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Thoroughbred Charities Of America Extends Support Of Retired Racehorse Project Through 2021

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) has extended its support of the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) as the title sponsor of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium through 2021. The RRP announced the postponement of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover earlier this summer and will be hosting a “double Makeover” for both 2020 and 2021 entries at the Kentucky Horse Park on October 12-17, 2021.

The TCA Thoroughbred Makeover features trainers, who can compete as professionals, amateurs, juniors and/or in teams, from across North America who have been working throughout the year to prepare recently-retired Thoroughbred racehorses to compete for more than $100,000 in 10 equestrian sports. The 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover event will feature two divisions of competition: one for horses who were eligible and registered for the postponed 2020 event, and the regularly-scheduled 2021 division.

“The work of the Retired Racehorse Project is an integral part of Thoroughbred aftercare,” said Erin Crady, executive director of TCA. “2020 marks the eighth consecutive year that TCA has supported the Thoroughbred Makeover because we believe in the importance of its mission. We must continue to work to create a market for Thoroughbreds once their racing days are over.”

TCA's support for the Makeover is part of its annual grant-making activity. TCA recently announced that its 2020 grantmaking topped $1 million for the first time in many years. For more than three decades, TCA has worked to support not only Thoroughbred aftercare but also programs that provide health and human services for backstretch and farm workers. This year, 70 non-profits were approved for grants including 45 aftercare organizations, 16 backstretch and farm worker programs, one research organization, five equine-assisted therapy organizations, and three Thoroughbred incentive organizations.

“The 2021 'mega-Makeover' will not only be our largest Makeover in history, but an incredible showcase of Thoroughbred sport horse talent that will draw competitors, horse shoppers and spectators from throughout North America,” said RRP executive director Jen Roytz. “We are incredibly grateful to TCA for seeing and supporting our vision for this exciting event and our greater mission to increase demand for Thoroughbreds after racing in the equestrian world.”

Trainers for the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover applied at the end of 2019 into early 2020, demonstrating their ability to successfully transition a horse off the track through applications, references and video. This year, 616 trainers were accepted for the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover, representing 604 unique individual trainers and teams. The majority of these trainers have elected to retain their entries when they were given the option to continue preparing for the 2020 division or roll their entry to the 2021 division.

Each horse and trainer will perform in one or two of the ten disciplines offered and will be scored on performance and progression in training. Featured disciplines include barrel racing, competitive trail, dressage, eventing, field hunter, polo, ranch work, show hunter, show jumper and freestyle (a freeform discipline allowing trainers to demonstrate any skill of their choosing). The top five scorers in each discipline will compete in a Finale competition, and an overall winner, scored by the judges from all ten disciplines, will be crowned Thoroughbred Makeover Champion. The 2020 and 2021 divisions will each have its own Finale and its own Thoroughbred Makeover Champion.

Some aspects of the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover will be offered virtually this year, including seminars (presented as webinars), the Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit, a virtual 5K, the vendor fair, and the innovative Makeover Master Class training demonstration and discussion. The ASPCA Makeover Marketplace horse sale has transitioned to a listing service this year, and dozens of transitioned and restarted horses originally intended to compete at the 2020 Makeover have been made available by their trainers for purchase or adoption.

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African Horse Sickness Outbreak In Malaysia

Five horses in Malaysia have been diagnosed with African Horse Sickness; the disease had never been confirmed in the country until this outbreak. The horses lived in Terengganu, located in the eastern part of the Malay Peninsula. On September 2, Malay authorities reported the outbreak, noting that the horses had been exhibiting signs of the disease since early August. The horses had difficulty breathing, were lame and had a fever.

The source of the virus is not known. There are nine different serotypes of African Horse Sickness, each with a specific geographic distribution. Identifying the serotype may indicate from which region the virus originated. AHS is transmitted by biting midges and the disease tends to be seasonal; it's generally associated with hot and humid weather.

The Malaysian outbreak follows on the heels of an AHS outbreak in Thailand, where 604 horses were affected and 562 died. Malaysia is approximately 550 miles from Thailand, but it is unknown if the occurrence in Malaysia is the from the movement of horses, the movement of infected vectors or is a new occurrence of the disease.

