Tag: Horse Care

As the heat continues to build this summer in Washington, D.C., so does tension over two frequently-discussed issues that will affect the horse and agriculture industry. The American Horse Council's (AHC) quarterly webinar series recently held a virtual discussion titled “Understanding the Farm Bill and the 'Right to Repair'” sponsored by Jarvis Insurance with the aim to answer any questions the public might have regarding those two pieces of legislation.

The webinar, which was live via Zoom on July 17, began with a discussion on the 2023 Farm Bill led by Brigid Shea, Government Affairs Liaison for the AHC, and guest speaker Justina Graff, Senior Legislative assistant at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.

Graff is the Senior Legislative Assistant to Representative G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and has worked alongside him since February 2023. Prior to that, she lobbied on behalf of the coalition to promote U.S. agricultural exports, the National Milk Producers Federation and the Organic Produce Association.

The 2023 Farm Bill is a critical piece of legislation that is renewed every five years. The Farm Bill covers everything from farmer support to community food access and was initially signed into law in 1933 to have a safety net for producers coming out of the Great Depression. The House and Senate Committees on Agriculture are currently holding hearings, reviewing budget and program submissions, and honing their math skills as the spending requests approach the $1 trillion mark.

“I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another piece of legislation like this that spends a certain amount of money and will have such a great return on investment,” said Graff on the proposed $1 trillion budget. “It is a driving force for the ag industry and the overall economy as a whole.”

The AHC is currently working to ensure the interests of the entire horse industry are well represented through requests for funding within the bill. This includes requesting equine-specific funding for the various vaccine and health monitoring programs that are critical to protecting the national herd health as well as requesting USDA funding to conduct a horse census – a systematic count of the population of horses within the United States.

The discussion helped listeners to understand the legislative process of writing and passing the 2023 Farm Bill. Other topics discussed included how stakeholders can get involved in the discussion, what the horse industry is requesting be included in the Farm Bill, as well as the current expected timeline for legislative decision making.

“The majority of the livestock and animal welfare provisions are done within Title 12 of the Farm Bill, which is the Miscellaneous Provision,” explained Graff. “We are lucky that the Ag Committee has a working bipartisan relationship, which in today's political climate, it's not necessarily normal. There are about 30 Republicans and 15 Democrats on the Committee.”

Graff pointed out that the work done by the AHC and other parties is vital for a successful Farm Bill passing.

“One of the key things here is what you do from the education side to Congress is absolutely critical.,” she said. “There's about 200 members of the House that have never voted on the Farm Bill and about a quarter of the Senate who have never voted on the Farm Bill. It is obviously our job as staff to educate the members, but we really rely on industry to do exactly what the AHC does, come to D.C., and meet with committee staff and members of staff that are off the committee. At the end of the day, it takes 218 votes in the House to pass the Farm Bill.”

The second half of the webinar was a discussion on “Right to Repair” led by Emily Stearns, Health, Welfare, and Regulatory Affairs Liaison for the AHC, and Emily Buckman, Director, Government Affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

“Right to Repair” is a consumer protection that allows a person to freely modify and repair products such as automobiles, electronics, and farm equipment. National concerns associated with a consumer's “Right to Repair” center around a manufacturer's ability to limit access to repair manuals and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, as well as high costs and wait times associated with waiting for manufacturer certified technicians to complete repairs.

Currently, manufacturers can void warranties if a consumer is found to have repaired their personally-owned property. While there is no Federal “Right to Repair” legislation, some areas such as Colorado have passed rules at the state level.

The discussion explored the current “Right to Repair” protections that exist, including Memorandum's of Understanding (MOUs) recently finalized between AFBF and several equipment manufacturers that help protect owners of agriculture equipment.

The webinar closed with Julie Broadway, AHC President, highlighting the importance of the AHC's Equine Economic Impact Study in helping to educate lawmakers at the federal level on the national impact of the horse industry. The results of the current study will help all those involved with horses across the country impress upon their local and federal legislators the importance of including horses in critical funding initiatives like the 2023 Farm Bill. The surveys collecting information for the Economic Impact Study run through the end of September 2023 and are open for all horse owners and business owners to complete.

Watch the webinar in its entirety on the AHC's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Y7vnz62pA

The AHC hosts educational webinars quarterly that are open for all to attend. The webinar series helps everyone involved with horses understand a variety of regulatory, legislative, and welfare topics across the industry. To view the most recent webinar recording in its entirety, or to participate in the 2023 AHC Economic Impact Study, visit AHC at horsecouncil.org

The post American Horse Council Reviews Two Farm Bill Issues That Could Impact Horse Owners appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Though colic is often associated with cold weather, warmer weather is no time to ease up on colic-watch vigilance.

In particular, two types of colic are more common in warmer weather, reports EQUUS magazine.

If horses live on fields in an area that experienced rain after a drought, they may be at risk of gas colic. As the grass recovers from the drought, it will produce sugars that can ferment in the horse's digestive tract if he hasn't been turned out on lush grass in a while. 

Gas colic can be very painful for the horse as the bubbles work their way through the digestive tract. Diagnosed by rectal palpation, gas colic is often resolved with a dose of buscopan or flunixin meglumine. Time is usually all that is needed to resolve a gas colic, but a large gas bubble can cause intestines to twist, which will cut off blood flow and require surgical intervention. 

