the cancelled race days, Horse Racing Alberta and Alberta Standardbred Horse Association will distribute purse funds to support horsemen who have been impacted by the cancellations.

Alberta Standardbred Horse Association has recommended the following changes to the racing schedule:

Dec. 17, 2021: Eliminations for Western Canada Pacing Derby and Century Casinos Filly Pace
Dec. 18, 2021: Additional race day added to schedule
Dec. 31, 2021: Western Canada Pacing Derby and Century Casinos Filly Pace

Horse Racing Alberta would like to thank all the trainers, veterinarians, staff at Century Mile and the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association for their collaboration and cooperation.

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2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook Now Available Online

The 2022 update of the rulebook for the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is now available to be read online at TBMakeover.org! Print copies will be available for purchase at a later date.

Notable rule changes for 2022:

All applicants, regardless of past Makeover experience, must submit video no more than two years old demonstrating riding ability on the flat as well as any discipline-specific skills, such as a barrel pattern, cattle work, stick and ball work, or obstacle work. All applicants declaring expertise in a jumping discipline should furnish video demonstrating a course at 2'6” or higher. All video should be submitted on a more finished horse, not current Makeover hopefuls
All team members must submit an application. The application fee for team captains remains at $300; the application fee for team members is $150
Ribbons (1st-10th) and special awards will be awarded at a Friday night competitors' party based on preliminary competition. The top five in each discipline will return for Saturday's Finale, which will be judged on a blank slate and placed as separate championship event

The 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook outlines all rules and information relevant to the competition, with changes for 2022 marked in red and clarifying information marked in blue.

Note the new schedule for applications!

Starting on Dec. 15, the trainer application will be available for preview and drafting at TBMakeover.org. You'll be able to work on your application and save your progress within the trainer portal.

Starting on Jan. 3, 2022, trainer applications can be submitted with all required additional documents (signed waiver, letter of recommendation from a vet, riding videos, and application fee), through end of business day on Jan. 21, 2022.

It's time: starting today, Dec. 1, 2021, horses may begin training for the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium! As a reminder, eligible horses are Jockey Club-registered Thoroughbreds (or foreign equivalents) who marked a timed workout or raced on or after July 1, 2020 and do not have more than 15 retraining rides prior to Dec. 1, 2021.

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