• The Front Page

      Study says to get rid of the whip 


      Whipping racehorses is pointless and does not make a difference to the outcome of the race, new research from two University of Sydney veterinarians has revealed.

      The study which has been peer-reviewed and published by the Public Library of Science, investigated the impact of whipping on performance in Thoroughbred races.

      Study co-author and Honorary Associate Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Dr David Evans, said the results offer no support for the retention of whipping in horse racing.

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      The Racing Industry Needs to Take a Stand Against Horse Slaughter 

      Published on 12-03-2011 06:28 AM

      In November, federal lawmakers gave the racing industry a unique opportunity to step into the national spotlight and settle the score on where it stands in relation to the welfare of horses with the passage of HB 2112. The bill, which declined to defund USDA inspections at plants that process horsemeat for human consumption, effectively opened the door for slaughterhouses to resume operations in the United States. And, as the pro-slaughter advocates began championing the economic advantages of horse slaughter in the national media, one key group fell silent – the racing industry.

      Major players in racing didn’t get on CNN and show a concern to help provide funding to improve the quality of life for the existing unwanted equine population in North America as a counter-approach to slaughter. Nor did they point out that slaughterhouses breed for slaughter when they are done extinguishing the “unwanted” population. However, they should have done it. Because, mainstream media would have finally broadcast the long-overdue message that most people in racing love horses, they are concerned for the welfare of the horses and they would travel to the end of the earth to provide the best care for them.

      Full Article: http://thesaturdaypost.org/blog/2011...nst-slaughter/

      Obama administration Oks Horse meat for Americans 

      Published on 11-30-2011 01:01 PM

      They eat horses, don’t they? Just in time for the holidays (and remarkably coincident with the end of the Fall Meet at Churchill Downs), President Obama last week quietly signed a law passed by congress that lifts the 5-year-old ban on federal funding for horse meat inspections; thereby allowing the sale and consumption of viande de cheval.

      And, while it is doubtful that any “Surf & Turf” restaurants here in Louisville will have the audacity to start putting filet d’Mister Ed on the menu, the change in the law may serve to add a sense of urgency to the speed ratings of horses in claiming races, come the Spring Meet.

      By allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume horse meat inspections, the new law will effectively allow the operation of slaughterhouses in the U.S. that butcher horses for human consumption. The last U.S. slaughterhouse that butchered horses closed in 2007. But now, our president wants us to start eating horses again.

      More at: http://www.louisville.com/content/ob...-opinion-arena

      Culpability when racehorses end up being rescued from slaughter 


      The New York Racing Association enacted an anti-slaughter policy in December 2009 stating that any owner or trainer stabled at one of its three tracks found to have directly or indirectly sold a horse for slaughter would have his or her stalls permanently revoked from all NYRA tracks.

      Last summer, following an investigation into a horse trained by John Campo that had been discovered at the Camelot horse auction in Cranbury, New Jersey, and that was nearly shipped to a slaughterhouse, NYRA changed the wording of its policy from “directly or indirectly” to “knowingly” selling a horse for slaughter. Campo’s brother is NYRA Racing Secretary P. J. Campo.

      That policy was recently put to the test when two horses last trained by Neal Terracciano and owned by Edkat Stables—Morine’s Victory and B B Frank—were rescued from the Camelot auction.

      http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/nat...bar-owner.aspx

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      Re: Managing EiPH from trainers' perspective 


      The idea that the allowance of Lasix is in the best interest of the horse is arguable, as you well know. There is nothing cruel about a horse losing its breath and slowing its running -- this is something we can all attest to personally -- and cases of extreme EIPH are quite rare. Those who do bleed heavily are said by ALL to NOT be helped by Lasix administration and should be retired from racing. But the side effects of Lasix may indeed be cruel including the loss of electrolytes given that potassium and calcium are responsible for many cellular process in the horse such as bone density. Given that our horses are making fewer and fewer starts since the allowance of Lasix, we could look at this being a cause. It can also be deemed cruel if we are breeding bleeding into the breed.

      The bottom line is that we need far, far more research into Lasix and EIPH and the side effects of Lasix and alternative treatments for EIPH. For example, an interesting case can be made for changing our warm ups:

      Enforce a specific warm-up regimen prior to each race. It shouldn’t have to come to this, but watching horse after horse walk/jog while their neck is wrenched towards a lead pony in the post parade is nauseating. How is 2 minutes of 10mph jogging with a heart rate of 120bpm supposed to prepare a horse’s circulatory system for an event consisting of 35+mph speeds and maximum heart rates near 230bpm? No wonder when firing from the gate that the pulmonary capillaries are caught sleeping and cannot keep up with the demands of rapidly increasing pressures from within.

      To make matters worse, when a horse is asked to pick it up to a sprinting pace, his spleen contracts and shoots up to 30% more red blood cells into the mix, further thickening the blood and the associated high blood pressures. This is part of the ‘fight or flight’ response designed by nature to allow this animal of prey to escape his predators.

      This splenic contraction needs to take place PRIOR to loading into the gate, not within the first few strides of a race. Nothing major, just a nice 1-2F in 13sec/furlong pace, finishing up with 5-7 minutes left before loading. Is your horse not behaviorally trained to pull this off without running off with the rider? Well then you have some extra work to do in the mornings until he is capable. Some will learn immediately, others will be a headache – that is the nature of the beast. He should be warming up in this manner prior to any training breeze as well for good measure.

      How does this enforced warm-up address the two key causes of EIPH?

      With the 30% additional red blood cells introduced into the horse’s system 5-7 minutes before post time, you are allowing millions of pulmonary capillaries quite a bit of time to adapt and stretch, a process called vasodilation. As it stands right now, that burst of blood volume is shot into the horse during the first few jumps from the gate, and he is then expected to continue for an additional 60-120 seconds at near full throttle. With a mandatory race-specific warm up, by the time a horse fires from the gate, he has had several minutes to adapt to the increased blood pressures from the splenic contraction while waiting to load.

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