Clara Fenger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Andy Roberts, DVM; Jim Casey, DVM, MS
The ARCI Controlled Therapeutic Medication Rules have gone into effect in a number of new states, coming on line rapidly in the last few months. The regulatory authorities have promised that providing a stringent and well defined set of uniform medication rules would make racing cleaner and safer for all participants. Gone would be the days of supposed rampant cheating and we could all compete on a level playing field. In fact, we have known for some time that operating outside the lines of legal and ethical competition in horse racing is extremely rare…representing only 0.015% of horses passing through the test barn (1). Clearly, the playing field has been quite level and well regulated for some time. Nonetheless, it is human nature to suspect “that guy (or gal)” who is winning at a 40% clip must be using something, so we ought to all welcome the ever increasing oversight by our regulatory bodies. Besides, even the horsemen agree that uniform rules would make racing across state lines easier.
Enter RMTC. In an effort to produce National uniform medication rules, the RMTC has come up with a plan. First, limit the number of medications that can be used therapeutically in race horses, and regulate them. Have uniform National thresholds based on scientific studies which provide valid and realistic withdrawal time guidelines for trainers and veterinarians. The Executive Director of the RMTC has suggested that adopting these rules actually reduces positive tests(2). However, recent issues cropping up across the country seem to dramatically refute that claim.
The first uniform medication rule to be implemented across the country was to drop the acceptable phenylbutazone level from 5 µg/mL to 2 µg/mL. Even though all of the pain relieving effect
of phenylbutazone is eliminated at the 5 µg/mL level(3), racing commissions in various jurisdictions felt that this threshold allowed levels at the time of the pre-race exam that interfered with their ability to determine if a horse was sound. Nonetheless, at the time the change was made, the recommended withdrawal in many jurisdictions remained 2 g IV at 24 hours(4). This, despite having data collected at the University of Florida showing that only 95% of the horses that received the original 2 g IV dose were below the regulatory threshold(5). Which is akin to routinely giving a speeding ticket to one in 20 cars going 55 mph in a 55 mph zone. Although the 24 hour 2g dose recommendation was continued in several states after the threshold change, the RMTC changed the dose to 9 cc (1.8 g) IV at 24 hours for the model rule, and state recommendations vary from the model rule recommendation to 1 g IV at 24 hours (KY)(6), 2 g IV at 28 (VA) or even 2 g IV at 36 hours (WV)(4). You have no way of knowing for sure until you get back a positive test. So much for uniformity.
Flunixin (aka Banamine®) is another example where the RMTC has been flat wrong in their withdrawal recommendations. The manufacturer’s recommended dose is 500mg, or 10 cc to a 1,000 pound horse. Originally the RMTC recommended that this dose be administered no closer than 24 hours pre-race(4). Somehow, the decision was made that the cutoff for a positive test was going to be 20 ng/ml in blood(5). This, despite the unhappy fact that when you actually read the studies, the science indicates that many 24 h post-race samples will exceed the 20 ng/ml threshold(7). When post-race samples came up positive in droves, confirming this already-known detail, the RMTC backtracked. In their meeting this spring at Gulfstream Park, they heard the “positives” message; their solution was to leave the sacred 20 ng/ml threshold in place but to move the withdrawal time out to 32 hours(8).
The RMTC doesn’t seem to be any more clued in with Ketoprofen. When they set the original 10 ng/ml level, they had minimal “positives.” So, since they couldn’t believe NO ONE was “cheating” (because there were no positive tests) with this drug, at the same Gulfstream Meeting, the RMTC reduced the threshold to 2 ng/ml(8). Still no problem with cheating (no positive tests), so surely a further reduction is coming. Seems like every five minutes, the RMTC and subsequently various regulators are changing a rule or a recommendation, all without real, publicly reviewable substantive scientific evidence to support their “new” position. If you can’t dazzle the horsemen with brilliant science, baffle them with confusing and ever-changing …well you know. Somehow, the idea of getting the facts straight with scientifically sound research before implementing rules that profoundly affect the lives of the people and horses you regulate has escaped them.
