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Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New

The eponymously-named First Pharoah has a distinction shared by no other Thoroughbred. As the first offspring of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, the colt made headlines soon after he was born on Jan. 3, 2017. Three years later, First Pharoah has displayed more of a likeness to his dam rather than favoring his sire, who quickly proved himself as a source of quality runners.

First Pharoah showed little promise in training, so late last year owner/breeder Oussama Aboughazale (of International Equities Holdings and Sumaya U.S. Stable) sent him to Brooke Schafer and Tay Wienold to redirect his talent. The Lexington-based business partners are experienced in schooling off-track Thoroughbreds in general and members of the First Pharoah clan in particular. The women were first introduced to the family when a friend recommended them for First Pharoah's dam Kakadu. A well-beaten ninth as a 2-year-old in her only start, Kakadu retired to the broodmare ranks but she experienced reproductive problems and never produced another foal. With Schafer handling the ground work and flat work and Wienold doing the jumping, Kakadu made a seamless transition to show horse. Now seven, Kakadu's specialty is eventing, combining refined movements of dressage with jumping in open fields and arenas.

Aboughazale was so impressed with the refashioned Kakadu that he channeled First Pharoah and Kakadu's half-brother Lock Keeper (by Quality Road) to them. Schafer and Wienold transformed Lock Keeper's laid-back personality and athleticism into a willing pleasure mount and sold him to an amateur rider who enjoys dressage with him. As a racehorse, he was unplaced in two starts as a 3-year-old in 2019.

First Pharoah's evolution has been slower than his relatives because of his physique. He is built like his dam with a stout body reminiscent of larger breeds so he was given plenty of downtime to develop into his frame.

“We ride him lightly just to keep him reminded about his job and to slowly mold him into the sport horse we know he is capable of becoming,” Schafer said. “Tay rode him first and he rode beautifully. She said he is one of the most comfortable horses she has ever sat on. She looked at me grinning during the first ride and said 'I could sit this trot all day.' ”

First Pharoah, pictured in late August

During this growing phase, First Pharoah mostly has been doing a whole lot of nothing while socializing with pasture mates and human friends.

“He is like a playful teenager who enjoys challenging his buddies to a game of tag when he's feeling frisky,” Schafer said. “He loves his horse companions dearly and gets very attached to every horse we put with him. He lives outside 24/7 in a field with a large run-in shed but loves to come in on hot days and take a nap in his stall. He gets checked daily and gets lots of treats from the neighbors.”

Schafer and Wienold balance their sport horse business and recreational riding with full-time jobs. Schafer is a speech pathologist in a Central Kentucky public school system and supplements her income by selling her customized painted drinking glasses and other equine-centric artwork. Wienold is an accountant who moonlights with a monogramming service. In their OTTB endeavors, they have established a reputation for transforming their projects into reliable mounts for other activities and placing them with suitable owners. Both strive for the perfect match and offer advice for those obtaining an OTTB with fundamental retraining.

“Take your time and start with the basics,” Schafer said. “Most Thoroughbreds are started in professional programs and know how to tie, lunge, get bathed, stand to be mounted, etc. But just because they do, don't assume they know how to do that in a new environment. Take the time to get to know the horse before you give them too many new pieces of information.

Behind the ears of First Pharoah

“Horses love routine and the more you can work with them on a daily basis, the better. I like to learn about my horses by working with them on the ground before we ride them. I like to know their personalities and what they are comfortable with. By knowing this, I feel like it gives Tay and I a better expectation of what we may encounter under saddle.”

The post Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Research Into Training Programs Needed To Protect Equine Tendons

The superficial digital flexor tendons in a horse's front legs are responsible for much of the animal's athleticism: They store energy and play a critical role in the efficiency of the horse's trot and gallop. However, these tendons are especially susceptible to injury: They are one of the most common causes of lameness in performance horses. Tendon injuries are slow and difficult to heal, so it's imperative that they be detected early and that training methods be adapted to allow time for the tissues to heal.

