A study funded by the Oak Tree Charitable Foundation will be launched in Southern California to help racetrack veterinarians who use MRIs decipher what the images are telling them. The study will use 23 Thoroughbreds Dr. Tim Grande, the chief official veterinarian of the California Horse Racing Board, has deemed lame in their fetlock. The lame horses will be chosen from a pool of horses that are a morning-of or race-day scratch; those that are lame in the test barn or after a scheduled work or race; or those that have a voided claim.

A group of 23 control horses that show no signs of lameness will also be used; these horses will be similar in age, sex, and class to the lame horses. Researchers will be looking for changes in density within the proximal sesamoid bones and distal cannon bone, swelling in the cannon bone, and bone bruising. Each of these relates to fetlock failure and condylar fracture.

Though the MRI is not new, there is still skepticism about what it can “tell” veterinarians. Researchers hope the study will increase belief in the machine's ability to assist horses and their owners.

Read more at TDN.

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Four related Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission (DTRC) rulings in the case involve a gelding named Food and Wine (War Front) who was disqualified from a June win because of a drug overage.

After returning sore from that victory because of a bowed tendon that a veterinarian said required eight to 12 months off, Food and Wine was put back into training in September and purportedly drugged in an attempt to mask lameness and get the gelding off the restricted list.

But instead of being cleared to race based on that supervised workout, Food and Wine again pulled up lame.

According to the rulings, a veterinarian then reported the series of incidents to the stewards.

As a result, after appearing at an Oct. 15 stewards' hearing and waiving his right to counsel, owner Jose Luis Rosales, 37, has been fined $2,500 and suspended 30 days.

Trainer Linda Manchio, 76, who did not appear at her hearing, has been fined $2,500 and suspended 30 days. The Oct. 15 DMTC ruling against her stated that she has not been to Delaware Park all year despite stabling and starting horses there.

Assistant trainer Belinda Manchio, 58, whom the Delaware Park stewards deemed to have been the licensee in charge of the day-to-day care for Food and Wine, attended her hearing, waived her right to counsel and was fined $1,000 and suspended 15 days.

TDN could not immediately reach Rosales or either of the Manchios for comment. It was unclear if appeals were in the process.

Here's how the allegations unfolded according to the four DTRC rulings (three dated Oct. 15 and one from Aug. 5):

Five-year-old Food and Wine, with a 2-for-15 record, wired a June 2 turf allowance at Delaware Park. At one point in the race, the 14-1 shot opened up a 10-length lead under jockey Tomas Mejia (who has since been suspended 10 years by New Jersey regulators for using an electrical shocking device in a race at Monmouth Park).

But after Food and Wine coasted home by four lengths at the wire, he “returned sore and was placed on the State Veterinarians List,” three of the Oct. 15 DTRC rulings stated.

Then, according to the rulings, on June 14, “the Practicing Veterinarian performed an Ultrasound on Food and Wine [that] reveled a 50% tear in his tendon (Bowed Tendon). The Veterinarian recommended 8 to 12 months off to recover.”

Subsequently, on Aug. 5, the stewards ruled that Food and Wine had tested positive for an overage of methocarbamol, a Class 4 and Penalty Category C skeletal muscle relaxant, after his June 2 win. Linda Manchio waived her right to have a split sample tested. Food and Wine was DQ'd from the win and Linda Manchio was fined $1,000.

Meanwhile, instead of getting the time away from the track that the practicing veterinarian had recommended, Food and Wine was instead placed back into training. He breezed three furlongs in :38 at Delaware Park on Sept. 25.

One of the DTRC rulings states that the gelding's owner, Jose Luis Rosales, “contacted the State Veterinarian to schedule a breeze in order for Food and Wine to be removed from the Vets List and be eligible to race.”

That workout was scheduled for Oct. 3. According to the ruling, “Food and Wine worked a half-mile in :50.60 and pulled up lame. Food and Wine remained on the Vets List.”

After the stewards began investigating, it was revealed in the ruling that, “Food and Wine was treated in August with Prednisolone Pills and Naquasone Powder. Owner Jose Luis Rosales ordered the treatment of Naquasone on Sept. 27 and an injection of Dexamethasone on Sept. 27 and 28 [in the] days prior to Food and Wine's workout.”

The ruling continued: “Stewards determined that the ordered treatment[s] by Mr. Rosales for Food and Wine were to take away any lameness so that Food and Wine could work and be removed from the Vets List to race.”

One of the Oct. 15 rulings noted that “Trainer Linda Manchio shall bear primary responsibility for the proper care, health, training, condition, safety and protection of horses in her charge.”

