February 21, 2020
By Jason Hanna and Stella Chan
A 4-year-old horse was euthanized (click here) Thursday at California's Santa Anita Park after suffering a fracture in training, becoming at least the seventh horse to die at the famed complex in 2020 and eighth of its racing season....
I suggest insurance fraud. Many horses are insured for their value. Not every horse can run a good race, but, the horse doesn't know that and will run to end their life to satisfy their trainers, owners and jockeys. It needs to be investigated beyond the fact the horses were euthanized for humane reasons.
Do you know in the University of Pennsylvania has a horse hospital called the New Bolton Center (click here). They even set broken legs for horses. I thought any sincere race horse is valued for their genetic contribution to the breed. It makes little sense to write off the losses if there was no sincere effort to assess, protect and recover a horse. There is something very wrong here.
The New Bolton Center even has a field serve that makes house calls.
The William Boucher Field Service (click here) at New Bolton Center provides routine and emergency health care for equine and food animal clients. The group's specialists offer preventative health care, reproductive services, evaluation and treatment of lameness, medical and surgical disorders, on-farm diagnostic services, and emergency services.
We are a fully equipped ambulatory practice that services all equids, cattle, and some small ruminants. Our goal is to care for our client’s animals with expert knowledge, state-of-the-art equipment, and compassion while providing clinical training to veterinary students. We strive to bring the best of primary and emergency care to our patients.
What is the issue with the dead horses? Seems like poor management from the time they are born. It isn't right. I just isn't right.
February 21, 2020By Graham Dench
The New Market Stallion (click here) - Large sculpture depicting a stallion, rearing up beside its handler.
An ambitious and innovative five-year plan (click here) drawn up by the Horse Welfare Board with "respect for the horse" at the heart of it has received a broad welcome from racing's often divided interests.
In what is being described as a pivotal moment for racing, the 130-page document, released Feb. 20 and titled "A Life Well Lived," proposes a strategic five-year plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing and commits to a lifetime of responsibility, measuring quality of life and well-being from birth to death and making use of unprecedented data to minimize injury and manage safety....
In Great Britain, former race horses still live on to enjoy a purpose other than running.During her visit, she was reunited with two of her former racehorces, Quadrille and Barbers Shop
Imagine that, actually remembering the good ole days with a four legged friend. It is called quality of life.
February 21, 2020
By Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
Roaring, or laryngeal hemiplegia, (click here) describes a condition in horses in which one side of the larynx (voice box) becomes paralyzed. Thoroughbreds and draft horses are more commonly affected, with reports suggesting up to 64% and 42% of those breeds, respectively, have varying degrees of hemiplegia.
“Because the paralyzed side of the larynx droops down into the airway of exercising horses, these animals produce a characteristic ‘roaring’ sound, prompting further evaluation,” said Ali Broyles, DVM, Dipl. ACVS (Large Animal), currently with Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery, in Weatherford, Texas. “The test of choice is endoscopy, which involves passing a camera through the nasal passages to directly view the back of the throat and larynx.”
Based on what a veterinarian observes during that endoscopic examination, a grading system introduced in 2003 helps categorize horses based on degree of paralysis. A grade of I describes horses with no abnormalities. Those with a maximum grade of IV have complete paralysis of laryngeal components, including the arytenoid cartilages and vocal folds.
“The treatment goal for horses diagnosed as roarers is to open the airways, ensuring the arytenoid cartilages and vocal folds no longer droop,” said Broyles....
...Key findings Broyles reported include:
- Horses with Grade III.2 and III.3 had a 1.83 times higher chance of returning to racing than horses with Grade IV;
- Horses with Grade IV required more time to return to racing compared to the Grade III horses; and,
- Grade of laryngeal hemiplegia didn’t influence a horse’s average postoperative race earnings.
There are just some things related to capitalism that require regulation.