Next, Methocarbamol: Robaxin is a mainstay of the prevention of muscle cramps (i.e. “tying up”) in training, a painful condition that plagues many racehorses and mostly fillies. It is an important therapeutic medication to have available to horses in training. And a rash of methocarbamol positives at Delaware Park(9) has further underscored the problems with both the RMTC studies and the implementation of changes in regulatory procedures. Firstly, the studies were performed on only 20 horses(10), and when the results are applied across thousands of racehorses with varied management, different metabolism and under a myriad of different specific circumstances across the country, the outcomes are not so clean. Secondly, medication interactions were apparently not taken into consideration. The RMTC Executive Director has recently explained in great detail(11) that methocarbamol and phenylbutazone are metabolized by the same pathway in the horse and phenylbutazone is preferentially eliminated, slowing the metabolism of methocarbamol, and thereby resulting in the positive tests. Except there is no published scientific data to support that statement(8). And if there were, the RMTC should have been aware and done the studies to provide guidelines for the practitioners and horsemen. Dr. Rick Sams, Director of LGC Sports Science, the lab that runs the Delaware post-race tests responded: “While the guidelines that are in place were well thought out and researched, there will, I’m sure, be adjustments made as time goes on.(11)” Sounds like the horsemen are guinea pigs in a high stakes game of chicken: let’s figure out the rules as we go, and if you try to adhere to the rules and guess wrong, the penalty is harsh. This is no way for an industry to act. The stakes are too high for all concerned, including the horse and rider, to base medication regulations on questionable science.
“There will, I’m sure, be adjustments made…:” not surprising when one considers the history of the RMTC threshold for Methocarbamol, which goes like this: First, RMTC commissioned a study at University of Florida using their 20 exercised horse herd and a 15 mg/kg methocarbamol dose(10)…a typically used dose(12). This study came up with a 20 ng/ml threshold and a 24 hour withdrawal time. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania already had in place a 1 ng/ml threshold, based on studies with a REALLY low, below any clinical effect, 2.2 mg/kg dose of methocarbamol(5,12). What to do?? Simple! Just leave the cutoff for a positive test at 1 ng/ml but arbitrarily, and without performing the necessary scientific study to back it up, move the withdrawal time out to 48 hours, and trust that it works. If it doesn’t work out, come up with something convenient to blame, in this case apparently phenylbutazone. At the same time tell horsemen that THEY have to move the withdrawal time out again. The only problem is those pesky horsemen who actually got Methocarbamol positives during this “educate the regulators” “adjustment making” period.
In deflecting the blame towards a heretofore unidentified drug interaction with phenylbutazone, the RMTC is also directing attention away from the simple fact that Methocarbamol has long been known to show dose dependent kinetics. In other words, as the dose increases, Methocarbamol is eliminated more slowly and tends to accumulate, increasing the likelihood of a positive(13). Both the RMTC and the University of Pennsylvania studies were single IV dose studies. We would therefore be not in the least surprised if it turns out that many of the numerous recent positives reported for Methocarbamol are more closely associated with a normal multi-dose therapeutic schedule of Methocarbamol than just with the concomitant administration of phenylbutazone. The end result of the confusing withdrawal guidelines is to make a safe and effective therapeutic medication, Robaxin, essentially illegal and out of reach for those horses that may get muscle cramps.
For many months preceding the adoption of the RMTC Model Rules regarding uniform medication, racing officials went around the country and were quoted in the press about the new rules regarding joint injections. Low grade joint inflammation is an extremely common outcome of strenuous exercise, and joint injections are a useful and widely used therapeutic approach to handling this concern. Modern human sports medicine has included the use of therapeutic joint injections for years, and studies have shown no long term ill effect from repeated injections(14). Which fits very well with the experiences of racetrack practitioners: Judicious joint injections are therapeutic and preserve the long term health of the athlete, not just for its racing career, but for the career that follows. Nonetheless, the racing officials and proponents of the RMTC “driven” Uniform National Model Rule have, perhaps less than logically, insisted that veterinarians should have sufficient time after a joint injection to assess response to therapy. They argued that horses should not be raced within 7 days of injection with a relatively quick acting corticosteroid like triamcinolone (Vetalog) or betamethasone, or 14 days of injection with a long acting corticosteroid like methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol). Veterinarians and horsemen have long agreed that assessing response to therapy should be part of any therapeutic intervention, but felt that the time periods set forth in the Model Rules were well beyond the time frame necessary. Nonetheless, we were prepared to go along with it. Unfortunately, we and other practitioners were not prepared for the outcome of the first few weeks of the new medication policy which have resulted in numerous alleged positives in at least 2 jurisdictions (IN,WV).