AHS affects all species of Equidae and the severity of clinical signs is dependent upon the virus strain and species affected. The fatality rate in horses can reach up to 90 percent. Though there is a commercial vaccine for AHS, none are approved for use in the European Union.

Santa Anita To Provide Home For Non-Profit ‘Free Animal Doctor’

With an estimated 25 percent of America's pet owners unable to afford necessary veterinary care for approximately 24 million dogs and cats, Santa Anita Park will now provide a home for the non-profit Free Animal Doctor, which provides free veterinary surgeries for at-risk animals. Santa Anita management will also be working with Free Animal Doctor to extend its services to the track's backside community and other community groups in need, at no or low cost.

“There is a need for this type of small animal veterinary assistance locally and nationwide,” said Santa Anita's Aidan Butler, Acting Executive Director, CA Racing Operations for The Stronach Group. “We are well positioned to provide the assistance needed for the Free Animal Doctor clinic to administer necessary care for these precious animals, and we're honored to do so. We've let them know we are here to help in any way that we can.”

Free Animal Doctor (FAD), utilizes Crowdfunding to raise monies for specific pets and provides detailed itemized cost accounting which is directed by each animal's attending veterinarian.

“This serves to self-authenticate the cost of each surgery,” said FAD co-founder Sam Bernardo, who hopes to have FAD's veterinary “bus” fully operational in Santa Anita's parking Lot 7 by Sept. 15. “Once the money is raised for each individual animal's procedure, no additional money is accepted.”

Although a wide variety of surgeries will be performed, spaying and neutering will comprise the majority of the procedures taking place at Santa Anita. This important work also helps to assist community shelters from being overwhelmed by dogs and cats that do not have homes.

Bernardo, who is a practicing attorney, founded FAD four years ago with Ryan Boyd, who works in the local real estate industry.

“Our 'bus' is actually a 43-foot long mobile surgical hospital on a bus frame,” said Bernardo. “The facility was originally designed and used by the Spay, Neuter Action Program of San Diego. They donated it to us and we are so thankful that Santa Anita is providing us a home with independent sources of electricity and water, which are vital for surgical procedures.

“We've been operating for four years now and 80 percent of the animals that we've displayed on our website have gotten the required funding. With average costs ranging from $800 to $3,000, thirty percent of families that own these pets cannot afford the surgeries.”

Those interested are encouraged to visit FAD's website at www.freeanimaldoctor.org, where a photo and detailed description of each at-risk pet is provided.

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Research Update: Horse Welfare In Therapeutic Riding Programs

Animal-assisted intervention, including therapeutic horseback riding, is designed to promote improvement in a person's physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning and is directed or delivered by a practitioner with specialized expertise. Although there is abundant research on the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding to human participants, there is little information regarding effects on horses involved in such programs.

Therefore, the goal of a recent research project, conducted by researchers in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, was to gather data regarding horse use and care in Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) affiliated therapeutic horseback riding programs in the United States to help establish a foundation for a standard of care.

A 20-question survey sent to 659 PATH Intl. affiliated therapeutic horseback riding programs returned a 40 percent response rate. Demographics demonstrated that the average number of horses in each program was 10; geldings outnumbered mares; most horses were between 16 and 20 years of age; and Quarter Horse or stock-type breeds predominated.

The average session length was 8 weeks and the average lesson length was 45 minutes. Horses were typically ridden by clients 4 days each week and 2 hours each day. Most horses were donated to the programs, participated for approximately 7 years, and left because of aging. Limb lameness and back soreness were the top health issues noted, with only a small percentage of colic and ulcers reported. More horses received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for a lameness issue, chiropractic adjustment, and massage than any other supplemental care or complementary therapy.

Based on data gathered in this survey, therapeutic horseback riding horses were not worked excessively. Horses were ridden less than PATH Intl.'s maximum recommendation of 6 hours each day and 6 days each week. Horses in therapeutic horseback riding programs also appeared to have fewer reported health issues as compared with data in other national reports. The abstract is available here.

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