Tag: Horse Care

As Churchill Downs faces mounting public pressure in the midst of a spike in equine fatalities, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority told media May 30 “nothing is off the table” in its quest to put a stop to the deaths.

In a video conference, HISA chief executive officer Lisa Lazarus reiterated the organization's statement to media from May 29, noting that the Authority has called in track expert Dennis Moore to make an independent assessment of the racing surface and that an extended meeting is expected to begin this afternoon between veterinarians from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Churchill Downs, and the Authority to learn more about the deaths.

Churchill has seen 12 equine fatalities in racing and training since the start of its current meeting in late April, putting the track ahead of spring meets in 2022 and 2021 which saw a total of nine and eight, respectively. The current meet is set to run into early July.

So far, Lazarus said there's no obvious pattern that links all the fatalities to any one trigger, though the veterinary summit that begins today will review training and veterinary records to see if there's a common factor that may not be readily apparent from a horse's past performance record. Because necropsy reports take three to four weeks to come back, the veterinary teams will be working without the benefit of necropsy reports on all 12 horses.

Racing and training fatalities are believed by experts to be multi-factorial events in which a series of risk factors converge on one horse.

Many racing fans have questioned whether the Authority could or should shut down racing at Churchill while fact-finding continues. Lazarus said the enabling federal legislation which created HISA does not give the Authority the ability to stop racing activities at a track, but that the Authority can prevent the export of a track's simulcast signal if the facility is found to be in violation of the Authority's safety regulations.

Still, the Authority has been in discussions with officials at Churchill behind the scenes throughout the spring meet.

“I can tell you I've had multiple, long conversations with top-ranked executives at Churchill Downs over the weekend and they're really committed to doing the right thing,” said Lazarus. “My view is that if we were to make a recommendation to Churchill to shut down racing, they would accept that decision.”

And that's not completely off the table, Lazarus said. If there's an ongoing surface issue, it may make sense to pause racing while crews work to repair it. Earlier this month, Mick Peterson of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory analyzed the surface and Lazarus didn't believe at that time a pause in racing was appropriate.

“Given that there was nothing that was flagged or clearly a concern from a surface standpoint, that was not an action we thought was necessary and appropriate at that moment in time but obviously the reason we have the second opinion expert coming in is we want to make sure we're confident in that decision and since racing doesn't resume until Thursday, we have a couple of days to make that analysis,” she said.

It's important to note that Peterson takes measurements of a range of aspects from racing surfaces at tracks around the country and mostly seeks to compare a track's existing readings to its own previous readings. Horses' bones remodel in response to the workload and surface they're accustomed to, and changes in a surface can have an impact on that remodeling. Lazarus said Peterson's readings don't show changes in Churchill's surfaces from previous years that did not see this fatality rate, but that as a scientist, he's not able to officially declare a surface “safe.”

Among the measures that will be considered at the veterinary summit that began Tuesday – an entry review panel similar to what was in place at Santa Anita in the wake of that track's fatality spike in 2019. That panel looked for any red flags that may demonstrate based on past performance or veterinary records that a horse may not be suitable to race. No such panel exists in Kentucky, though the state does require a horse's private veterinarian sign off on a horse's fitness to enter a race.

It's also important to remember that even increased regulatory scrutiny does not always yield concrete answers as to why a fatality spike occurs.

“What I'm confident in is that we have the best people to look at this and to make recommendations,” said Lazarus. “The one thing I'll say is that if you look at the California experience and the breakdowns that were never really quite explained at Santa Anita – which was very different in how they presented to this situation – California put in place quite a number of different policies prospectively that vastly improved their record, at least as I see it. So I'm really hopeful and confident the team we have in place now, if there is genuinely a pattern, something that brings all of these cases together or at least a majority of them, then we will be able to see that.”

The post Lazarus: Nothing – Including A Pause In Racing – Is Off The Table When Addressing Churchill Fatalities appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) announced Tuesday the launch of its new and improved Horse Listings, which had been temporarily shelved while the organization updated its website and improved processes in the back end. The RRP Horse Listings is the only listing service dedicated exclusively to Thoroughbreds at all stages of second careers, from horses just retiring from racing to finished horses in all disciplines with show records, as well as from all backgrounds including both non-profit adoption organizations and private sellers.

