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Study Answers Key Questions About Nocardioform Placentitis, But Etiology Remains Elusive

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Theriogenology reveals more about nocardioform placentitis, a placental infection that has plagued breeders and stud farm managers for decades. Placentitis is believed to account for 19 percent of equine infectious abortions nationwide, but much remains unknown about the disease.

A research team led by Dr. Carleigh Fedorka at the Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., studied 264 mares — 145 who were suspected to have the disease and 119 with apparently healthy pregnancies — and compared characteristics of their pregnancies and resulting foals.

The study found that nocardioform placentitis tends to be associated with older mares, and it isn't contagious between mares in the same turnout group. One episode of nocardioform placentitis does not necessarily presuppose another in the same horse the following year, and mares did not seem to experience abnormal cycles or reduced fertility after a case of nocardioform placentitis. Mares who were given antibiotics and hormones throughout their pregnancies to stave off the disease were no less likely to develop a case of nocardioform placentitis than those who were not.

While one of the most classic symptoms of nocardioform placentitis is abortion, some mares whose placenta indicated they had the illness did produce live foals. The study found those foals were smaller than average, but were otherwise healthy and had normal blood counts at birth.

Interestingly, the size of the placentitis lesion on an infected mare's placenta seemed to vary according to the date of breeding, with mares bred later in spring showing larger lesions.

Nocardioform placentitis is believed to be caused by bacteria, but researchers don't know how the bacteria causes the inflammation of the placenta that's characteristic of the disease. It's characterized by premature mammary gland development, thickened placental and uterine walls on ultrasound, or visible separation of the placenta from the uterine walls on ultrasound. There are several forms of placentitis, but the nocardioform version is accompanied by a thick, brown mucous covering the placenta at the site of the lesion, which prevents the placenta from continuing to support the fetus in some cases. Nocardioform placentitis case numbers seem to sometimes wax and wane across breeding seasons, suggesting that season or weather conditions may play a role in its development.

Read the full study here.

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Transferable Toxin? Study Finds Atypical Myopathy Can Pass In Mare’s Milk

Atypical myopathy is a disorder that affects a horse's muscles and is caused by ingestion of seeds, seedlings, or leaves of some plants in the Acer family. Not all trees in the Acer family contain the toxin, but horse owners and caretakers should be cognizant that the disease is fatal to nearly three quarters of horses that become affected. Some horses are more susceptible to the toxin than others.

If a mare becomes affected by atypical myopathy she may transfer the toxin to her foal. This also places humans who drink mare's milk at risk of contracting the disease. Some Central Asian cultures prefer mare's milk to cow's milk.

In a study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Dr. Johannes Sander investigated a case of atypical myopathy that affected both a mare and newborn foal in Germany. The mare had been grazing in a field next to Acer pseudoplatanus trees (known in the United Kingdom and Europe as a “sycamore” or “sycamore maple” in the States). Upon testing, Sander found that the mare's milk contained hypoglycin A, the toxin implicated in atypical myopathy, as well as significant metabolites.

The research team also examined samples of six different brands of frozen mare's milk available for human consumption across Germany. One of the samples contained metabolites of the toxin. The authors concluded that the toxins can pass through mare's milk to foals or to humans who ingest it. They caution that the same toxins can be found in seeds and unripe fruit from the ackee or lychee, which could potentially harm breast-fed children, and suggest more investigation into the human health implications.

Read the study here.

Mcgrapth Arrested On Charges Of Animal Cruelty In Kentucky Boarding Operation Case

Xavier Mcgrapth, the subject of a criminal complaint of 13 counts of animal cruelty in the second degree, was arrested on April 13, according to an update from the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office in Central Kentucky. Mcgrapth, 24, of Versailles, Ky., came in for an interview regarding the case and was arrested at the conclusion of the interview.

“The Bourbon County Sheriff's Office and the Bourbon County Attorney's Office are working closely together to bring this case to a close,” read a statement from the sheriff's office. “At this time, all horses involved have been removed from the farm and relocated to facilities to best suit the care they need.”

