Tag: Horse Care

Hay can be hard on horses with allergies; the dust they inhale can wreak havoc on sensitive respiratory tracts. 

Though both steaming and soaking hay can be beneficial in removing dust, only steaming also removes the bacteria and mold that can also be present in hay, Dr. Kelly Vineyard tells The Horse. Soaking hay can actually increase bacteria loads found in the hay. The longer the hay is soaked, the more bacteria proliferate. 

Though steaming decreases mold, the clinical results of feeding steamed hay over soaked hay have been inconsistent, so additional management changes, including medical treatments as recommended, should take place to keep the horse comfortable. 

Commercially available steaming units are easy and safe to use; all that's needed is an outlet and a hose to connect the steamer. Many units can handle an entire bale of hay at a time; they heat the hay to 212 degrees F, which can take between 60 and 90 minutes. 

If horse owners or caretakers don't have access to a steamer, soaking hay can reduce dust. One effective method is to submerge a full haynet in a large muck tub filled with water for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain the net for 5 to 10 minutes, discard the water and feed the hay immediately to prevent excessive bacterial growth. 

Read more at The Horse.

The post Is Steaming Or Soaking Hay Best For An Equine With Allergies? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is continuing to monitor an outbreak of strangles which began with a 3-year-old Thoroughbred filly at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Fayette County, Ky., according to an update posted to the Equine Disease Communication Center's website on Thursday afternoon.

On April 15, the index case presented with a swollen lymph node without signs of an elevated temperature. On April 18, laboratory results confirmed the organism responsible for causing strangles; the filly was unvaccinated against the disease.

Thursday's update indicates that an epidemiologic investigation has revealed the potential for the outbreak to reach two other facilities, Keeneland Race Course and a private training facility in Fayette County. The full update from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is as follows:

“The epidemiologic investigation continues, and after extensive testing of horses identified as having potential opportunity of exposure, we are in position to provide updated information and the current status of racing in Kentucky. We have one trainer that has/had horses in training on three separate premises.
Premises 1: All horses (19 under care of 2 trainers) in the affected barn at The Thoroughbred Center, were sampled and PCR testing identified one additional positive horse that was stabled next to the index case. Both positive horses have been removed from The Thoroughbred Center and remain isolated at a separate facility. Ten (10) horses under the care of the second trainer were all found negative. Horses in this affected barn will remain under quarantine and are being monitored daily for any signs of illness. The horses are bright, alert, responsive and remain healthy. The group of horses will be resampled next week.
Premises 2: The same trainer had nineteen (19) horses stabled in a barn at Keeneland Race Course. These horses were each examined yesterday morning and samples collected. Following the samples being collected, the horses were moved offsite to a private isolation where they remain under quarantine and daily monitoring. PCR testing on this group of horses identified one asymptomatic horse as having a low level of S.equi DNA. Testing of the horses under the care of the other two trainers were reported to be PCR negative. These horses do remain under quarantine, are being monitored daily and will be resampled next week. All horses continue to be bright, alert, responsive and remain healthy.
Premises 3: The same trainer has eight (8) horses in a single barn on a private training facility in Fayette County. An additional trainer has nineteen (19) horses stabled in this barn. These twenty-seven (27) horses were examined yesterday at the time of sampling. Nasal pharyngeal washes were collected from each horse late yesterday and submitted for PCR testing. Results from this testing will be reported later today.
As described above, we have tested multiple horses under the care of several trainers at each of the above premises and have found no evidence of the disease-causing organism beyond those horses under the care of the single trainer. The extensive monitoring continues and with the cooperation of our trainers, attending veterinarians, and horsemen we remain confident in receiving horses from The Thoroughbred Center (TTC) to enter and race at Keeneland. Horses originating from TTC are being examined by their veterinarian the morning of shipping and are accompanied with a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection stating the animals present no evidence of illness.”

The upper respiratory disease commonly referred to as strangles is caused by Streptococcus equi subsp equi. Strangles is spread from horse to horse through direct contact. Horses can also contract the disease by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. The disease is highly infectious.

For more information go to: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/strangles.

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The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding, has announced the winners and other placings from its 2022 performance awards program and the T.I.P. / United States Polo Association (USPA) annual polo awards.

The performance awards recognize Thoroughbreds accumulating the most points at all horse shows and cover a wide variety of disciplines and experience levels. In 2022, 725 Thoroughbreds from 44 states and five provinces competed in more than 15,000 classes, divisions, and events. Division awards were calculated in 14 categories as well as 91 discipline divisions and eight junior rider divisions. Category and division awards included the Green OTTB category for Thoroughbreds that last raced in 2020, 2021, or 2022, with generous sponsorship for these awards provided by Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA). Winners of the performance awards will receive ribbons, prize money, and a variety of prizes, including coolers, halters, bags, tumblers, keychains, and apparel. The complete list of winners and participants is available at tjctip.com/PerformanceAwardsWinners.

State-bred performance awards were sponsored by Racehorse Minnesota, Woodbine, and Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association. In addition to the category and division awards, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) sponsored a performance award for horses adopted from TAA-accredited organizations, and the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) provided awards for top-placing RRP Makeover alumni.