The uniform medication rules have put in place a 100 pg/mL blood threshold level of methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol®), and a withdrawal of 7 days, nominally based on an RMTC sponsored report, where 100 mg was injected into a single knee(15). And yet in the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule recommendations(16), right next to the recommended 7 day withdrawal, it states that the withdrawal for 100 mg (2.5 cc) Depo-Medrol is actually 21 days…so which is it? 7 days or 21 days? Given this uncertainty in the published guidelines, the states have varied from 10 days (IN) to 21 days (WV) for recommended withdrawal times linked to this threshold. Faced with these ambiguities, practitioners, in an abundance of caution, have adhered doggedly to the recommended withdrawals. And, despite this care, “cloudy” or possible positives have been coming up at a frightening rate in the first few weeks of the new rules, such as has been seen in WV(17). It turns out, if you put the Depo-Medrol in a stifle, the clearance time is one thing. If you put it in a hock, it is something else. God forbid the horse moves while you inject it, because then all bets are off. A racing official stated, off the record, that the purpose of the Depo rule was to discourage the use of Depo at all…hey wait, what happened to “so you could assess the response to therapy”? A little deceptive to say the least. And another, safe and effective, FDA approved therapeutic medication relegated to being essentially illegal.
To further complicate matters, Veterinarians, trainers and owners are anxiously awaiting the results of their post-race tests, which are taking an inordinate amount of time [a month or more] as a result of a laboratory backlog. The new Uniform Model Rules mandate that a Depo Medrol positive requires purse redistribution and a fine(18). All while the racing officials cannot even provide useful practical guidelines for withdrawal times. As this article goes to press, even the racing commissions are unsure of their own final decision(17). We all remember Brass Hat’s impressive effort to finish second in the 2006 Dubai World Cup. The trainer and veterinarian tried to contact the appropriate authorities to identify the withdrawal time for methylprednisolone, and then added 5 days in order to inject the horse’s hocks well outside of those guidelines. When the horse was disqualified for the positive test, the trainer and veterinarian protested, but to no avail. After the trainer and veterinarian did everything possible, there was nothing that could be done: surely this can’t happen in America.
Other problems with the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule (April 17, 2014), the cornerstone of the RMTC Model Rules have not yet reared their ugly heads. The recommendations on a common tying up preventative, dantrolene (Dantrium) is 48 hours. This is based on a study performed with a single dose of 1 mg/kg, which is well below the therapeutic dose of 2-4 mg/kg(12,16). Xylazine, a common tranquilizer, used to sedate horses for procedures, including dental work, veterinary procedures and some grooming procedures like clipping is listed as permissible at 48 hours with a published threshold level (cutoff for a positive test), but NO recommended dose and NO research paper to explain where the recommendation came from is listed(16). Can I use the whole bottle? Mepivacaine (Carbocaine) has a withdrawal recommendation of 72 hours, and represents a class B penalty i.e., a minimum of a 60 day suspension, loss of purse and fines (RMTC website). And the RMTC recommendations are based on 1.5 mL of Carbocaine in a 1000 pound horse(16). This is an amount which is below ANY usual therapeutic use of the product, which would be at least 10 mL for a Caslicks procedure or 5 -10 mL for a typical diagnostic nerve block. So the actual RMTC recommendations appear to be at best a complete lack of understanding of how therapeutic medications are applied and at worst an intentional set up of any trainer or veterinarian who even thinks of using a therapeutically appropriate amount of mepivacaine.
This seems to be a common theme among the “permitted medication” list: no good faith effort was made to determine how these medications are correctly and appropriately used as therapeutics before the withdrawal studies were performed or recommendations were made. As a further matter of interest, the mepivacaine threshold is based on confidential data generated by the European Horseracing Scientific Liaison Committee [EHSLC] and therefore subject to EHSLC non-disclosure requirements apparently signed by all members of the RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee(8); so much for industry-wide transparency and independent scientific review. Further, the cloak of secrecy does not end there: a number of other US medications rules, such as acepromazine, albuterol, betamethasone, clenbuterol, dexamethasone, firocoxib, furosemide, isoflupredone, lidocaine, omeprazole, prednisolone, procaine penicillin and xylazine are based on secret data that has never
been subjected to independent review, and is currently unavailable to the horsemen or their racetrack vets(19).
