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Thoroughbred Charities Of America Stallion Season Auction Open For Bidding

The 31^st annual Thoroughbred Charities of America Stallion Season Auction is open for bidding. The auction is the largest annual fundraiser for the organization.

Bidding on over 200 stallion seasons from 14 states began today on Starquine.com and will continue through Friday, Jan. 8 with staggered ending times beginning at 4:30 p.m. EST. Seasons available in the online auction include Gun Runner, Ghostzapper, Palace Malice, Liam's Map, More Than Ready, Speightstown, and many more. View all seasons here.

In addition to the online auction, a live auction of select seasons will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 12 in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion after the close of book one, session two of the January sale. Select seasons to Blame, Constitution, Curlin, Game Winner, Laoban, Nyquist (with a 2022 breed back), and Quality Road will be offered. To bid on select seasons, bidders or their authorized agents may bid in person at Keeneland, or they may contact TCA by emailing ecrady@tca.org or calling (859) 276-4989 to arrange telephone or online bidding.

A silent auction of non-season items including halters worn by Enable and Tapit, a John Deere X330 lawn tractor, equine air transportation aboard a Tex Sutton flight, vanning from Sallee and Brook Ledge is also currently underway. The silent auction includes over 70 items with a complete list of items available here.

The auction is generously sponsored by Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting, Limestone Bank, Coolmore America, Keeneland, BloodHorse, Paulick Report, and Thoroughbred Daily News. For further information regarding the 31^st annual TCA Stallion Season Auction please visit tca.org or call (859) 276-4989.

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) was formed in 1990 to raise and distribute funds to charities in the Thoroughbred industry that provide a better life for Thoroughbreds, both during and after their racing careers, by supporting qualified repurposing and retirement organizations and by helping the people who care for them. In 2020, TCA granted over $1 million to 70 approved charities working within Thoroughbred retraining, rehoming and retirement; backstretch and farm worker services, research and equine-assisted therapy. During the last three decades, TCA has granted over $24 million to more than 200 charities that successfully meet the criteria set forth in its annual grant application. TCA administers the Horses First Fund, founded by LNJ Foxwoods in 2016, to assist Thoroughbreds in need of emergency aid. TCA manages Cómo, a mobile app founded by Godolphin, that connects racing industry employees to the vital services they need through a network of racetrack chaplains and Thoroughbred industry organizations. TCA is the charitable arm of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

The post Thoroughbred Charities Of America Stallion Season Auction Open For Bidding appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Florida Hunter Trainer Advocates For Return Of Thoroughbreds To The Show Ring

Based in Reddick, FL, hunter/jumper trainer Caitlin Maloney is working hard to bring back recognition of Thoroughbreds in the hunter show ring. She has re-trained and shown multiple off-track Thoroughbreds to national accolades.

When asked why she enjoys the breed, she says she appreciates that they are innately wired to please. Once a Thoroughbred understands what is being asked of them, she says, most want to work with their riders. The key to successfully retraining them is patience, she says.

Once Caitlin determines an OTTB is safe to ride, she will placea pole in the ring and ask the horse to walk over it to determine if he is bold or overwhelmed, which will factor into how he is trained. Once the horse is ready to begin jumping, she doesn't train a Thoroughbred any differently than she does any other breed.

Caitlin reminds riders that a Thoroughbred was first trained for speed and that a forward, galloping Thoroughbred hunter can be lovely to watch if trained to relax and jump correctly.

Caitlin says she has seen more Thoroughbreds in the show ring, and more groups and individuals advocating for their return. She expects the Thoroughbred classes at horse shows to get more competitive.

‘It Was Like Me And My Own Shadow’: Birdstone Finds Comfort In Former Stablemate Sun King

2004 Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Birdstone recently retired from his stud duties at Gainesway Farm in August to live the simple life at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Ky. After 15 years at stud, the son of Grindstone had some trouble getting adjusted to his new life of leisure.

Old Friends founder Michael Blowen told America's Best Racing that all Birdstone needed was the comfort of a familiar face.

“Birdstone was really nervous; he was anxious and sweaty. He calmed down a little, but not a lot, in the first week. Then, I noticed that he wouldn't take his eyes off Sun King,” Blowen said. “It was like me and my own shadow, almost like a stalker. When he went to get hay, Birdstone would go get hay; when Sun King would get a drink of water, Birdstone got water.”

A quick phone call to Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito revealed that Birdstone and Sun King had been stalled right across from each other for a time while training with Zito. Although the two, as intact stallions, can't be turned out in the same paddock, they are within sight of each other whenever Sun King isn't in his run-in shed. Birdstone has since relaxed as long as he has eyes on his buddy.

It's not the first friendship Blowen has seen between notable horses. Stormy Liberal and Patch bonded immediately and Game On Dude and Little Mike hate to be separated even for overnights in the barn.

Update: Mineralization Of Neck Ligament Not Related To Headshaking

Headshaking in horses remains a frustrating mystery for the most part, with little relief for the horses it affects. One recent hypothesis was that headshaking was caused by the mineralization of the longitudinal odontoid ligament, a fan-shaped ligament in the neck. In a study published in 2020, three headshaking horses showed mineralization of this ligament in CT scans.

Much remains unknown about headshaking other than it is assumed that trigeminal neuralgia is the underlying cause. Other veterinarians and scientists suggest that musculoskeletal pain may also cause head shaking.

Imaging a horse's cervical spine used to be difficult, but diagnostic equipment has improved to the point where imaging this portion of a horse's spine is now possible. Drs. Alison Talbot, Miguel Rodrigues and Thomas Maddox re-examined CT scans of 97 horses that came through the Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital, a part of the University of Liverpool.

They looked for records to indicate any relationship between the mineralization of that ligament and the primary issue, as well as breed, age, sex and use. They also looked for any association with neck pain, head shaking or restricted range of motion in the neck.

They team found that 25 of the 96 horses (26 percent) had some mineralization of the ligament, but they found no association between mineralization and either idiopathic head shaking or any other clinical signs. They did discover that increasing mineralization was linked to age and sex: it primarily affected mares.

They determined that the mineralization of the ligament had nothing to do with head shaking or neck pain. They recommended that the significance of the mineralization be interpreted cautiously.

Reade the study here.