The winners of each category can be found below:

Category		Name (state bred) “Show name” Pedigree		Rider Name (State)
Dressage		Finley's Fortune (WV) “Awkward Silence” 2014 chestnut mare Smarty Jones – Lite Write		Elisabeth (Bitsy) Gascoigne (OH)
English Pleasure Halter/Model/In-Hand Hunter Western		Crazy Man (NY) “Chocolate Delight” 2005 bay gelding Western Borders – Big Fat Moose		Reba Merritt (VA)
Eventing/Combined Test		Plain Brown Wrap (IL) 2002 dark bay/brown gelding Mt. Magazine – Sister Gust		Rebekah Bartley (VA)
Equitation		Positively True (KY) 2006 dark bay/brown mare Yes It's True – Postulant		Cade Pearson (GA)
Endurance/Competitive Trail		Stolen Track (FL) 2013 dk bay/brown mare Mast Track – Shwoensthemoment		Deborah Morse, Alison Morse (FL)
General		Algezir (KY) “Epilogue” 1999 bay gelding Northern Spur (IRE) – Shared Reflections		Ashleigh Ramey Glorioso (VA)
Jumper		Flying Eagle (KY) 2012 bay gelding City Zip – Sweet Problem		Ashley Vaught (IN)
Online Horse Shows		Kisstheothercheek (MD) 2012 bay mare Outflanker – It's in His Kiss		Kelly Hart (GA)
TCA Green OTTB – Last Raced 2022		Castle Bound (WV) 2013 bay gelding Windsor Castle – Bound To		Michelle Knoblauch (WV)
TCA Green OTTB – Last Raced 2021		Lil B Quick (FL) 2015 bay mare Graeme Hall – Aiden's Lil Devil		Haley Kenevan (WI)
TCA Green OTTB – Last Raced 2020		This Is Me (KY) 2017 bay gelding Doctor Chit – Talking Audrey		Heath Gunnison (KY) Owned by RAH Bloodstock
Minnesota-bred sponsored by Racehorse Minnesota		Eurosonice (MN) “Mercedes” 2007 bay mare Eurosilver – Must Be Nice		Alyssa Turnquist (WI)
Ontario-bred sponsored by Woodbine		A Hotty at Noon (ON) “Nosy Parker” 2009 chestnut ridgling Wake at Noon – Erika is a Hotty		Michelle Hannan (OH)
Washington-Bred sponsored by Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association		Back to Wine (WA) 2010 chestnut gelding Baqeuro – Wine at Dawn		Christina Klein (OK)

To recognize Thoroughbreds that have excelled in a career as a polo horse, T.I.P. and USPA created the T.I.P./USPA Thoroughbred Polo Awards in 2020. Applicants for the award must demonstrate how the Thoroughbred has successfully transitioned into and exceled in its career as a polo pony. The winners of the third annual polo awards are as follows:

Category		Name (state bred) “Current name” Pedigree		Owner Name (State)
Lesson Horse		Rosie's Nature (WV) “Rosie” 2006 bay mare Valiant Nature- Fior Di Castagna		Hugo Pasten (WV)
Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) Horse		Avalanche Dancer (AZ) “Dancer” 1998 bay mare Dance Centre – Golden Avalanche		Polodeo Ranch LLC (CA)

Performance awards will be available once again in 2023 and will be based on results in shows from December 1, 2022, through November 30, 2023. For 2023, two disciplines have been upgraded from a Division to a Category (Barrel Racing and Western Dressage) and two existing Divisions were split into zones (Second Level Dressage and Amateur Owner Hunter). The deadline for submissions is December 20, 2023. Forms are available at tjctip.com/About/TBPAF.

Created and announced in October 2011, T.I.P. recognizes and rewards the versatility of the Thoroughbred through sponsorship of Thoroughbred classes and high point awards at sanctioned horse shows, performance awards, a recreational riding program, Championship horse shows and non-competition awards. Additional information about T.I.P. is available at tjctip.com and on the T.I.P. Facebook page at facebook.com/tjctip.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It founded America's Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing, and in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, operates OwnerView (ownerview.com), the ownership resource. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

About the United States Polo Association  
The U.S. Polo Association was organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo, coordinating the activities of its Member Clubs and Registered Players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions, and games, and providing rules, handicaps, and conditions for those tournaments, competitions, and games including the safety and welfare of participants and mounts. Founded in 1890, the United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo. USPA is currently comprised of almost 300 member clubs with thousands of individual members and oversees 40 national tournaments. For more information, please visit uspolo.org.

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Argentine scientists have edited the genes in an equine embryo, which may allow them to create horses with customized DNA. Dr. Natalia Lucia led the team that used the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technique to genetically alter the cells that then were used to create edited cloned embryos, reports EQUUS magazine. 

CRISPR uses bacteria's natural ability to use ribonucleic acid (RNA) to recognize and delete specific DNA sequences found in viruses, destroying the virus and protecting the bacteria from infection. CRISPR has been used to develop mold-resistant crops and cancer-fighting drugs.

The research team removed the myostatin gene from three lines of fetal fibroblast cells. This gene controls muscle composition and growth. When the gene is “downregulated,” the horse will have more muscle mass and be able to run shorter distances faster. 

The cells were then used as donors to generate cloned embryos. The embryos were then cultured in-vitro until they were blastocysts and removal of the myostatin gene was confirmed. The embryos were not implanted into mares. 

There is little risk of knocking out an unintended gene, the research team reports. 

The end-goal of gene editing is to identify advantageous genes found in some horses and incorporate them into other horses to garner the desired characteristics. Additionally, scientists say they will be able to remove or edit disease-causing genes. 

Read more at EQUUS magazine.  

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