Colorado State University Announces Highest Honor Will Go to Equine Researcher McIlwraith

by Fran Jurga | 29 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

Equine researchers may be horsehold names among readers of magazines like EQUUS, but it is not every day that they receive high honors for their work in the larger sphere of academia. But that is exactly what is happening today at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

If you read EQUUS or any of the Equine Network publications, you have read about the research of Colorado State's remarkable orthopedics lab and its prolific director, C. Wayne McIlwraith BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, DSc, Dr. med vet (hc), Diplomate ACVS . There's even a good chance that your own horse may have benefited from techniques and studies that began in Dr. McIlwraith's lab...or in his fertile mind.

Today, Dr. McIlwraith is one of three science professors at the huge university who will add yet another title to his list: University Distinguished Professor.

Collectively, the university told us today, these three world-renowned professors have made great strides in diverse fields of science, while simultaneously garnering more than $100 million in research grants, teaching hundreds of students who now make contributions around the world, and influencing scientific thought in their field.

The rank of University Distinguished Professor is a lifetime award and carries over into retirement as an Emeritus Professor.

Dr. McIlwraith is professor of surgery and director of Colorado State University's Gail E. Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center. The center, which is part of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, treats orthopedic injuries of the world's finest horses and investigates orthopedic treatments and preventative medicine. Many of the innovations at the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center also can be applied to human medicine.

Dr. McIlwraith joined Colorado State in 1979 in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences as an equine surgeon with a research focus in orthopedics. He is a native of New Zealand, and is currently active in almost every area of orthopedic research, from studying treatments for surgical repair of bone and tendon injuries, to the treatment and prevention of arthritis to the study of racetrack surfaces and even to statistical studies of breakdown injuries in racehorses.

Polo Deaths: Florida State Vets Says Selenium Levels Were Elevated in Dead Horses

by Fran Jurga | 28 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

A perfunctory statement has been released by the State of Florida regarding the best guess for the cause of much-publicized and tragic death of the polo ponies in South Florida last week.

Florida State Veterinarian Thomas J. Holt today reported that an overdose of selenium was the probable cause of death of the 21 polo horses that collapsed prior to a competition in Wellington on April 19.

In a memorandum to Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson's office, Dr. Holt stated that the animals had "significantly increased selenium levels" in samples tested. He reported that the findings obtained at the department's Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kissimmee were confirmed by independent testing conducted at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, the University of California-Davis Animal Health and Food Safety lab, and at testing facilities at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The three universities assisted in the laboratory testing.

"Signs exhibited by the horses and their rapid deaths were consistent with toxic doses of selenium," Dr. Holt said.

Selenium is a trace mineral which is essential for normal cell function and health in animals, and is often included in small quantities in supplements and feed for horses. Large doses, however, can be fatal to animals.

Commissioner Bronson expressed gratitude for the work done at the University of Florida, which conducted necropsies on 15 of the horses and performed extensive toxicology testing. He also thanked the University of California-Davis and Cornell University for testing conducted in their labs.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Bronson noted that the deaths of the horses have triggered an investigation by a number of state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and he emphasized that the inquiry is ongoing.

He said that no further information on the investigation can be disclosed at this time to prevent the investigation from being compromised.

The Jurga Report will continue to report on the investigations as they move forward.

Polo Deaths: Florida Pharmacy Admits Compounding Mistake in Vitamin Formula

by Fran Jurga | 23 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

Around noon today a Florida pharmacy issued a statement to the Associated Press saying that it made an error in the compounding of the formula for the vitamin supplement given to the polo ponies who died on Sunday at a Wellington, Florida polo match. The pharmacy said that the formula was compounded from a prescription provided by a Florida veterinarian.

Click here to read the story.

Polo Player Tells Press that Vitamin Supplement Likely Caused Sunday Deaths in Florida

by Fran Jurga | 22 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

The team captain of Lechuza Caracas told the press in South America today that a vitamin supplement was probably the cause of the death of 22 polo ponies in Wellington, Florida on Sunday, April 19. As pathologists labor on at state laboratories looking for evidence in tissue samples taken from the bodies, the press pushes for something to blame, and came up with this today.

At the risk of quoting a US news agency and a South Florida newspaper quoting a Spanish-language South American news source, I suggest you click here and read this story.

It sounds like the supplement is a typical vitamin combination used for competition athletes to aid in recovery and possibly avoid problems like tying up.

While the exact supplement is not approved for sale in the United States, it is sold in Europe, where requirements are quite stringent for approval so this is not some sort of illicit cocktail.

The International Society for Infectious Diseases at Harvard University has been following the polo disaster and the moderator on their discussion list offered this commentary today:

"Biodyl is manufactured by Merial in France. The product is not sold in the US, but it is believed that the team purchased a generic brand in the US. If that is the case, then it may be a compounded (specifically made by a pharmacy) product. (This is mentioned in the article above.)

"Even if the product is a compounded product it does not mean the pharmacy is at fault. Any person seeking to maliciously harm the team or the animals could have injected the bottles. Although the team captain seems certain it was the supplement, it remains unproven as of this writing.