Drs. Claire O'Brien, Neil Marr and Chavaunne Thorpe investigated the biomechanical and biothermal effects of strain on this tendon and how both forces contributed to microdamage. Though the tendon is essential for efficient performance and locomotion, it has a very narrow window for error, which makes it susceptible to injury.

The trio reviewed 140 scientific papers and discovered that most superficial digital flexor tendon injuries occur during fitness work. Risks to tendons include variations in training intensity and frequency, surfaces and equipment. Individual risk factors include breed, age and sex; variations in tendon blood supply, strength and flexibility may contribute to chronic tendon injuries and longer recover rates.

The team suggest that research be done in several areas so that recommendations based on scientific principles can be made for training programs; these would minimize the risk of tendon injury. They also suggest that those involved in a horse' training understand the following:

The physiologic demands high-intensity training places on equine tendons
Heavy training sessions that mimic competition should be closely monitored and only repeated every 72 hours to allow tendons enough time to repair and adapt. Factors such as the horse's age, history of injury and previous competition experience should help guide decision making on the frequency of training sessions
The effects of other factors like surface type, fence height, bandaging and ambient temperature place on tendon temperature and strain
Training should be increased incrementally over time, using objective measures to gauge each horse's physiologic response

Read the full article here.

Old Friends Welcomes Pair Of ‘Magnificently Bred’ Mares From LNJ Foxwoods

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement facility based in Georgetown, KY, this week welcomed two new retirees as part of a unique arrangement with owners LNJ Foxwoods.

Gold Round was bred in Ireland by Wertheimer Et Frere and is a half-sister to three-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner Goldikova. The now 23-year-old mare raced in France for two seasons where she captured the 2000 Grade 3 Prix Cleopatre at Saint Cloud and the 1999 Prix des Sablonnets at Nantes. Gold Round was bought by Solis/Litt Bloodstock for LNJ in the 2012 Arqana Breeding Stock sale. Since her purchase, the mare has produced six fillies for the Roth family including Grade 3 winner Golden Valentine and stakes-placed Golden Attitude and Golden Box.

Mystery Trip, an unraced 16-year old mare by Belong to Me out of the superlative daughter of Secretariat, Weekend Surprise, was bred by the Farish Family and Kilroy Thoroughbreds. She is a half-sister to Classic winners A.P. Indy and Summer Squall, and is the last foal from the exceptional producer. In 2016, Mystery Trip was purchased by Solis/Litt Bloodstock for LNJ at the Keeneland November sale.

Represented by Alex Solis II and Jason Litt of Solis/Litt Bloodstock, the Roth family— Larry, Nanci, and Jaime—owners of LNJ Foxwoods, approached Old Friends about securing aftercare options for several broodmares. LNJ has donated the construction of a new paddock as well as stipend for the mares to the non-profit organization, and, in the coming months, will also retire Hi Dubai, a stakes-winning sister to Fantastic Light.

LNJ Foxwoods has campaigned such champions as 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House, 2019 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Covfefe, Grade 1 winner Constellation, and Grade 1 winner Nickname.

“We are always pleased to see such dedicated and responsible owners as the Roth family,” said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen. “They are great role models for the industry. The mares are magnificently bred, very sweet, and will be a wonderful attraction for our visitors.”

“Responsible ownership is the cornerstone of the LNJ operation,” said LNJ's Jaime Roth. “Over a year ago, my family met with Michael Blowen with the idea of creating our own paddock for retired LNJ broodmares to peacefully live out the end of their lives. To now see that concept come to fruition is pretty awesome. Knowing that Gold Round, Mystery Trip, and future LNJ broodmares will be celebrated by visitors while having a retirement haven is invaluable to my family,” Roth added.

“We would like to thank Old Friends for their work caring for these retirees, and for allowing LNJ Foxwoods mares to have this option.”

The post Old Friends Welcomes Pair Of ‘Magnificently Bred’ Mares From LNJ Foxwoods appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Research Project: Do Horses In Central KY Seek Shade At Specific Temps And Times Of Day?