On the backend, horse listing information will be linked to a profile for that horse in the RRP's database, and will be linked to any past or future Makeover registry for that individual horse, creating a traceable process to track how horses are moving through second careers. Increasing traceability has been a major goal of the RRP and the new Horse Listings have been designed with that goal in mind, moving towards a long-term goal of creating a database for all Thoroughbreds in second careers.

“Offering exclusive listing services for Thoroughbreds has always been a fundamental part of our mission-based work, but following the update of our website last year we saw an opportunity to leverage these records and start connecting the dots for horses once they exit the racing industry,” said RRP executive director Kirsten Green. “We appreciate everyone's patience as we've taken the time needed to build the infrastructure and thoughtful features that bring added value to our community, and we're proud to lay a foundation to improve traceability in the future.”

While the RRP Horse Listings remain a free service for all to use, upgrades to individual ads and services are now available, including premium listings and a subscription model for businesses, entities or organizations who list multiple horses throughout the year. Discounts on annual subscriptions are available for TCA grant recipient organizations, TAA-accredited organizations, and Right Horse partner organizations. The Scholarship program has also launched with the RRP Horse Listings, giving listing connections the opportunity to credit final entry fees for the Thoroughbred Makeover with funds held in escrow by the RRP.

Visit the RRP Horse Listings at TheRRP.org/horse-listings.

About the Retired Racehorse Project: The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is a 501(c)3 charitable organization working to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world. In addition to producing the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the world's largest and most lucrative retraining competition for recently-retired racehorses, the organization also publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, produces the Master Class retraining clinic series, and presents programming at major horse expos and events around the country. The RRP maintains an educational library of content to empower more equestrians to ride a Thoroughbred.

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Working with a horse multiple times your body weight and fitness requires strength and confidence in your abilities. There are times that you need a little more support than just a lead rope or a chain can offer. That's when the use of twitching might come into play.

Twitching is a method used with horses to help organically subdue them without the use of drugs. Most often you'll see grooms using a twitch on a horse's lip for basic veterinary procedures or clipping. Twitching causes endorphins that kick in as soon as the twitch is activated and subside once the twitch is removed, thus eliminating any grogginess for the horse, as well as eliminating the concerns for any drug showing up in a test.

The most common location for a twitch is the upper lip, but there's also the less common ear twitch. Twitching the ear entails a strong grip with a slight twist in the ear.

“There are many methods of equine restraint that have been used for hundreds of years and are effective when used calmly, with tact and empathy with the horse, especially in a horse which is not already severely stressed,” said Dr. Sue Dyson, scientific advisor to the Saddle Research Trust and Moorcroft Rehabilitation Centre in the United Kingdom. “We know that a nose twitch, performed manually with a hand or with the aid of 'a twitch' results in the release of endorphins in the horse's brain which result in the induction of calmness in a majority of horses. It has been likened to the use of acupuncture. If the effect of endorphins is blocked by an antagonist drug which blocks the action of endorphins the nose twitch is not efficacious. However, a minority of horses become extremely tense and may become explosive, so it is imperative to watch each individual horse's reaction. Moreover, the effectiveness of a nose twitch is usually much less if a horse is already heavily stressed.”

Dr. Dyson explains that in an experimental study, 12 riding school horses were divided into two groups–six treated by the application of a nose twitch and six having a manual ear twitch (Flakoll, B. et al. 2016). The heart rate, heart rate variability and salivary cortisol concentrations were measured as indicators of stress. (These horses allegedly had never had a twitch applied previously.) The horses' reactions to handling of the head were assessed before and for several weeks afterwards.

“It was concluded that the application of an ear twitch may subdue a horse temporarily, but probably that this is through fear or stress,” says Dr. Dyson. “Moreover, an ear twitch induced a degree of head shyness which persisted for several weeks. However, the nose twitch induced stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system and did not in the short term induce stress or alter reactions to handling of the head in most horses.  It was concluded that the use of a nose twitch could be endorsed, but an ear twitch should not be condoned.”

