Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Jockey Club’s T.I.P. Program Announces Non-Competition Award Winners

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) today announced the recipients of its two non-competition awards, the T.I.P. Thoroughbred of the Year Award and the T.I.P. Young Rider of the Year Award, for 2020.

The Thoroughbred of the Year Award recognizes a Thoroughbred that has excelled in a non-competitive career, such as equine-assisted therapy or police work, and includes a $5,000 grant to the non-profit organization associated with the horse or, if no organization is associated with the horse, to a horse-related charity chosen by The Jockey Club.

This year's winner is Gus, registered with The Jockey Club as Sir Gus, a 25-year-old gelding that assists with therapeutic programs at Brook Hill Farm in Forest, Va. He raced 43 times, winning six races and earning $35,079. Gus became a riding horse for a child in his second career before ending up in a poor situation and being rescued by Brook Hill.

Brook Hill offers equine-assisted learning programs for at-risk youth, physically and mentally challenged children and adults, senior citizens, and military veterans. Gus has participated in the at-risk youth program as well as the therapeutic program to assist participants with physical and mental challenges. He helps children to gain self-confidence and grow into caring, compassionate adults.

“Gus has done it all, from jumping at Pony Club Rally to helping children in a therapeutic riding program – he loves to take care of his riders!” said Jo Anne Miller, executive director of Brook Hill.

The young rider award, which recognizes riders 18 or younger who own or lease a Thoroughbred for use in 4-H, Pony Club, or other activities, has been awarded to Kate Brown, Clara Dendtler, Jenna Everhart, and Isabella Wade.

Kate Brown, 16, owns Sports Revenge, also known as Sport. They compete in dressage and eventing. Brown has served as a T.I.P. Youth Ambassador and plans to use her award funds for horse shows.

“After owning Sport for about three years I started to learn more about his breed,” said Brown. “Then I learned about T.I.P. and all the great things that they do. I applied to be a T.I.P. Youth Ambassador for 2017-2018 and then again for 2018-2019. That taught me so much about the breed and I met so many cool people along the way.”

Clara Dendtler, who turned 19 last month, owns Go Star, also known as Quinn. They have competed in hunters, and Dendtler was the junior high point rider at the T.I.P. Championships in 2019 while riding Quinn. Dendtler would like to use her award funds to help pay for college. She started at Clemson University this fall and is in the nursing program.

“Quinn has taught me so much, but I feel that she has most notably shown me the importance of perseverance both in and out of the ring,” said Dendtler. “The heart, athleticism, and passion of a Thoroughbred is truly unmatched, and there is no horse breed I would rather work with.”

Jenna Everhart, 18, owns and competes on her Thoroughbred Jetaway E.T., also known as Hector. Showing in English pleasure, the pair was named champion in T.I.P.'s Junior division for English pleasure and reserve champion in the East division in 2019. Everhart plans to use her award funds to support her college education and would like to pursue a career in occupational therapy.

“When I bought Hector three years ago, it was my first time ever on the back of a Thoroughbred. Of course, the road of training a young horse was not perfect, but it taught me so much about riding,” said Everhart. “In the past three years he has gone from a Thoroughbred with only ever a racing saddle on, to a pleasure champ.”

Isabella Wade, 17, has owned Forum, also known as Wesley, for three years. They compete in hunters, and Wade is a T.I.P. Youth Ambassador. Wade would like to use her award funds to support a trip to the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Show and T.I.P. Championships in Lexington, Ky., as well as assist with college tuition.

“[Being a T.I.P. Ambassador] changed how I viewed my responsibility to the Thoroughbred breed,” said Wade. “Before, I saw riding my [off-the-track Thoroughbred] as something entirely personal. I was riding for myself at shows I enjoyed going to. Now, I see going to T.I.P. shows and raising awareness for the breed as something I should be doing because I own an [off-the-track Thoroughbred]. I can't imagine my life without my Thoroughbred, and being a T.I.P. Youth Ambassador has added to my experience.”

Five Tips For Proper Hay Storage

As summer winds down, focus turns from baling hay to storing hay. Although storing hay indoors is ideal, it is not always possible. To protect your hay investment, follow these five hay storage tips.

