Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

New California Veterinary Emergency Team To Coordinate Training, Response

University of California, Davis, leaders, veterinarians and California legislators unveiled on Tuesday a new emergency program to help rescue animals in disasters. Called the California Veterinary Emergency Team and administered by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the program will support and train a network of government agencies, individuals and organizations to aid domestic animals and livestock during emergencies.

California is providing $3 million a year for the California Veterinary Emergency Team, under legislation authored by Sen. Steve Glazer and incorporated into the state budget recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The program will be modeled after the UC Davis-led Oiled Wildlife Care Network, created in 1994 to mobilize volunteers and professionals to rescue and treat shorebirds and other wildlife that are injured during oil spills.

“We want to create a robust, coordinated effort statewide to help animals during disasters,” said Michael Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and executive director of the One Health Institute. “The California Veterinary Emergency Team will bring together state and county agencies and organizations charged with emergency response to help them organize, train and adopt best practices.”

A primary goal of the new California Veterinary Emergency Team is to increase response capacity and help standardize disaster response across counties, bringing together disparate and fragmented groups. Currently, the California Animal Response Emergency System, or CARES, within the California Department of Food and Agriculture is charged with managing evacuation and care of animals during emergencies. They also work with community animal response teams and nonprofit organizations.

“Recent wildfires have overwhelmed the state's ability to safely evacuate and care for household animals and livestock,” Sen. Glazer said. “Twice in the past five years we have had to call on Texas to send an emergency team to assist. That puts not just animals at risk but also increases the danger for residents and first responders if people stay behind fire lines because they fear their animals will not be cared for. We need this new team to help train, coordinate and lead the hundreds of volunteers who are eager to help. Our goal is a team that is ready to respond anywhere in the state with a mobile command center, a clinic if necessary, and the veterinarians, equipment and medicine to get the job done.”

The California Veterinary Emergency Team would be available to mobilize response to disasters anywhere in California, operating under a memorandum of understanding with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Office of Emergency Services. Between disasters, the team would recruit, train and drill volunteers, conduct research, and train veterinarians and veterinary students on best practices in shelter and emergency medicine.

UC Davis has provided leadership in veterinary disaster response through its Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Wildlife Disaster Network partnership formed with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and its Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital disaster patient care. UC Davis VERT and hospital teams typically triage, evaluate, treat and/or rescue more than 1,000 animals in the field in every fire. During the 2018 Camp Fire alone, the teams helped more than 1500 animals, including 70 that were brought in for treatment at the hospital.

“The funding of the California Veterinary Emergency Team provides unprecedented resources that will bring multiple partners across the state of California together to enhance recruitment, coordination, and training of volunteers, veterinarians and veterinary students in best practices in disaster response and sheltering of animals in disasters,” said Michael Lairmore, former dean and distinguished professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Lairmore said the university is committed to working with partners across the state to ensure that the California Veterinary Emergency Team program is successful. Developing the California Veterinary Emergency Team is expected to take some time. It's anticipated the program will be in an organizational phase during this fire season.

The post New California Veterinary Emergency Team To Coordinate Training, Response appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Farrier’s Job Full Of Risk; Balanced By Brotherhood, Emotional Rewards

“It isn't whether or not you're going to get hurt; it's when, and how bad.”

Any individual who works with horses understands that concept. In the case of a farrier, however, that risk is magnified by working directly underneath the flight animal, while bent over at the waist and asking that animal to balance all its weight on three legs.

“Perhaps the most common question I get asked is, 'Isn't this hard on your back?'” relayed Louisville-area farrier Aaron Edelson. “It really isn't. It's not nearly as hard on your back as one thinks, especially if one maintains the proper form. I think each one of us learns how to hold our bodies to make it as comfortable as possible.”

The biggest challenge for Edelson isn't his back, he said. At the end of a long day, his legs are usually the sorest part of his body.

