Horse Care | Horse Racing Free Tips

Riders Deemed ‘Oversized’ Asked To Dismount at Major Show In England

Amanda Stoddart-West, a welfare officer at the Royal Three Counties Show in England, asked 12 riders to dismount after they were deemed too big for the ponies they were riding and presented an equine welfare risk.

This was the first year the show enforced a rule stating that all riders must be “suitably mounted” after last year's event at which several larger riders were mounted on show ponies, reported Horse & Hound.

Stoddart-West also works for the Great Yorkshire Show, which began enforcing a 20 percent weight limit for all riders seven years ago. Show secretary Betsy Branyan said that a weight limit rule will most likely be enforced in 2024.

The discrepancy in rider height to pony size was unacceptable, says Branyan, though one case was related to weight of the rider to pony size. Though Branyan is proud of the show's efforts to protect equine welfare, Stoddart-West said the reaction to the rider removal was not taken well; some riders had to be asked to dismount more than once.

Stoddart-West said that correctly matched ponies to riders is important to help ensure positive public perception of riding and equine welfare, and that the rider removal was not only to protect the horses' welfare, but to protect the ability to ride horses in the grander scheme by addressing public perception.

Breyer: Winless Racehorse Full Moon Rising A ‘Model’ Thoroughbred

For more than 70 years, the equine model company Breyer has been the premiere brand of horse collectibles, featuring some very famous Thoroughbreds.

There's been popular models of Secretariat, Cigar, Frankel, Zenyatta, Rags to Riches, American Pharoah, Full Moon Rising…

Wait. Who?

That's right, meet Breyer's latest Thoroughbred model Full Moon Rising, or Mooney as he's known now, winless in 10 starts on the racetrack.

Wait. What?

“He won two national championships in two disciplines in the same year but couldn't bother to win a race,” said Mooney's owner Marsha Hartford-Sapp.

Beginning this week, Breyer's Full Moon Rising, a beautiful model of the rare-marking Florida-bred gelding, will be available and will be featured during BreyerFest, a celebration featuring Breyer models that will attract some 30,000 collectors and fans to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

“It's amazing. It's a big thing,” said Hartford-Sapp. “People collect these models from all over the world, little girls, and little boys. Fifty years from now people will still have these models and Mooney will still be in someone's home.”

So how did Full Moon Rising become a Breyer model? Frankly it wasn't for his work on the track. Bred by Betty Jean Cordero and Miracle Hill Farm LLC and owned and trained by Crystal Lanum, Full Moon Rising was winless in 10 starts, two at Gulfstream Park and eight at Tampa Bay Downs in 2019 and 2020. The son of Allamystique's best finish was a sixth. When it came time to retire the gelding, “Crystal wanted to make sure she could find a suitable home for him,” said Hartford-Sapp, a decorated equestrian and former equestrian coach at Florida State University. “I got this horse when they offered to sell him. At the time I was looking for a horse for the Retired Racehorse Project.”

While Full Moon Rising didn't tear it up on the track, he certainly did in other disciplines. In his first year off the track, he was USEF Horse of the Year Western Dressage Open Intro and Western Dressage Suitability, National Champion Western Dressage, and the first Thoroughbred to earn National Pony Cup.

Because of Full Moon Rising's unusual markings and success, Breyer contacted Hartford-Sapp a year ago about the possibility of making Mooney a model. “They seek out interesting horses to make portraits of, and he has very rare markings for a Thoroughbred.”

Officially listed as a chestnut by the Jockey Club, Full Moon Rising is described by Breyer as sporting dramatic splashes of white of his face, chest, belly, and tail, as well as four eye-catching long white stockings.

Hartford-Sapp, who was traveling to BreyerFest earlier this week, said she's looking forward to the model of Full Moon Rising, which will be available beginning this weekend.

“The Thoroughbred is an amazing, incredibly versatile horse,” she said.

And some make great Breyer models.

To order and purchase Breyer's Full Moon Rising, go to: https://www.breyerhorses.com/products/full-moon-rising

The post Breyer: Winless Racehorse Full Moon Rising A ‘Model’ Thoroughbred appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Letter To The Editor: Don’t Overlook Diet’s Role On A Horse’s Well-Being And Performance

To the editor:

I feel compelled to comment on the observations John Ed Anthony of Shortleaf Stables Inc. published in the Paulick Report June 22. My own time frame of observing modern U.S. Thoroughbred racing parallels that of Mr. Anthony and my view from the “backstretch” as an equine veterinarian has fueled a career fascination on the critical impact of nutrition on peak performance on the racetrack. It is my opinion that modern nutritional feeding practices play a significant role in the decline of racetrack appearances and performance.