In the last Equine Science Review, an undergraduate independent research project that examined shade seeking behavior in Texas was discussed. A similar study was done in Central Kentucky by Kassie Rutherford, an undergraduate equine junior at the University of Kentucky. Rutherford completed an independent research project observing horses in Midway, Kentucky. She also worked with Camie Heleski, PhD, senior lecturer within the equine undergraduate degree program, on a quest to learn more about horses' desire to seek shade during different times of the day.

Rutherford conducted this research primarily at Heronwood Farm and surrounding facilities because of their wide array of breeds, ages and disciplines.

“Right now I'm still on my horse, and I'm looking at two horses that belong to a racehorse trainer, two other horses that belong to the owner and I'm looking at a different property with mares and foals. That's what was so great about where I was at, because I could collect information while I rode,” Rutherford said.

“I loved how Kassie incorporated her data collection into moving around the farm, sometimes exercising her horses simultaneously,” Heleski said. “She was really diligent about entering the data into her cell phone so she could do both.”

During her project, Rutherford observed at what point of the day was it hot enough for horses to seek out shade. This was to establish if there were temperature or time of day patterns. Like Underwood in the Texas study, Rutherford was interested in seeing if the horses would seek shade in temperatures greater than 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Some of it was a pattern, but I think it had a lot to do with where the sun was, what the actual UV-Index was and if there were clouds covering the sun. Because even in the morning when it was full sun, they were almost never in the shelter,” Rutherford said.

When asked about her findings, she said that she believed it wasn't necessarily due to the positioning of the sun in the sky, but more so the hottest point of the day.

“What I found was that it wasn't where the sun was the highest in the sky, it was actually the hottest part of the day, which is typically, from what I found, between 3 to 6 p.m. It was between those times that the horses started to seek out shelter,” Rutherford said.

“This echoes my casual observations over the summer,” Heleski said. “Kassie seemed to see that sometimes it also had a lot to do with the group dynamics of the herd on a per pasture basis; sometimes it seemed that the heat was eliciting shade seeking behavior in one pasture, but just one pasture over, it might be that none of the horses were seeking shade.”

Rutherford was also interested in learning if there was a preference in types of shade. For example, if horses would seek out manmade shelter versus trees, and what the difference between those might be.

“I would walk out to my horses' field and I would stand in the shelter with a thermometer, and there were several days that it was 8 to 10 degrees hotter within the shelter, even though it was shady. So then, they would rather stand under tree shade because of the breeze and the fresh air that they got that was inhibited by the shelter,” Rutherford said.

“I do feel this is a very important point; some people who build sheds for their horses get frustrated that the horses don't seem to use the shade much in the summer. But, unless we know the actual temperature inside the shelter, it's hard to say the horses aren't using common sense by avoiding the shelter during peak heat times,” Heleski said.

When asked about Underwood's findings about the horses seeking shade due to the UV index, Rutherford agreed that it could be a possible explanation, but that it wasn't something she directly measured.

“You know how there's days where it's bright outside, but it might not actually be full sun? It could be that those are the days that the UV index is a little bit lower. I would agree with her that the UV index plays a role if they want to be in the shelter or not,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford said her experience with undergraduate research has strongly impacted her life and future decisions.

“I definitely found myself outside of my research looking at farms and how their horses were responding to the heat, if they were seeking out shade,” she said. “One of the things that I've found with this degree, is that even if I don't get a career in the equine industry, everything I learned, I can apply to my own life as a horse owner. This research has already helped me to decide what kind of shelter I want to have for my horses on my own property.”

She said that the level of responsibility that is given to students in undergraduate research is extremely important.

“First of all, you're accountable for something that's more than just homework. It's under your prerogative to find that research, find the horses that you are looking for and do it. It just gives a certain level of responsibility to undergrads doing this research, so I think it's really good. It's good to have a project that you don't have a lot of guidance on, it's up to you how you conduct it,” Rutherford said.