The concern with using the ear twitch is the increased propensity of head shyness in the horse later in his life/career. Head shyness can make a horse more difficult in the barn or when it comes to applying tack, grooming and veterinary procedures, let along actions in the starting gate.

“With any method of handling a horse's head, done badly, without tact and empathy, especially in a horse which is already stressed, there is the potential to induce head shy behavior,” said Dyson. “In (that) small study, it was demonstrated that horses which had been ear twitched showed persistent behavioral changes when the head was handled over the next several weeks.”

So, is all twitching bad? Not exactly, says Dr. Dyson. Just as with anything done with horses, if nose twitching is done poorly or without regard to the safety and comfort of the horse, that, too, can induce behavioral changes. However, for smaller grooms and handlers, it can help increase the safety of handling bigger, more powerful Thoroughbreds.

“We need to rethink how horses learn and how with appropriate training, often with positive reinforcement, horses can be rapidly trained by someone with knowledge, skill and quick reactions, to accept potentially aversive stimuli (for example intravenous injections) and to respond appropriately to a handler's cues (for example, for loading for transport),” said Dyson. “Ideally this needs to be practiced in a calm, non-stressful environment, so that when faced with the same situation in a potentially more stressful situation (for example, loading into starting stalls), the horse continues to respond appropriately to the handler's cues. A correct basic training or time spent re-educating are invaluable for safe, effective handling of horses, minimizing stress.

“It is likely that by minimizing stress, a horse is more likely to fulfill its performance potential than if over-stressed.”

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In today's first race, Kimberley Dream sustained a significant injury – a distal sesamodean ligament rupture – to her left front leg. A similar injury occurred to Lost in Limbo during Friday's seventh race. Unfortunately, in both scenarios, attending veterinarians determined that the injuries were inoperable and unrecoverable and made the difficult but most humane decision to euthanize. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to the connections and all who loved and cared for Kimberley Dream and Lost in Limbo.

There have been 12 equine fatalities at Churchill Downs since the stable area reopened for training on March 30. It is with absolute dismay and sorrow that we report this highly unusual statistic. Our team members mourn the loss of these animals as we continue to work together to discover cause and determine appropriate investments to minimize, to the degree possible, any avoidable risk in this sport and on our property. We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public, and in some cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers. We have been rigorously working since the opening of the meet to understand what has led to this spike and have yet to find a conclusive discernable pattern as we await the findings of ongoing investigations into those injuries and fatalities.

As with any matter under investigation, justice or answers are not always swift, but the commitment to being thorough is incredibly important. We understand the justified desire for answers, yet also respect the process and authority of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) when managing these important investigations. We are actively working in cooperation with these regulatory authorities and share their goal to improve the safety of this sport.

In recent weeks, we have been focused on our responsibility to provide the safest racing environment possible on our property. Part of that effort has included increasing the frequency with which our surfaces are tested. Earlier this week, Churchill Downs commissioned Dr. Mick Peterson, Executive Director of Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky, to perform additional diagnostics on our racetrack. The report indicated that the measurements from retesting do not raise any concerns and that none of the data is inconsistent with prior measurements from Churchill Downs or other tracks.

We simply will not allow these equine fatalities to be in vain. We are engaged in an epidemiological study with The Jockey Club to review each individual horse to determine if there are any undetected patterns that have not been previously identified. These findings can be incorporated into our daily review of entries and potentially trigger additional interventions using advanced diagnostic modalities.

Additionally, we have worked to uncover ways to invest in research and resources that may be made available to trainers, so that together we can better detect pre-existing injuries and work to avoid catastrophic injuries in racing. We have made promising progress in determining ways to increase the use of technology to better inform and intervene when abnormalities in horses present and are eager to share these announcements with horsemen and the public in the coming days. This is in addition to mining and enhancing our already comprehensive safety protocols and policies (Churchill Downs “Safety from Start to Finish”), all developed over the years to improve upon every opportunity we have to advocate in the best interest of our equine and human athletes.

We are troubled by this recent string of fatalities. It is extremely inconsistent with the outcomes we have experienced over the years, with the reputation we have developed over the decades and with the expectations we set for ourselves and owe our fans. We are committed to doing this important work and updating the public with our developments.

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