“It's definitely physically hard on your body, and guys have issues with their backs, hips, their knees,” agreed Mitch Taylor, longtime director of education at the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. “If you make it and have a career as a farrier, the cumulative toll shows up in your elbow, wrist, or hand, since we're constantly using our hands and squeezing our tools; it just takes its toll on our arms.”

To offset those chronic issues, physical fitness is a major necessity for the farrier. He needs a strong core, strong legs, and strong arms, as well as to get enough rest and provide himself with proper nutrition. Stretching at the beginning of the day is also of particular importance, most said.

Still, those everyday aches and pains are not the farrier's primary concern. Instead, it's that unspoken capacity for acute injuries that binds farriers together into brotherhood.

“Case in point, we've got a 1,200-pound animal where we average from 180 to 220 pounds, and even the smallest horses are stronger than we are,” Edelson explained. “When they decide to jerk, if you've got part of your body in the wrong position, it can cause a severe injury in the blink of an eye.”

Torn muscles and broken bones are almost inevitable in the farriery profession, but a court case in 2009 established that a horse owner is not at fault when an equine professional is injured by their horse, since the farrier is considered an expert in control of the situation.

So how do farriers cope?

Fortunately, Taylor explained, few insurance companies really understand what it is that farriers actually do, so health and life insurance are generally not more expensive than for any other profession.

Individually, farriers learn over time to reduce their risk by refusing to work on dangerous horses or in uncontrolled situations.

“That's not always possible, especially when you're just starting out and you have to take clients where you can get them,” said Southwest-area farrier Dick Beren. “On the racetrack, especially, there's always something going on the backside and the increased potential for a high-level athlete to be spooked and jerk out from under you.”

[Story Continues Below]

There's also a unique brotherhood to the farriery profession that provides support when one of their own gets injured and can't work.

Edelson, for example, suffered a fractured ankle this year when a horse flipped over and landed on his leg. He required surgery to repair the fractures and missed nearly two months of client appointments. Luckily, he's a member of the Derby City Horseshoers Association.

Over the course of those two months, other local farriers stepped up to cover his client's horses. Instead of paying the farrier performing the work, the clients were asked to pay Edelson his standard amount.

“It has been truly the most humbling experience in my 47 years on this earth,” Edelson said. “Every guy that I've talked to, I said, 'You're gonna let me pay you something when all of this is over.' They'd say, 'No you're not. You don't think there's gonna come a time when I need the same favor from you?'

“It is a whole lot more of a brotherhood than a lot of people realize.”

Taylor echoed the feeling of brotherhood, especially in recent years.

“I've thought for some time that farriers are rather like jockeys in that they have a very physical job without any real safety net, and I'm not sure how many people think about that,” he said. “When I first moved to Kentucky in 1985, and I was injured in 1989, there was a small backside/jockey fund for people who got hurt, but it was difficult and it wasn't any help to me.

“Nowadays some farriers have gotten together, and they cover for each other. We all know how hard it is, how potentially dangerous; that's the brotherhood of our profession. Something catastrophic could happen at any time.”

Modern farrier's associations will host semi-annual events like the “Forge” in which farriers get together to share new skills and to learn from one another, as well as informal events on a more regular basis just to check in with each other. When a member of the group is injured, some groups have a designated fund for those cases, others might “pass the hat” among members in order to help out, or the group will perhaps plan a fundraising event where they auction off unique, handmade items.

With those types of safeguards in place, Edelson explained that physical concerns are not what makes the farrier's job most difficult.

“The job is hard on us physically, on our bodies day in and day out because the most important tool we have is our body, but the other muscle that it's hard on is our mind,” he said. “Yes the horses are hard, and the injuries are tough, but it's the day in and day out of dealing with the mental demands of the industry as a whole, from difficult clients to constantly thinking about how to get a horse comfortable, even once you've gone home for the night.”

The physical and mental strain of the farrier's job would seem off-putting to many, but Taylor argued that just ensures no one continues in the profession unless they love it.