Drugs outside the magic “26” list of therapeutic substances are a no man’s land. There is only one antibiotic, procaine penicillin, on the list. States differ from 24 hours to 96 hours4 to “zero tolerance” (infinite in IN?20) on withdrawal for “sulfa drugs,” like Trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, probably the most commonly used antibiotic in horses, which is not even in the magic “26.” Within the word “race horse” is the word “horse,” and this word is attendant with all the day to day things that might befall any animal. In addition to scrapes and infections, a horse may get stung by an insect, necessitating an injection with an antihistamine, or scratch his cornea necessitating atropine or other therapeutic medication. These conditions are not life threatening, but the varied therapeutic medication rules could prevent this otherwise completely healthy horse from competing, depending upon which jurisdiction you are in. Imagine: there are likely more than 26 over the counter medications in your bathroom medicine cabinet at home, but the most elite of athletes are prevented from benefitting from modern day sports medicine under the misnomer of “clean racing”.
In 1900, infant mortality among humans was 30% and life expectancy was less than 50 years 21. Much of the reason for the improvement in health of humans is the advent of modern medicine. And yet we want to send our most precious charges, horses who have no voice for themselves, back to the dark ages. Modern equine sports medicine is NOT a crime. It has been developed to give the athlete the best possible quality of life and as a result to perform to the best of their abilities. There are substances which may potentially enhance performance, and these are and should be banned. Severe penalties should be in place and vigorously enforced. But, folks, let’s get it right. The rush to implement the RMTC rules has had a mountain of unintended consequences. Shouldn’t we first and foremost get the science right, perform studies which reflect real world and appropriate uses of therapeutic medications and then establish dosage, thresholds, and withdrawal times. Finally we should implement an appropriate phase in period allowing us to identify gaps in our scientific knowledge before imposing strict and onerous penalties. Appears that it is the RMTC that needs to get “days.”
1. Association of Racing Commissioners International. Drugs in US Racing – 2010: the Facts. 2011.
2. KAEP meeting, February
3. Hu HH, MacAllister CG, Payton ME, Erkert RS. Evaluation of the analgesic effects of phenylbutazone administered at a high or low dosage in horses with chronic lameness J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2005 Feb 1;226(3):414-7. 4. http://www.rmtcnet.com/withdrawal_show.asp , accessed 8/12/2014
5. Summary of Medication Recommendations: Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission Updated September 8, 2010. 6. http://www.khrc.ky.gov/Documents/24%20Therapeutic%20Medications-TB.pdf, accessed 8/12/2014
7. Sams, R. Scientific Rationale for Establishing a Regulatory threshold for flunixin. College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University. 2006.
8. Personal communication, Thomas Tobin 9. http://www.theracingbiz.com/2014/07/21/delaware-horsemen-concerned-positive-drug-tests/, accessed 8/12/2014
10. Rumpler MJ, Colahan P, Sams RA. The pharmacokinetics of methocarbamol and guaifenesin after single intravenous and multiple-dose oral administration of methocarbamol in the horse. 2013 J Vet Pharm Therap 37:25-34. 11. http://www.drf.com/news/drug-combination-sets-rash-positives, accessed 8/12/2014
12. Hagyard Equine Medical Institute Formulary
13. Muir WW, Sams RA, Ashcraft S. Pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic properties of methocarbamol in the horse. Am J Vet Res. 1984 Nov;45(11):2256-60.
14. Raynauld JP, Buckland-Wright C, Ward R, Choquette D, Haraoui B, Martel-Pelletier J, Uthman I, Khy V, Tremblay JL, Bertrand C, Pelletier JP. Safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular steroid injections in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Feb;48(2):370-7.