Mcgrapth has yet to be arraigned and is out on a $2,000 bond, according to court and county detention center records.

About two dozen horses were discovered at a property Mcgrapth was leasing off Brentsville Road in various states of neglect in late March. Owners, many of whom were located out of state, told media at the time they had engaged Mcgrapth to board broodmares or young training horses for them after seeing his services advertised through Facebook as McGrapth Breaking and Training and/or Whispering Creek Thoroughbreds.

Read more about the case from our previous reporting here.

The investigation remains active, according to the sheriff's office.

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Ramseys Hit With Two Civil Suits Seeking Nearly $2 Million In Unpaid Training Bills

Multiple Eclipse Award-winning owner/breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey have been hit with a second lawsuit from one of their trainers while in the process of settling a separate suit filed last week by another. Wesley Ward filed suit against the Ramseys in Jessamine County Circuit Court March 19, while Mike Maker filed suit in Fayette Circuit Court a week earlier. Each case centers around just under $1 million in delinquent training bills.

Ward alleges that the Ramseys owe $974,790.40 in unpaid training bills, trainer's portion of winning purses, and interest. Invoices attached to Ward's suit show balances stretching back to June 2020. Although Ward concedes Ramsey has made payments in the months since, with one $50,000 payment days before the lawsuit was filed, the balance has remained in the high six figures throughout that period as training bills continue to mount.

Maker's suit alleges the Ramseys have been delinquent on training bills in his case for “almost four years” and their current balance owed to him is $905,357.29 – down from the $1.25 million they owed last summer. Maker's suit stated the couple promised to pay him in full by the end of 2020, but that did not happen. According to the complaint, Maker said $543,597.26 is more than 90 days past due.

When reached by phone last week, Ramsey said he was surprised to learn Maker had filed suit against him and was eager to work out a deal to pay Maker in full in exchange for the suit being withdrawn. As of press time, Maker's suit remained open per digital court records.

“I thought we had things worked out and I thought I had a schedule to get things worked out on,” said Ramsey, citing his long-standing relationship with the trainer. “I'm shocked. I didn't think he'd file a lawsuit because my assets well exceed what I owe him, by far.

“It's not that I'm not paying, it's just that I guess I'm not paying fast enough. I have never beaten anybody out of a dime.”

Ward and Maker both filed UCC-1 financing statements with the Kentucky Secretary of State to create liens against the horses which had racked up the unpaid invoices. Maker placed liens on 27 horses, while Ward placed liens on a separate group of 44 horses. Both trainers have had some of those horses leave their possession through retirement or claiming, with Maker down to just three still in his barn: Artie's Rose, Risk Manager, and Telephone Talker. Ward's suit seeks a court order to sell the horses named in his lien, with proceeds being applied to the unpaid balance, as well as any ongoing expenses from his day rate of $110.

The Ramseys have won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner four times (2004, 2011, 2013, and 2014) and the award for Outstanding Breeder twice (2013 and 2014). Since 2000, Equibase reports the couple has won 2,217 races from 9,790 starts for total earnings of more than $97 million. Their annual earnings have fallen from their peak in 2013 of over $12 million, and last year the stable brought in $2.3 million from 274 starts. Their Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., was the longtime base for the operation's homebred and centerpiece stallion, Kitten's Joy, who relocated to Hill 'n' Dale in 2018.

Last year, Maker was also one in a long line of horsemen who were carrying outstanding balances by Zayat Stables. Ahmed Zayat filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in September 2020, listing an outstanding balance of $120,921.88 to Mike Maker among other creditors.

Maker trained a number of the Ramseys' graded stakes winners, including Vicar's In Trouble, International Star, Oscar Nominated, Admiral Kitten, Al's Gal, Kitten's Dumplings, Furthest Land, and Shining Copper.

Ward has trained graded stakes winners Artie's Princess, Emotional Kitten, Holiday for Kitten, and Pleasant Prince for the Ramseys. Ward was also tasked with accomplishing Ramsey's goal of getting a winner at Royal Ascot, which Ramsey has yet to attain.

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