Filed under: Blogs
With foaling season well under way, it’s a good time to talk about foal health. I work part-time at the Ontario Veterinary College Hospital with the Foal Watch program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There, we take care of foals that are high dependency and require round the clock care.
When things go wrong during foaling, the outcome is sometimes known as a “dummy foal” or a foal that has been deprived of oxygen during parturition. Unlike with human babies, foals can regain brain function after they have been oxygen deprived and eventually can turn out to be completely healthy and normal foals. Oxygen deprivation is not the only cause of dummy foals; TheHorse.com states that is can also be caused by “low glucose levels in the blood, septicemia, or other susceptibility due to the failure to receive adequate colostrum (first milk)”. Many of the foals are born premature.
After they are born, most dummy foals are truly all over the place, flailing and in serious danger of hurting themselves. This means that attendants are needed to keep the foal in place and prevent injury. Dummy foals are often unresponsive when it comes to nursing and standing on their own, so feeding can be done via a naso-gastric tube until a suckle response is achieved. Supplemental oxygen is administered to try to speed up healing from the effects of deprivation.
When oxygen deprivation is the only problem, regaining brain function can occur relatively quickly over the course of a few days and the improvements are stunning to watch. The foals are taught first on a bottle, and then taught to stand and nurse on their own. It’s very rewarding to watch a foal that had been completely dependent on people only days earlier, to get up and nurse on its own.
But it isn’t always that easy and there are many problems that can hamper recovery in these susceptible foals. Pneumonia, lung infections, septicemia, joint issues, seizures can all occur, complicating the foal’s chances of survival.
Working with dummy foals is hard. It’s often backbreaking work trying to stop a foal from hurting itself, but trying not to get caught by the flailing hooves yourself. The foals can be big- and considering they can be as floppy as a fish out of water, it can be hard to maneuver them. But the rewards from saving a foal that might not have made it otherwise and getting to watch it go on to be completely self-sufficient…well that’s just the greatest feeling there is.
Filed under: Blogs
Pioneerof the Nile
It has started – the countdown to the Kentucky Derby and the initial “Derby Dozen” by the Blood-Horse Turf writer and Triple Crown expert Steve Haskin has been released. Haskin’s list includes such horses as Square Eddie, Old Fashioned, Patena, Capt. Candy Man, and Giant Oak. With only 82 days to go, the excitement is certainly building!
Racing for 3-year-olds this past weekend was a bit of a big deal to say the least. Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Stardom Bound returned to the racetrack and wiped the floor with her competition in the Las Virgenes (GI). Some “Derby dozen” members were in action with Poineerof the Nile winning the Robert B. Lewis (GII) coming away and Friesan Fire beating a stiff crowd of competition including Giant Oak in the Risen Star(GIII).
Juddmonte has nominated three horses to this years’ Triple Crown, two of which I got to work with this past summer. Eagle Poise and Degree of Power are two Juddmonte USA homebreds, and the other Juddmonte horse nominated is from Europe. Sam-Son Farm has nominated a son of their champion racemare Eye of the Sphynx, named Eye of the Leopard. But a nomination doesn’t mean any of these horses will run in the Derby, Preakness, or Belmont, simply that the nomination fees have been paid, so that the option is there. But what a great experience it would be to see a horse in the Derby that I have worked with. Maybe one day!
Until then, I’ll be content watching all the Derby prep races in the coming weeks. Happy wagering everyone!
Click here to listen to this entry as a podcast.-> And Derby countdown gets underway…
Filed under: Blogs
Owner Jess Jackson with Curlin's second Horse of the Year Eclipse Award
The “Oscar’s” of American Thoroughbred racing took place on January 26th in Miami, Florida. Known as the “Eclipse Awards” and named after the 18th century undefeated racehorse and prolific stallion, the awards showcase the cream of the crop of Thoroughbred racing based on voting. Voters are members of the events main sponsors: the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers Association.
And once again, my beloved Curlin won Horse of the Year. It is his second straight win. It was a close match up for the title with the amazing four-year-old filly Zenyatta also in contention. A very deserving win for Curlin, the most money-winning Thoroughbred in the Americas.
Zenyatta’s Breeders Cup Ladies Classic win was named Eclipse Moment of the Year and she won Eclipse Older Female. It was announced that Zenyatta would return for a five-year-old season. Also returning for another season is IEAH’s Benny the Bull, winner of the Eclipse Male Sprinter, who was previously announced as retired.
IEAH’s Big Brown won Eclipse Male 3-year old title for his wins in the Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Haskell, and Monmouth Stakes. A well deserved win in my opinion, even if his record was somewhat sullied by the tremendous upset in the Belmont and the steroid use that trainer Rick Dutrow admitted to. Big Brown still accomplished some great wins and is the only horse deserving of the title.
Canadian Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs won Outstanding Breeder for the fifth straight time. With operations in Aurora, Kentucky, and Florida, the farm turned out 2008 winners Ginger Punch and Harlem Rocker. Adena had really turned into a powerhouse in this category – and with some very successful stallions on the roster like Ghostzapper, Awesome Again, and El Prado I don’t see them slowing down any time soon.
All in all, there were really no big surprises at the awards. Personally, I was torn between Indian Blessing and Ventura for Eclipse Female Sprinter. Indian Blessing had six wins to Ventura’s four, but Ventura did win the Breeders Cup Mare and Filly Sprint over Indian Blessing. Ventura is a Juddmonte homebred by the sire Chester House who died very prematurely at age eight. His offspring are now really proving themselves on the track so it’s great to see that Ventura will pass on his bloodlines as a valued member of the Juddmonte broodmare band when she retires. Ventura’s just recently won the Santa Monica. You never know, she could take the title next year if she has a good season!
Ventura winning the Breeders Cup M&F Sprint