15. Knych HK, Harrison LM, Casbeer HC, McKemie DS. Disposition of methylprednisolone acetate in plasma, urine, and synovial fluid following intra-articular administration to exercised thoroughbred horses. 2013 J Vet Pharm Therap 37:125-132. 16. http://www.rmtcnet.com/resources/Controlled%20Therapeutic%20Medications%20April%202014.pdf, accessed 8/12/2014 17. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/86515/wv-hires-new-lab-purse-money-still-in-limbo, accessed 8/12/2014 18. http://www.rmtcnet.com/resources/RCI%20Uniform%20Classification%20Guidelines-December%202012.pdf, accessed 8/12/2014
19. http://arcicom.businesscatalyst.com/assets/arci-controlled-therapeutic-medication-schedule---version-2.1.pdf
20. Joe Gorajec quoted during a meeting with the Indiana Standardbred horsemen on 8/12/2014 regarding the positive tests 21. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm, accessed 8/12/2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
To Salix or Not to Salix
In the wake of the PETA
videos, which portrayed our majestic sport in a most unflattering light, we are
left reeling from the backlash. While
most of what was shown in the video was either legal (the use of Salix and
thyroxine) or just edited to the extreme (video of the state veterinarian drawing
a post-race blood sample for drug testing, while the commentary implied that
something illicit was taking place), certainly there were things that were offensive
(the non-stop stream of profane language) and things that were clearly
illegal, such as forging documents for illegal workers. The unfortunate ramifications
from this video seem to be taking the form of a rallying cry against raceday
medication, which, of course, means no Salix.
The clip of the track vet telling the PETA girl that Salix is
performance enhancing because of the weight loss is damning. He failed to explain the repercussions to the
animal of bleeding in the lungs, how scar tissue builds up over time, impairing
the horse’s long term respiratory health…or perhaps he did explain it and it
just didn’t make the video. However, if
Salix is performance enhancing, oughtn’t it be banned?
What about the case for
the use of Salix? Certainly racing
occurs all over the world without it, which is the primary driving argument for
the naysayers. So let’s again go to the
scientific literature and investigate the facts. A series of studies4-11 published
in 1987 carefully investigated the clinical, diagnostic and necropsy findings
of a group of 26 horses retired from racing in Hong Kong. This group of horses were almost all known
bleeders. The findings were of severe,
permanent pulmonary damage. Clearly,
horses are not immune from bleeding in Hong Kong, and more importantly,
bleeding was proven unequivocally to cause permanent and severe pulmonary
pathology. So, what is to be done? We
look again to the published scientific literature. The ultimate placebo controlled, cross-over
study on the efficacy of furosemide was finally performed by Hinchcliff et al,
in 200912, funded by the Jockey Club. As a scientist who has
designed and performed many studies, this was the Holy Grail of all study
designs, a rare opportunity in Veterinary Science. This paper showed beyond
a shadow of a doubt that furosemide ameliorates in all and prevents in some,
EIPH. In this study, NO horses bled a grade 3 or 4 on furosemide, which
answers the question of: is this the right thing to do or not.
Clearly, yes.
1. Sweeney CR, Soma LR,
Maxson AD, Thompson JE, Holcombe SJ, Spencer PA. Effects of furosemide on the
racing times of Thoroughbreds. Am J Vet Res. 1990 May;51(5):772-8.
2.
Soma LR, Laster L, Oppenlander F, Barr-Alderfer
V. Effects of furosemide on the racing
times of horses with exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. Am J Vet Res. 1985 Apr;46(4):763-8.
3.
Hinchcliff KW, McKeever KH, Muir WW, Sams RA. Furosemide
reduces accumulated oxygen deficit in horses during brief intense exertion. J
Appl Physiol (1985). 1996 Oct;81(4):1550-4.
4.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced
pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem
and imaging study. I. Clinical profile of horses. Equine Vet J. 1987
Sep;19(5):384-8.
5.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced
pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem
and imaging study. II. Gross lung pathology. Equine Vet J. 1987
Sep;19(5):389-93.
6.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced
pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem
and imaging study. III. Subgross findings in lungs subjected to latex
perfusions of the bronchial and pulmonary arteries. Equine Vet J. 1987
Sep;19(5):394-404.
7.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced
pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem
and imaging study. IV. Changes in the bronchial circulation demonstrated by
C.T. scanning and microradiography. Equine Vet J. 1987 Sep;19(5):405-10.