“We love to be able to take horses and balance them all up, get them comfortable and moving good,” Taylor said. “For the most part, these guys will tell you they never work a day in their lives! It's just such a great job.

“I started when I was 17 years old, and I'm 64 now. I'll stand up from doing a good job, and it's the most satisfying part of the day, even after all of that time.”

The post Farrier’s Job Full Of Risk; Balanced By Brotherhood, Emotional Rewards appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance To Be Featured Whitney Weekend At Saratoga

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced a series of events to highlight the work of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) on Saturday, Aug. 7 and Sunday, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

The TAA is the nonprofit organization that accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retire, retrain, and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding. Based in Lexington, KY, the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry members.

Since inception in 2012, the TAA has granted more than $20.7 million to accredited aftercare organizations, assisting 12,900 Thoroughbreds. Currently 81 aftercare organizations supporting approximately 180 facilities across North America have been granted accreditation.

On Saturday, Aug. 7, the TAA will be featured at the NYRA Community Booth, where fans will be able to learn about the organization's mission from TAA representatives, and to make a donation in exchange for a Remi Bellocq cartoon t-shirt and a variety of racing items like saddle towels and goggles.

Racing fans can also show their support by opting to make a donation to the TAA throughout the Saratoga meet when cashing a winning ticket on an AmTote International self-service betting terminal. All donations are tax deductible.

On Sunday, Aug. 8, horses will don NYRA-donated TAA saddle towels for a race named in honor of the TAA. In the winner's circle after the race, the TAA will present awards to the best turned-out horse and to the winning groom and connections.

“Many consider the Whitney Stakes as the marque race for older horses at Saratoga,” said TAA President Jimmy Bell. “What better stage for the TAA to be present and share in the excitement of the day and the commitment to Thoroughbred aftercare.”

“Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Weekend is a golden opportunity to share the kind of productive careers that Thoroughbreds can enjoy after they leave the track,” said Stacie Clark-Rogers of the TAA. “In many cases, these are talented and highly trainable horses who demonstrate an ability to flourish in new careers like show jumping and dressage. Training and owning these horses can be also an important and rewarding experience.”

The New York Thoroughbred industry is a leader in aftercare, donating more than $1.28 million toward racehorse retirement every year. In addition to the contributions made by NYRA, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB), the NYRA jockey colony, and individual owners and trainers, there have been two ground-breaking programs implemented at the NYRA tracks. Owners pay a per-start fee for every horse that races, and they pay a surcharge on every horse claimed out of a NYRA race. Those two programs alone raise about $500,000 every year.

To learn more about the TAA, visit ThoroughbredAftercare.org.

The post Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance To Be Featured Whitney Weekend At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Lots Of Older Horses Are Dealing With Chronic Pain, But Their Owners May Not Know It

Almost all older horses suffer from chronic pain, and one veterinarian believes many of their owners can't tell. Dr. Alex Bianco, clinical faculty in large animal internal medicine at the University of Minnesota told The Horse that chronic pain often factors into the decision to euthanize a horse but many horsemen fail to recognize it in its early stages.

Bianco cited a 2020 Swiss study that used 182 responses from experienced horse owners who considered their horses sound. When veterinarians examined the horses, they found that 100 of the horses in the study were considered a grade 2 or higher on the AAEP lameness scale, which is scored up to 5.

[Story Continues Below]

Adding to the challenge, older horses are often not given lameness exams, which leaves them at risk of suffering from unmanaged pain. Bianco also pointed out however that the same Swiss study acknowledged horse owners have a high level of trust in their veterinarians.

Bianco reported that options to address chronic pain include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opiates, gabapentin, acetaminophen (though liver toxicity may be a concern) and ketamine. Therapeutic options are also available and include corticosteroid injections into joints, topical diclofenac, therapeutic shoeing, transecting ligament, tendon or nerves to remove pain, or surgical fusing of joints.

Bianco said the key to improved welfare for older horses is making sure owners know they need to have their horses evaluated by their veterinarians regularly.