The ruling also stated that, “During testimony in this matter, Trainer Linda Manchio has not been to Delaware Park in 2021, her stable has been in the care of her Assistant Trainer Belinda Manchio. Linda Manchio did not follow the recommendation of her Practicing Veterinarian for Food and Wine.”

Belinda Manchio's ruling stated that the stewards determined she “shall assume the same duties and responsibilities as imposed on a registered Trainer” for the “proper care, health, training, condition, safety and protection of horses in her charge.” The ruling noted that she, too, “did not follow the recommendation of her Practicing Veterinarian.”

All three Oct. 15 rulings stated that the conduct of the suspended licensees “does adversely affect the public's confidence in the reputation of Thoroughbred racing in Delaware and is not in the best interest of horse racing.”

As an owner, Rosales has five wins from 29 lifetime starters dating to 2019.

Linda Manchio's record on Equibase dates to 1976, the oldest year available for training stats in that database. She has 192 wins from 2,254 starters during that time, but had no starters between 2003 and 2020. There are no other rulings listed against her in The Jockey Club's rulings database.Att

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Steve Kraus is an American Farriers Association, Certified Journeyman Farrier who has been the head of Farrier Services and a Sr. Lecturer of Large Animal Surgery, at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the instructor of the Farrier School there since 2010. Prior to that, he worked for over 40 years in his own farrier business in Central New York. He is known for troubleshooting lame, injured and underperforming horses and has shod horses of practically every breed and discipline. He has lectured to farriers, veterinarians and horse owners all over the US, Canada, South America and Europe. He has been a featured speaker at the International Hoof Care Summit, Laminitis Conference, Equine Affaire and the American Farriers Association Convention. Steve has written many articles published in the American Farriers Journal, The Horse Journal and The Professional Farrier. In 2016, he was inducted into the International Farriers Hall of Fame.

The Cornell Equine Seminar Series is presented by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's Equine Hospital, the New York State 4-H Horse Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension. Held monthly, equine experts present on important equine health and management topics. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.

Read more here.

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Therefore, the goal of a recent research project, conducted by researchers in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, was to gather data regarding horse use and care in Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) affiliated therapeutic horseback riding programs in the United States to help establish a foundation for a standard of care.

A 20-question survey sent to 659 PATH Intl. affiliated therapeutic horseback riding programs returned a 40 percent response rate. Demographics demonstrated that the average number of horses in each program was 10; geldings outnumbered mares; most horses were between 16 and 20 years of age; and Quarter Horse or stock-type breeds predominated.

The average session length was 8 weeks and the average lesson length was 45 minutes. Horses were typically ridden by clients 4 days each week and 2 hours each day. Most horses were donated to the programs, participated for approximately 7 years, and left because of aging. Limb lameness and back soreness were the top health issues noted, with only a small percentage of colic and ulcers reported. More horses received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for a lameness issue, chiropractic adjustment, and massage than any other supplemental care or complementary therapy.

Based on data gathered in this survey, therapeutic horseback riding horses were not worked excessively. Horses were ridden less than PATH Intl.'s maximum recommendation of 6 hours each day and 6 days each week. Horses in therapeutic horseback riding programs also appeared to have fewer reported health issues as compared with data in other national reports. The abstract is available here.

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Drs. Adelle Bowden, Polina Boynova, Marnie Louise Brennan, Gary England, Sarah Freeman, John Burford, Tim Mair and Wendy Furness found that 35 percent (923) of the emergency calls were placed for colic issues; after-hours calls for wounds encompasses 511 calls (11 percent). Emergency calls for lameness accounted for 288 calls (11 percent). Most of the calls (58 percent) needed only a single treatment, but a quarter of the calls needed follow-up treatments.

According to the veterinarians, only 480 of the 2,602 cases were considered critical; 43 percent of those were related to colic. In total, 13 percent of the horse's emergency calls were made for were euthanized. It is unclear if this was related to acute disease or the deterioration of a pre-existing condition.

The study team noted that many of the emergency calls had critical outcomes and the majority were euthanized. They note that this is an important welfare concern that requires additional investigation.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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The webinars include:

• Sept. 9: The Abnormal Larynx: Options when a horse makes a noise
• Sept. 16: Sarcoids: Effective treatment options for the various types of sarcoids, including budget and physical location considerations.
• Sept. 21: Headshaking: Arriving at a diagnosis, differentiating between true headshaking and behavioral issues and treatment options.
• Sept. 30: Wound management: The latest advances in wound healing, as well as beneficial topical therapies.
• Oct. 7: Lameness: Which leg hurts, which block to use, management and outcome

The webinars can be bought individually or as a package; recorded webinars will be available after the completion of the last in the series.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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