Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bloody Snow Most Likely Not What You Think

Many horse owners have walked into snow-covered fields and been startled to find what looks like blood in areas where horses urinate. When the health of the turned out horses is assessed, however, everyone seems fine.

Though a call to the vet may be tempting, red-colored urine in the snow isn't unusual—it's a chemical reaction that occurs when urine hits cold snow: Proteins in the urine oxidize in low temperatures. This can cause a range of colors, from light pink to red, brown and orange. The same reaction takes place when a urine sample is left unrefrigerated.

If a horse's health is still in question, it's worthwhile to collect a urine sample to see if it's bloody as it is excreted before it hits the snow. This can be done by taping a large can to a stick and waiting patiently until a horse urinates, and catching some of his stream. If it's not red, the horse is most likely just fine.

Normandy Invasion To Be Retrained For His Next Career As A Sport Horse

The National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization (NTWO) announced this week that former Spendthrift stallion Normandy Invasion has been gelded and will be retrained and rehomed by the organization.

NTWO farm manager and trainer Tayja Smith said that the multiple graded stakes placed earner of $551,900 is doing better than she had expected with the adjustment after she was warned he could have some aggressive tendencies.

“We pulled him off, and he was dead quiet,” Smith said. “He had his head right where it needed to be, walked super respectful in, settled right into his stall, and rolled and relaxed.”

Smith said that she is planning on trying group turn out soon after giving him some more time to get adjusted.

The 10-year-old son of Tapit has not begun any training yet. Smith said that she wants to allow him to pick up some herd dynamics as well as pass a veterinary check before she begins training with him. She plans to start his training on the ground and go from there.

“They kind of tell you what to do, I think,” Smith said. “I do everything by feel.”

Smith said it usually takes a week or two to get a horse where she wants on the ground, and then she starts the under-saddle training. When asked about what she might look for in a potential adopter for Normandy Invasion, Smith said that most importantly it should be someone who has experience with a stallion and someone who really bonds with him as a horse instead of just wanting him because he is well known.

“While he's very, very well mannered,” Smith said. “If he ever does decide to show stallion tendencies, I would rather it be somebody who is going to be confident with those tendencies.”

“I kind of want him to choose.”

Normandy Invasion was runner-up in the 2012 Grade 2 Remsen Stakes and the 2013 G1 Wood Memorial Stakes. He was bred in Kentucky by Betz/Kidder/Gainesway/Graves/D.J. Stable/Cole and is out of the Boston Harbor mare Boston Lady. Normandy Invasion was a $230,000 purchase as a 2-year-old by Fox Hill Farms, which campaigned him throughout his racing career with trainer Larry Jones. Fox Hill's Rick Porter is the founder of NTWO. Normandy Invasion is the sire of 13 winners from 43 starters, and his first foals are 3-year-olds of 2020.

The post Normandy Invasion To Be Retrained For His Next Career As A Sport Horse appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

12 Days Of Christmas Videos: Black Beauty Animal Sanctuary Goes Behind-The-Scenes

The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Tx., is celebrating the holiday season this year with 12 days of Facebook videos that feature some of the nearly 400 horses and donkeys living at the sanctuary.

Hosted by the equine caregivers at Black Beauty from Dec. 14 to 25, viewers will get a daily behind-the-scenes look at feeding time, caring and therapy treatments for special needs horses. The videos will also feature staff patrolling across the 800-acre pasture and other surprises. Caregivers will also read holiday-themed books alongside horses and share the back stories that brought these animals to the sanctuary.

Noelle Almrud, senior director of Black Beauty, said: “We want to give a virtual holiday gift to our supporters and share an inside look at what it takes to properly care for hundreds of horses and donkeys every day. Our expert equine caregivers will take viewers through an array of daily activities and introduce some of our incredible animals who were rescued from cruelty and neglect. We miss being able to offer our monthly tours due to the pandemic and created this virtual alternative experience for all to enjoy.”

Some of the residents who will be featured are Katniss, a special needs mustang; Pride, rescued from a Humane Society of the United States undercover investigation into soring of Tennessee walking horses; Stewie, a donkey found as a stray by law enforcement; and Mulan, part of a large rescue of over 800 feral mustangs who were found starving. Along with nearly 800 residents at the 1,400-acre sanctuary – from tigers, bears and primates to the nearly 400 donkeys and horses – these animals are living happily ever after with proper care at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives.

Videos will post at 9:00 a.m. CST daily on Facebook.

Founded in 1979, the 1,400-acre Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, operated by the Fund for Animals in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States, is one of America's largest and most diverse animal sanctuaries. Located in Murchison, Texas, Black Beauty is a permanent haven to nearly 800 domestic and exotic animals rescued from research laboratories, circuses, zoos, private pet ownership, roadside zoos, captive hunting operations, and government roundups. Residents include tigers, bears, primates, bison, tortoises, horses, burros and more. To respect the peace and privacy of the animals, the sanctuary is open to the public only twice a month for intimate prescheduled Ranch of Dreams Tours. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, tours are on hiatus until further notice. Visit https://www.facebook.com/BlackBeautyRanch.

Founded in 1954, the Humane Society of the United States fights the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, we take on puppy mills, factory farms, trophy hunts, animal testing and other cruel industries. With our affiliates, we rescue and care for tens of thousands of animals every year through our animal rescue team's work and other hands-on animal care services. We fight all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind our name: A humane society.

Learn more about our work at humanesociety.org. Subscribe to Kitty Block's blog, A Humane World. Follow the HSUS Media Relations department on Twitter. Read the award-winning All Animals magazine. Listen to the Humane Voices Podcast. 

The post 12 Days Of Christmas Videos: Black Beauty Animal Sanctuary Goes Behind-The-Scenes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

New Research: Horses Become Bolder With Age

A new study has shown that horses get bolder with age, but they don't necessarily become more independent. These results indicate that boldness and independence are two separate traits, said Drs. Bibiana Burattini, Kate Fenner, Ashley Anzulewicz, Nicole Romness, Jessica McKenzie, Bethany Wilson and Paul McGreevy.

“Boldness” is an umbrella term to describe horses that are not shy, nervous or easily spooked, while “independence” is an individual's ability to function without social support from other horses.

The study team used 1,940 responses to the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ), a 97-question study being used to develop a global database of horse behavior. The tool allows responders to benchmark their horses against thousands of others with regards to training, behavior and welfare. Respondents to this study came from 33 different countries; they represented 78 different breeds. In total, 58 percent of responders owner geldings and 38 percent owned mares; the rest owned stallions

The research team used the study responses to compare boldness and independence in horses with a horse's age. They discovered that older horses that were started under-saddle at a young age were bolder and more independent than those horses started under tack at an older age. This was not surprising as the team noted that the shier horses may be started later in hopes that they would calm down as they matured. They also discovered that:

Australian Stock Horses were bolder and more independent than crossbreed horses
Brown and chestnut horses were less bold than bay horses
Dressage and therapy horses were less bold than those used for other disciplines
Stallions were bolder than geldings
Thoroughbreds and companion horses were less bold than crossbred horses
Heavy horses and ponies tended to be bolder
Working equitation horses were more independent that pleasure mount

The team concluded that boldness and independence are separate traits, and only boldness was associated with equine age. They suggested the increase in boldness may be related to the a horse's accumulated exposure to various events and stimuli as it ages.

The team notes that understanding how age affects behavior can assist in matching a rider with a horse, as well as with projecting how a young horse will mature behaviorally.

Read the full study here.