8.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced
pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem
and imaging study. V. Microscopic observations.
Equine Vet J. 1987 Sep;19(5):411-8.
9.
O'Callaghan MW, Pascoe JR, O'Brien TR, Hornof
WJ, Mason DK. Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in the horse: results of a
detailed clinical, post mortem and imaging study. VI. Radiological/pathological
correlations. Equine Vet J. 1987
Sep;19(5):419-22.
10. O'Callaghan
MW, Hornof WJ, Fisher PE, Pascoe JR. Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in
the horses: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem and imaging study. VII.
Ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy in horses with EIPH. Equine Vet J. 1987 Sep;19(5):423-7.
11. O'Callaghan
MW1, Pascoe JR, Tyler WS, Mason DK. Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in
the horse: results of a detailed clinical, post mortem and imaging study. VIII.
Conclusions and implications. Equine Vet
J. 1987 Sep;19(5):428-34.
12. Hinchcliff
KW, Morley PS, Guthrie AJ. Efficacy of furosemide for prevention of
exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in Thoroughbred racehorses. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009 Jul 1;235(1):76-82.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Eulogy for my Friends
On Sunday morning, my husband and I awoke to a conflagration in one of my barns. The barn was already engulfed in flames and all we could do was call 911 and watch in horror as our horses and lives went up in smoke. I have had an incredible outpouring of support from my friends and colleagues, which is strengthening during a time in which I am paralyzed with grief. I have plenty of work to do, and need plenty of sleep, but whenever I sit to work on the computer or close my eyes, I imagine all my horses burning alive.
It wasn't just a barn full of horses, or Thoroughbreds. These were my children in some cases the third generation that has been in my family. I hear so much negativity about the Thoroughbred and racing industry and I can't understand it, because I live this industry and it is wonderful. The greatest highs and now the lowest lows of my life have come from these incredible animals. When you hear of a tragedy like this one, you think, how awful a bunch of animals perished. And then the story passes on to something else. Well, this is a eulogy for my animals. They were not just animals, some raised to race, some raised to sell, some destined to be riding horses and some just retired: all cherished. They deserve for the world to know that each one was an individual, and carried one veterinarian's hopes and dreams for their futures.
My first thoroughbred Broodmare, Miss Red, was in that barn. Her first foal, a colt named Warm Courage (Howard) got loose from my help as a weanling with a chain hanging from his halter. He freaked out, and ran around the farm, flipped over a fence and fractured his pelvis into a thousand pieces. Two surgeons recommended euthanasia. A third said to stall rest him for four months (after all, "you can always euthanize them later"). For over a month, you could walk into that stall and gently rock his pelvis from side to side and the bits of fractured bones made a sound like a bag of potato chips crunching.
After four months of stall rest, he gradually made it to turnout and never took another lame step. On the racetrack, he was a two year old workmate for a Canadian Champion, and regularly trained with good horses as a racehorse. However, in two starts, he bled so much in his lungs that it streamed out his nose. We turned him out for 6 months to recover. Back then, I rode the racehorses, so when it came time for him to start back into training as a four year old, I tacked him up and rode him down to the arena on a loose rein. He was perfect and quiet, walk, trot and canter like a seasoned show horse. Thus he began his second career.
Howard went on to be a successful Dressage horse with my highest score on him at first level, 68. He was a successful show hunter and jumper (3'6") on the A circuit, usually in the ribbons, and competed at Novice in eventing. He was schooling at third level Dressage when he died, and I even bought new white breeches with the plan of starting back into my own show career this spring. Most of his show career was with 12 and 13 year old girls. While he had spurs in his hocks, and needed those injected occasionally, his pelvic fracture as a weanling never bothered him. Never let anyone tell you an OTTB can't be a wonderful, talented and quiet kid's horse. And don't give up on a pelvic fracture in a young horse, because you can always euthanize them later. RIP Howard.
