When Second of July springs from the starting gate in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, know that his trainer, Phil Gleaves, is someone to loudly root for. When it comes to selflessness, when it comes to putting fatherhood above all else, he is second to none.
Tag: Horse racing news
Siskin Targeting Breeders’ Cup
Khalid Abdullah’s Siskin (First Defence) is aiming at a run in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 7, provided ground conditions suit.
“The Breeders’ Cup Mile is under serious consideration,” Juddmonte Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe told the TDN. “We’re concerned about two things: one is the amount of rain that’s fallen in Kentucky the last few days; we know he’s a horse that’s best on fast ground so that’s one concern. The other concern is if they continue to race on the turf track leading up to the Breeders’ Cup, if that will impact on the track adversely.
“Those are the main considerations but at the moment the horse is in good form and is aiming towards Keeneland.”
Siskin, the winner of the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and the G1 Phoenix S., is trained by Ger Lyons, who indicated on Nick Luck’s Daily podcast on Wednesday that the horse would be retired at the end of this campaign and stand at stud in Japan. Grimthorpe declined to comment on stud plans. Siskin’s breeding rights were sold in June to an undisclosed group of breeders, with Juddmonte retaining racing rights.
From the immediate family of sires Xaar (GB) and Bated Breath (GB), Siskin was unbeaten in four starts at two last year. After his Curragh Classic score in June Siskin was third in the G1 Sussex S. and fourth in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp after missing the break in the latter.
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OwnerView’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference Postponed to 2021
OwnerView’s seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, already rescheduled three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been postponed until 2021. Originally scheduled for July in Saratoga, it was first postponed to Keeneland and finally moved to Breeders’ Cup week as a virtual conference before the new 2021 date was announced Wednesday.
“Because of the uncertainties of travel and in-person gatherings, we still plan to provide a virtual event for the seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “However, we are rethinking the format to provide engaging and educational content over a period of weeks or even months in 2021 instead of the originally planned two days.”
Details for the 2021 conference will be available soon.
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Horse-Handling Skills Helps Keep Equine Vets Safe
Being a large-animal veterinarian is fraught with danger—vets are often placed in precarious positions where they can be kicked, bitten or worse by the patients they're trying to help. It's estimated that about 80 percent of equine vets have suffered injuries from a difficult horse and 37 percent of those injured have had ongoing pain or a disability from the injury.
It's difficult enough to entice vet students to consider large animal practices; the risk of injury is just another strike against the profession. Gemma Pearson, Melanie Connor, John Keen, Richard Reardon, and Natalie Waran, all students at the University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, are working to create a program to teach vet students horse-handling methods that are based on equine learning theory. It's hoped that this program will reduce the number of vets who don't consider large-animal work or who leave the profession early.
The research team tested the effects of a single lecture that focused on practical learning theory tips for equine vets on pre-final-year vet students. The 45-minute lecture focused on how horses learned; videos were shown that demonstrated how to apply that theory to equine patients.
Examples shown included overshadowing, where the horse is asked to do a task it knows (like stepping backward) to draw attention away from the action the vet is performing, like administering a shot. Using negative reinforcement to get a horse to enter stocks by lightly tapping him with a whip, and stopping as soon as he took a step forward was also included in the lecture .
Students watched videos of “difficult” horses both before and after the lecture; they were also asked questions. After the lecture, the students were more likely to suggest learning theory-based solutions on how to hand the horse. The vet students also indicated that they had greater confidence in their horse-handling skills after the lecture.
The study group concluded that just one lecture had the potential to positively alter students' perception of how to handle “difficult” horses; it may also influence how they deal with difficult horses, thus creating a safer work environment.
The researchers went on to note that horse owners play a key role in keeping vets safe; by teaching their horses to stand still unless asked to move, and to respond to leadrope cues to go forward or backward, they can help veterinarians remain safe on the job.
Read more at Horses and People.
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