When storing outdoors, bales should be covered with a tarp or another durable cover. Tarps and plastic covers have reduced storage losses by half. For round bales stored outdoors, using net wrap or B-wrap reduces storage losses compared to twine.
Water and animal proof the storage site. Don't stack hay under a leaky roof as it will grow moldier with each rainfall event. Plug rodent holes and detour wildlife, such as raccoons, from living in hay storage areas during the winter months. Not only can rodents and wildlife make a mess of hay storage areas, feces from some wildlife can cause diseases in horses.
Regardless of indoor or outdoor storage, do not stack hay directly on the ground. Instead, stack bales on pallets to allow air flow and help prevent hay from absorbing ground moisture. Hay bales stored on wet surfaces can have as much as 50 percent spoilage.
Use older hay first. However, hay should keep indefinitely if the hay was properly baled and stored. High humidity can increase moisture content and reduce storage life. Therefore, we recommend feeding hay within two years of harvest.
When storing round bales outdoors, store them end to end. Stacking round bales while stored outdoors usually increases losses as stacking traps moisture and limits drying from the sun and wind. Additionally, buy or bale tightly packed bales, store bales on a well-drained surface, and never store bales under trees or in low lying areas.

Find more hay storage tips here.

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Preliminary Proof: Drones An Inexpensive, Safer Alternative For Herding Feral Horses

Feral horses that roam over extensive areas of land can be difficult to corral when necessary for management purposes, like for contraceptive treatment. Pushing the animals into a corral with a helicopter is a common way to contain them, but this method is stressful and potentially harmful to the horses; it's also expensive.

Drs. Sue McDonnell and Catherine Torcivia of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center investigated if free-roaming horses would follow a drone into a corral. They based their hypothesis on the concept that a horse's natural instinct is to become alert to novel objects and intruders, and to respond as a herd to level of arousal elicited.

To test their theory, the duo used a consumer-grade drone and the university's herd of 123 semi-feral ponies. They discovered that the drone was able to lead the horses into corrals on the first attempt and again on seven of nine additional attempts over the next month.

The drone led the horses to the same and different destinations. The horses tended to follow at a fast walk, with some slow trotting intervals interspersed. In each case, a stallion or multiple stallions first alerted the herd to the drone. The males then vocalized their concern and initiated the herd's following of the drone's retreat.

The scientists found that the drone was most effective when flying between 6 and 20 feet above the ground and leading the herd at a distance of about 30 feet. Next, the duo will test the drone on a herd of feral horses in a larger enclosure. If successful, they will conclude that drone use may provide a lower-cost, lower-stress, repeatable option for capturing feral horses, and improve both human and equine safety.

Read the full project report here.

Racing NSW Implements End-Of-Life Welfare Program For Thoroughbreds

Racing NSW, the regulating body for Thoroughbred racing in New South Wales, has introduced a new program to ensure that every NSW Thoroughbred in the state has access to humane euthanasia. Created to additionally protect racehorses from being sent to slaughterhouses, the program will pay for the horse's euthanasia, should it be determined that course of action is in the horse's best interest.

Funded by a fee assessed when a Thoroughbred is registered, euthanasia under the program is only permitted when a Racing NSW licensed veterinarian has certified that euthanasia is necessary because of welfare or safety concerns. In addition to euthanasia, Racing NSW will cover the cost of cremation or burial of the horse. Euthanasia and cremation or burial of a horse can be expensive, and possibly deter owners from acting in the horse's best interest.

Specifically designed for any Thoroughbred that has lived predominantly in NSW, the program does not have an age cap for horses it assists. This means that horses that have been retired from racing and are now involved in second careers are also able to be assisted by this program.

This program was created to further strengthen Racing NSW's commitment to the welfare of racehorses throughout their lives. The regulatory body puts aside more than $26 million a year to assist with Thoroughbred welfare programs.

The organization has established a direct retraining and rehoming program for Thoroughbreds, has made it an offense to send a Thoroughbred to a slaughterhouse, has two full-time veterinarians on staff and has multiple other programs and efforts in place to assist Thoroughbreds throughout every life stage.

Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald and at Racing NSW.

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