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Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare, Breeder Step Up To Get Horse Home From Puerto Rico

Ex-Marine Joe Pike is a featured private eye character in suspense novels by Los Angeles-based writer Robert Crais, but he is also a 10-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse who retired in Puerto Rico and has come home, thanks to his original breeder Joanna Reisler and the Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare (CTA) program. The CTA is trying to raise $3,000 to offset the costs of bringing the beloved Joe Pike back to the States.

For more than a decade, the Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare team has worked diligently to provide a responsible process for Thoroughbreds who have been shipped to the islands for racing to be returned off the racetracks in healthy condition and ready for new careers and homecomings. CTA has received an Eclipse Award of Merit for their work after hurricanes devastated Puerto Rico several years ago and has been accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Reisler sees a little bit of the private eye character in the horse that shares his namesake, Joe Pike, a name he got shortly after selling as a yearling at the OBS sale in 2012. She noted the horse has a personality was one to remember.

From 2013 to 2018, Joe Pike started 36 times winning 14 times, second seven times and third six times. He earned $132,747, which is a significant amount on the island based on the modest purses. His success led him to being named the champion 3-year-old imported horse in Puerto Rico.

After racing his last race on April 13, 2018, his owner proposed keeping him in Puerto Rico as a breeding stallion. Joe Pike's sire, Benny the Bull, was a multiple graded stakes winner and Eclipse Award-winning sprinter in 2008, beating Midnight Lute 107 votes to 86.

Before Joe Pike could make his way to the breeding shed, Reisler noticed the horse was no longer racing and called CTA for information on where he was. Reisler offered him a home, if CTA could get him back to Florida.

Through dedicated time and collective efforts, CTA acquired Joe Pike and have brought him stateside. However, the costs associated with getting him home include quarantine, shipping by plane to Miami, and a van ride to Ocala. The total cost is $3,094. This does not include the nonprofit's cost for gelding, current shots, and board.

Hundreds of Thoroughbreds arrive in Puerto Rico and surrounding islands each year. The challenges of transitioning each back to the States are many, and one of the biggest hurdles is the cost for horses to return to the mainland. The CTA has had to dip into its emergency fund to fund Joe Pike's trip back and is now calling on the racing community to help restore their reserves.

The CTA Flight Fund helps with the expenses and is funded by donations.

For information on the CTA program or to make a donation go to https://pages.donately.com/cta/campaign/cta-flight-fund and designate a specific horse or generally for horses CTA is helping.

The Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare can also be reached at P.O. Box 43001, PMB 372 , Rio Grande, Puerto Rico 00745 or by contacting the CTA team at caribbeanottb@gmail.com.

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Eclipse Award-Winning Writer Steffanus Dies

Eclipse Award-winning writer and longtime Paulick Report contributor Denise Steffanus died June 20 after a long illness. A former trainer, Steffanus specialized in veterinary and horse management topics and served as a contributing editor at the Thoroughbred Times from 1995 until the publication's demise in 2012. Afterwards, she built a successful career as a freelance writer and editor.

A native of Pennsylvania, Steffanus studied journalism at Point Park College but grabbed bylines well before that, writing for her hometown paper at the age of 12. Steffanus prided herself on approaching complex scientific topics with a critical journalist's eye, focusing on the facts even in highly political subject areas. Her thoughtful approach earned her considerable recognition, including the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award in 2011 from the Foundation for Biomedical Research and the 2002 Award for Media Excellence (given by the predecessor of the U.S. Equestrian Federation).

In 2017, her feature on drug contamination published in Trainer magazine garnered the Eclipse Award for News/Enterprise Writing, which she described as “the epitome of my career.”

As a trainer, Steffanus based out of River Downs, where she saddled two winners from 42 starters between 1991 and 1994.

Steffanus signed on as a valued contributor to the Paulick Report's nascent Horse Care section in 2016, focusing on common equine management questions and myths. Her experience as a veteran journalist and hands-on horse person shaped the direction of the section. You can access a full archive of her work here.

No memorial plans have been set at this time.

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Caterpillars Determined To Be Cause of Cardiac Events In Canadian Horses

Four horses were referred to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in 2017 with similar clinical signs: respiratory distress, lack of energy, rapid heart rate, muffled heart sounds, jugular vein distention and swelling of the lower abdomen.

All four were diagnosed with congestive heart failure from septic fibrinous pericarditis. Dr. Ronan Chapuis and his research team linked the uncommon cardiac disease to the ingestion of forest tent caterpillars. The owners of all four horses noted that the pastures in which the horses grazed were infested with forest tent caterpillars in 2016 and 2017.

In 2001 and 2002, veterinarians in the United States determined Eastern tent caterpillars — closely related to forest tent caterpillars — were responsible for mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) in multiple states, including Kentucky and Ohio. MRLS causes abortions in mares, though some of the affected mares also experienced fibrinous pericarditis.

Three of the four horses referred to the WCVM clinic were euthanized. One mare underwent treatment, which involved inserting a needle to draw off the fluid in the pericardium. The vets drained over four gallons of fluid during the procedure. Intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics were also administered and the horse was eventually sent home.

The mare relapsed 11 days after discharge and was euthanized. A necropsy showed that a thick, fibrinous material had formed on the pericardium's inner layer, which likely caused heart disease. When necropsied, all four horses had fibrin in their pericardium.

The research team notes that these four cases don't allow for a definitive connection between forest tent caterpillars and pericarditis, but they recommend horse owners and caretakers be aware of the risk and work to minimize horse's ingestion of these insects.

Read more at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

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Further Analysis Of March EHV-1 Outbreak Reveals New Variant Of The Disease

In March, eight horses housed at a Pennsylvania show barn were diagnosed with EHV-1 after having elevated temperatures but no other signs of illness. The cause of the outbreak has been found to be a new variant of the EHV-1 H752 genotype. The variant contains the same mutation as the EHV-1 outbreak in France.

EHV-1 can cause respiratory disease in young horses, early death in foals, abortions in mares and occasionally neurological disease. Neurologic issues are fairly uncommon, but can cause the death of the affected horse.

The 31 horses that lived at the affected barn were treated with valacyclovir, and ill horses also received flunixin meglumine and sodium heparin. The investigation team, led by Dr. Nicola Pusterla, believe that the early administration of valacyclovir may have prevented additional horses from falling ill with neurologic complications. Additionally, they note the lack of respiratory symptoms in these cases may be related to the recent administration of EHV vaccinations.

The distribution of the new genotype is not known.

Read the case report here.