Newly qualified from University College, Dublin, as a veterinarian in 1968, I was fortunate to intern with the famed veterinarian Dr. William O. Reed. Six months at Belmont Park in New York followed by six months (the breeding season) at Tartan Farm in Ocala, Fla., was a formidable learning experience attending to, among others, the stallion Dr. Fager (winner of four championships in 1968, including Horse of the Year).

This time exposed me to the pinnacle of equine care & oversight for peak performance. My abiding memory is of meticulous care of the horses with particular attention to the quality of hay and oats being used. Indeed, Tartan Farm used bottled Saratoga water for their racehorses. During the late 1960s, the U.S. Jockey Club stats noted that racehorses averaged 12 starts per year – a far cry from today's horses racing in the U.S. who average less than six. Unfortunately, this significant reduction in “starts per year” is not just a U.S.-based problem, but a phenomenon noted worldwide.

The link between modern feeding practices and compromised performance since the 1960s has been curated off an understanding of “what was different” then, as well as a career of observations, clinical practice and scientific review. Fact is, the equine diet of the 1960s was lower in starch and high in fiber. It consisted of oats, minerals, and flaxseed as the “norm.” Hay was the preferred forage.

Today's trainers rely on pre-mixed grain feeds that are higher in starch (ref: Sarah Ralston/Rutgers University – Excess starch causes hind gut acidosis which can lead to fractures), supplemental minerals of questionable efficacy (ref: Krook & Maylin/Cornell University “Racehorses at risk” – excessive calcium in modern diets cause osteochondrosis /osteopetrosis & the assertion that bone pathology rather than racetrack surfaces are the cause of fractures), and use of Soya Bean rather than flaxseed as a protein source.

This change in diet has led to a significant decrease in the omega-3's available to stabled horses and also has a considerable impact on prostaglandin-E production (whose function to prevent “auto-digestion” from the adverse effects of the hydrochloric acid produced during digestion) thus reducing mucus production in the stomach. In short, stabled racehorses today mostly lack the nutritional protection afforded a previous generation of horses. Indeed, the impact has been noted clinically in the widespread increase in equine gastric issues (ref: University of Saskatchewan finding of gastric ulcers in 75% of stabled racehorses at Marquis Downs) and as stated by Anthony “racing fans are missing about half of what they once enjoyed in racing.”

In the last 25 years, I have factored the above issues into my own equine practice dealing with racehorses, showjumpers, show horses & dressage horses. My recent case study, published in The Irish Field (12-03-2022) “Ground breaking gut solution” (https://www.belmontequineproducts.com/post/groundbreaking-gut-solution-from-belmont-equine-products ) highlights that evidenced-based results of nutritional change are apparent in weeks rather than months or years and I continue to be astounded by the synergy of “diet” on well-being & performance.

Dr. Richard McCormick, M.V.B., Dip.Eq.St., M.R.C.V.S.
Licensed Veterinarian (Ireland/UK, ns Kentucky)
Dunboyne, Co.Meath, Ireland

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If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.

The post Letter To The Editor: Don’t Overlook Diet’s Role On A Horse’s Well-Being And Performance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Nighttime Turnout Helpful For Equine Weight Management

Turning out horses after sundown is helpful to avoid both heat and flies, but it can also be used as a tool to combat weight gain, reports The Horse.

When the sun goes down, plants naturally stop photosynthesizing and producing sugar. As the night stretches on, plants use the sugar they produced during the day to grow.

The limited sugar in the grasses is helpful not just for horses that might need to lose weight, but also for horses that have metabolic issues like pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID).

During the summer In North America, plant sugars are lowest at 3 a.m. and begin to increase after sunrise. If night turnout isn't feasible, turning out horses from 6 to 10 a.m. is also an option. Sugar production after 10 a.m. starts to rise.

Night grazing can become an issue once temperatures begin to drop below 40 degrees F, which causes sugar levels in plants to remain high. Once the first hard frost happens, night grazing should be stopped.

The ability to adjust a metabolically challenged horse's turnout schedule to include night or early morning hour-grazing when plant sugars are lowest may allow him to be turned out for longer without compromising his health or necessitating a dry lot.

Because PPID horses often have insulin regulation issues, reducing sugar in these individuals' diets is often beneficial. Along with your veterinarian's advice, limited early morning grazing might be the safest choice for them.

Beware of putting metabolic horses on overgrazed fields, however; if grasses offer no competition for light or water, weeds may grow, which may be higher in sugar than the grasses. Additionally, grasses that are brown, yellow, or dry aren't necessarily safe to graze and may have high sugar content, even though they may look dead.

If horses are turned out at night, it's imperative that fences are safe and secure and that all gates are latched. Fresh water should be available at all times and if insects are biting, fly spray application is recommended. Any diet changes that are made, including turnout onto more-lush pasture, should be done gradually to allow the horse time to adjust.