Gas colic can best be prevented by careful management of grazing time when pastures are growing, either after winter or after a drought.

Another hot weather concern is that a horse may become dehydrated due to copious amounts of sweating or reduced water intake. Combined with dry pasture grass or hay, and the risk of impaction colic rises. 

These impactions often occur in the pelvic flexure, which is where the large intestine loops back on itself. A horse with an impaction colic may seem mildly uncomfortable to extremely painful if the blood supply to the intestine has been compromised.

Diagnosed by rectal exam, the horse will often be given pain medication, nasogastric fluids, and possibly intravenous fluids to rehydrate him and soften the blockage, hopefully allowing it to clear on its own. If it does not, the horse may need surgery to remove the mass. 

Impaction colic can best be prevented by ensuring horses have plenty of fresh water at all times. 

Read more at EQUUS magazine.

The post Summer Colic: What To Watch For, And How To Lower Your Horse’s Risk appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky., is happy to announce that the gutsy filly, Bold and Bossy, arrived at the farm on July 20, 2023, to enjoy her retirement.

Bred by Richard Snyder and Connie Snyder, Bold and Bossy, who is by Strong Mandate–Happybirthdaybaby, by Successful Appeal, was foaled on May 6, 2019 in Kentucky, and retires with a career record of one win, two thirds, and $21,784 in earnings in six career starts.

However, the story of Bold and Bossy, who is owned by Bantry Farms and was trained by Michael Ann Ewing, goes beyond her short racing career. In fact, her story begins before her first official race when she went on an unexpected adventure.

It happened on Aug. 21, 2021. As she was heading to the starting gate at Ellis Park for her first race as a 2-year old, something spooked her, she started bucking, and threw her jockey, Miguel Mena, to the dirt.

She then began running down the track, jumped a fence, and found herself running out on the highway for a reported 30 minutes, startling many drivers along the way, before horsemen from the track caught up to her, calmed her down, and brought her back to her barn.

However, that wasn't the end of this filly's adventure. Later that night, the barn she was in caught fire. Thankfully, all of the horses in it were saved, however, she was the only horse to suffer some burns.

For many horses, that would have been the end of her racing career. But, this gutsy filly seemed determined to make a comeback, and after some down time, she happily resumed her training.

Finally, almost a year later, on July 5, 2022, she returned to the track for a maiden special weight race at Belterra Park. The fact that she even made it back to race is a great story, but Bold and Bossy went one better, and finished third – in the money – out of eight horses that day.

Then, to add even more to her storybook career, on Aug. 8, 2022, at Thistledown, Bold and Bossy ran in another maiden special weight race and came away with a one-length victory to complete her amazing comeback.

Bold and Bossy ran in four more races after that: one more in 2022, when she finished third in an allowance race on Sept. 13 at Thistledown, and three out of money finishes in 2023. She was then retired.

Her trainer, Michael Ann Ewing, then contacted Old Friends to ask if they could retire her to the farm.

“She deserves a forever home,” wrote Michael Ann Ewing when she contacted Old Friends. “I don't think she can stand up to the rigors of racing mentally and would run at a lower level. I'm not sure that her scarred back would hold up for someone who might want to ride her for a couple hours, so I have not sought out a retirement placing as a future show or just riding horse. She is pretty well known and in the year that followed what she went through; people would just call to stop by and see her. She gained a lot of interest on Facebook at the time with quite a few followers.”

Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends, happily agreed to retire her to the farm, and the filly is now settling into her new life of retirement at Old Friends.

“She is bold, bossy, and beautiful,” said Blowen. “We're very grateful to Michael for allowing us to care for her lovely filly. She's got quite a story and we'll never tire of telling it.”

Read more about Bold and Bossy's trainer in this Paulick Report feature: In Their Care: Viral Filly's Trainer Went From Show Horses To Racing, Keeps Learning

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Presque Isle Downs will have a race on July 26 to honor the remarkable career of Stevis Man. The big chestnut gelding amassed 26 career wins during his racing career of which 20 of those victories were at Presque Isle Downs.  Needless to say Stevis Man accumulated quite a fan base at the Erie, Pa., track over the years.

Stevis Man was retired to the R.A.C.E. Fund, Inc., a non-profit organization, after his last race on Oct, 24, 2022. After some letdown time, Stevis Man was sent to Thoroughbred Placement Resources in Upper Marlboro, Md., to eventually begin retraining for a second career.

Both R.A.C.E. Fund and Thoroughbred Placement Resources are accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

“We are just taking our time with Stevis Man – – aka Stevie and letting him show us the way to what discipline he wants to do, and right now he seems to be taking a liking to dressage,” stated R.A.C.E. Fund president Marlene Murray.

“Kim Clark at Thoroughbred Placement Resources is an excellent rider and equestrian and we are fortunate to work with her,” Murray added. “She and Stevis Man are like poetry in motion in the ring.  He is such a nice horse, kind, smart, willing to learn and remarkably sound after 74 lifetime starts.  He is the whole package and deserves nothing but the best.”

“We would like to thank Presque Isle Downs and especially racing secretary Alan Plever for honoring Stevis Man in this way and all of his fans who followed him during his long and amazing career,” said Murray.

A video will be displayed on the track TV screens of Stevis Man since his retirement. Stevis Man may compete in the Retired Racehorse Project Makeover in Lexington, Ky., in October.

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