Miss Red, a Red Ransom mare, went on to an unremarkable career as a broodmare. During the "Tent Caterpillar Crisis" of 2001-2002 in Kentucky, she developed pericarditis, an inflammation of the specialized membrane covering the heart. I drained the pericardial sac, and treated her with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and she recovered. She went on to have a number of foals, but after they all excelled as show horses and NOT as racehorses, I decided to breed her to a Showhorse stallion in 2008 and get myself a fancy showhorse. In the last month of pregnancy with that foal, she went into heart failure. She was diagnosed with restrictive pericarditis, a sequela of the original pericarditis. We nursed her along and I got my fancy showhorse (although a little small), Sweet Southern Style. The mare's heart was fine as long as she was not pregnant, so she was retired at the age of 14. RIP Miss Red and Sweetie.
A 23 year old Exceller mare who was a multiple graded stakes producer had been unable to have a foal for several years and the owners decided to give her up. I took her on and got two foals out of her, before retiring her at the age of 25. I spent the next four years of her life pampering her and nursing her through arthritis and other conditions of aging, with the help of other experts. RIP Excedent at the age of 29. Never thought something like this would take you.
My husband is a Thoroughbred horse trainer, but we met in graduate school. He has a Master's Degree in Genetics. He spends hours researching pedigrees to come up with the best matches for our broodmares. For the first time in years, we had several commercial yearlings that we could expect a payday at the sales. Despite the likeliness that they would go to the sale, he would watch them run and play and talk about how he hoped we could afford to keep them and put them in training when the time came, because they looked like great prospects.
One yearling was a Proud Citizen colt out of a homebred mare. We raced the granddam of this colt. She won her first start and ran through her conditions easily in Kentucky, not an easy thing to do. As a four year old, she was starting to develop marked arthritis of her hock joints: a condition that would ultimate resolve with time, but it became difficult to keep her sound, so rather than wait out the joints to fuse, we bred her (She was a half to a Champion). The first foal out of the mare was by Proud Citizen and was gorgeous. He sold as a weanling for $140,000. She went on to produce some beautiful foals, of which we raced several. One day in the spring, when she was in foal to the stallion, Malibu Moon and had another Proud Citizen by her side, I was walking down my farm lane to feed the horses, and I heard her nickering to me. This was not a usual thing, especially since she had a foal by her side. I ran to her paddock to find her with a fractured cannon bone. No, they don't just do this on the racetrack, they can do this in a paddock. The foal by her side had a femur fracture. I had to euthanatize them where they stood.
We still had a filly out of the mare, whom we promptly retired from racing and bred. Her first foal was a Flatter colt whom we sold for $160,000. Her second is a Tiz Wonderful filly (3 yo) who is in training, and the third is a Flatter filly (2 yo) who is also in training. The fourth was a Proud Citizen colt, as beautiful as his 3/4 brother. RIP Proud Citizen - Saint Savior 2013.
One of the yearlings was a Pure Prize filly out of one of our own homebred mares. The mare, Veiled Vow, had been a hard knocking race horse, winning four of 19 starts, all in gutty fashion. As a seven year old, she was in the lead by 5 lengths in a wide open 5 claimer (which is actually a very tough race, as many old class horses race in these), suddenly stopped, finishing third. It was completely out of character for her. She had torn in impressive fashion a ligament in her pastern. While the mare's pedigree was not really strong enough to breed her in Kentucky, I looked around for someone in a different state market to give her to as a broodmare. I could find no one I felt would take care of her, and give her the rehab needed to recover from her injury, so we decided to go ahead and breed her ourselves. If she throws her heart, she will be a great broodmare, despite not being a producer for the commercial market. So we found a season to Pure Prize and got a beautiful filly. RIP Pure Prize - Veiled Vow 13.
The third yearling was the first foal out of a young mare we claimed for a broodmare. As the industry looks to be turning around, we thought it was time to get a commercially viable mare. She was a beautiful Successful Appeal filly that my husband was desperately hoping we could afford to race instead of sell when the time came. RIP Successful Appeal - Miss Hanky Panky 2013.
There are always cats and dogs being dropped off in the country by people who realize that they are unable to care for them. The local small animal clinic identifies them as "Fenger Barn Cat #x" when I bring them in for FeLV/FIV testing. A few months ago, a black kitten showed up and adopted us. We named him Spooky II, since our farm is Spooky Hollow, and we always have to have a Spooky. We kept him locked in the tack room at nights to protect him from the coyotes, who get pretty bold this time of year. RIP Spooky II.
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