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Eclipse Award-Winning Writer Steffanus Dies

Eclipse Award-winning writer and longtime Paulick Report contributor Denise Steffanus died June 20 after a long illness. A former trainer, Steffanus specialized in veterinary and horse management topics and served as a contributing editor at the Thoroughbred Times from 1995 until the publication's demise in 2012. Afterwards, she built a successful career as a freelance writer and editor.

A native of Pennsylvania, Steffanus studied journalism at Point Park College but grabbed bylines well before that, writing for her hometown paper at the age of 12. Steffanus prided herself on approaching complex scientific topics with a critical journalist's eye, focusing on the facts even in highly political subject areas. Her thoughtful approach earned her considerable recognition, including the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award in 2011 from the Foundation for Biomedical Research and the 2002 Award for Media Excellence (given by the predecessor of the U.S. Equestrian Federation).

In 2017, her feature on drug contamination published in Trainer magazine garnered the Eclipse Award for News/Enterprise Writing, which she described as “the epitome of my career.”

As a trainer, Steffanus based out of River Downs, where she saddled two winners from 42 starters between 1991 and 1994.

Steffanus signed on as a valued contributor to the Paulick Report's nascent Horse Care section in 2016, focusing on common equine management questions and myths. Her experience as a veteran journalist and hands-on horse person shaped the direction of the section. You can access a full archive of her work here.

No memorial plans have been set at this time.

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Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Carrots?

Many horse owners and caretakers offer their horses treats as a reward or as a sign of affection, and most horses willingly eat the more-traditional treats of apples and carrots. But is there such a thing as too many treats? Can feeding too many harm a horse's health?

Some horse owners feed up to 10 gallons (or more) of carrots to their horses with no ill effects, reporting that the carrots add weight and are a good water substitute. Kentucky Equine Research notes if the horse doesn't have metabolic issues, there is most likely no harm in feeding that quantity of carrots, but there is concern as to if the horse is obtaining all the dry matter and nutrients needed for a healthy diet.

Carrots are primarily water (85 to 90 percent), so they do assist in keeping a horse hydrated. Assuming one five-gallon bucket of carrots is a meal, the horse would be consuming just 1.5 pounds of dry matter, of which 25 percent is water-soluble carbohydrates. As the horse takes a while to eat through the bucket of carrots, the nearly six ounces of sugar and three ounces of soluble fiber from the carrots slowly enters his bloodstream.

The high amount of water could make the horse's manure loose and provides him with a lot of calories, so he may pack on the pounds. Additionally, the horse's coat may develop an orange tint as some of the beta-carotenes are absorbed as carotenes by body tissues. Carrots do not contain significant amounts of other nutrients.

Laurel Park Sees Additional Positive EHV-1 Tests; Barn Restrictions Extended

The Equine Disease Communication Center released the following update on the Laurel Park EHV-1 outbreak on March 20:

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has confirmed additional cases of EHV-1 at Laurel Park Racetrack.

A second horse in the same barn as the index horse began displaying clinical signs of EHV-1 and was confirmed positive on March 15. That horse did not respond to treatment and has been euthanized.

Following the second positive case, MDA Animal Health officials tested the remaining 20 horses housed in the same barn as the two positive horses on March 17. Those tests returned six positive results from asymptomatic horses. All positive horses have been removed from the barn and placed in isolated quarantine offsite.

The original hold order on the four impacted barns has been reset, and horses in the index barn will be retested prior to releasing the order. The department continues to work closely with Laurel Park Racetrack and Maryland Jockey Club to ensure that daily operations are able to continue as safely as possible with minimal disruption.

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Kentucky EHV-1 Update: Two More Horses Found With ‘Trace Amounts’ Of Viral DNA In Nasal Swabs

E.S. “Rusty” Ford, equine operations consultant for the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, released the following update on an EHV-1 outbreak in Woodford County, Ky., on Monday. The outbreak was first announced March 11 after one horse at a training center was hospitalized with neurologic symptoms. On March 12, five more horse horses tested positive.

The additional 24 horses in Barn B of the index EHV-1 affected premises were sampled on Friday due to potential exposure of indirect transmission (riders) having occurred prior to confirmation of the index case. Two horses from this group had a trace amount of EHV-1 DNA detected in the nasal swab and were removed from the barn and segregated on Saturday.

To date, 18 horses in index Barn A and 22 horses in Barn B have had one set of negative test (nasal swab and/or blood) . The last febrile horse was removed from Barn A and placed in isolation on March 10, 2021. There have been no clinical horses in Barn B since the start of the outbreak.

Five of the nine horses in the isolation barn have tested positive with the last fever reported on Friday March 12, 2021. All horses in isolation are being monitored by the attending veterinarian.

A second round of testing is being planned for the horses in barns A, B and Isolation.

The management and staff of the premises continue to implement enhanced biosecurity and health monitoring protocols including multiple daily temperature recordings. Additionally, these enhanced measures have been implemented at other sanctioned training facilities in Kentucky.

Staff from the Office of the State Veterinarian continue to closely monitor the situation.

Appropriate biosecurity and other safeguards are fully implemented at Turfway Park.

Updates will continue to be provided as information is learned.

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