"There is also the possibility of a mixing error, and that there is too much or too little of a substance in the mixture. The moderator understands that University of Florida at Gainesville completed the gross necropsies and that now the task of testing tissues and examining them histologically will begin. Perhaps the university will reach out to other diagnostic laboratories to help diagnose and confirm what has happened. There are a number of good toxicology and veterinary drug testing laboratories across the country.

"We remain hopeful that urine on these animals was collected as it is an excellent sample for testing for drugs, in the event the bottles of vitamin mix were tainted with something."

Polo Deaths: Latest Statement from Florida Officials

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson says very preliminary results received this afternoon of necropsies done on horses that collapsed and died at a Palm Beach polo tournament on Sunday have not identified a diagnosis. The necropsies found no remarkable signs that could indicate a specific cause of death.

State officials will continue their investigation and will be doing additional testing of tissue samples to determine if they contain any toxins and will also be conducting laboratory tests on blood samples.

“The initial review of the horse carcasses did not show any visible signs of trauma or disease that would indicate an obvious cause of death,” Bronson said. “Our specialists will continue conducting more detailed testing until we get to the bottom of this tragedy.”

State veterinary officials say the ‘gross necropsies’, which involve a visual inspection of the organs only showed damage that was consistent with the clinical signs the horses were exhibiting before death. This included some lesions in the trachea and larynx which can be explained by the respiratory problems the horses were having prior to death.

State officials say all the evidence they have indicates this is not a contagious disease. They have returned to the stables in Wellington that housed these animals and the polo facilities and say there are no additional cases of illness or deaths.

Bronson’s Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement is working with Palm Beach County law enforcement to gather facts about the incident to determine what direction the investigation should go.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Statement on Polo Horse Deaths

This is the statement I have been waiting for, from the State of Florida, which confirms that the deaths of the polo ponies in Wellington, Florida on Sunday afternoon were not related to a disease outbreak or public health concern.

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson has launched an investigation into the deaths of 21 horses that collapsed after arriving in Wellington, Florida, for a polo match. Initially, 14 horses died by Sunday evening and an additional seven died overnight.

Because of the very rapid onset of sickness and death, state officials suspect these deaths were a result of an adverse drug reaction or toxicity. At this time there is no evidence that these horses were affected with an infectious or contagious disease as there are no other horses affected at this time.

The department's Division of Animal Industry, headed up by the State Veterinarian, is involved in the investigation. The department's Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement is also participating and working with local law enforcement.

The horses have been transported to a Department of Agriculture laboratory in Kissimmee and to the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine for necropsies and toxicology testing. It could take several days before any test results are in or a cause of death is known.

"Obviously, this is a tragic situation and we are working hard to determine what happened," Bronson said. "But it would be irresponsible to speculate on what may have killed the horses. We will wait until the facts are in before making any specific comments on the case."

The horses were part of a team from Caracas, Venezuela, scheduled to play Sunday in match at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Palm Beach County. The Lechuza Caracas team had been kept at the team's complex near the polo stadium. The horses were reportedly not showing any signs of illness as of Sunday morning. When the horses were offloaded at the event, some of the animals were dead and the remaining animals were showing severe symptoms of depression, respiratory problems, poor coordination, and recumbency. Despite treatment by veterinarians on site, these animals also died within a brief period of time.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services officials will wait until test results are available before determining the next step in the investigation.

(end of statement)

So, the new question is: What happened to these horses? The answer: we may never know who did what to those horses and whether it was intentional or accidental. We all surely want to believe that it was an accident.

Yesterday was a dark, dark day for animal welfare and the credibility of horse sports. There's a lot of explaining to do but unless criminal charges are filed and an arrest is made, I wonder if we will ever find out what really happened.

Please read more posts on the Jurga Report about this news story.

US Polo Statement on Wellington Horse Deaths

The United States Polo Association released this statement today regarding yesterday's unprecedented, unexplained and very sudden deaths of a group of internationally-ranked polo ponies at a high-level finals match in Wellington, Florida:

The United States Polo Association is participating in an investigation to determine the cause of death of over 20 polo ponies that died prior to a polo match on Sunday, April 19 at the International Polo Club-Palm Beach, located in Wellington, Florida.

The cause of death for these horses will not be determined until after the Florida State Department of Agriculture completes necropsies and toxicology testing on the affected animals.

There has been much speculation and rumor concerning the cause of death however, according to Dr. Paul Wollenman, who was on the scene and led a valiant rescue effort with many local veterinarians and polo players to save the stricken horses: "Based on initial, overwhelming clinical evidence this medical event was isolated to the Lechuza barn and horses and the initial evidence shows no infectious element."

Peter Rizzo, Executive Director of the United States Polo Association (USPA) stated: "This is an unprecedented equine medical event that occurred this past Sunday, April 19. We are actively working with the management of the International Polo Club-Palm Beach, state and local veterinarians and state and county regulatory agencies including the State Department of Agriculture and Palm Beach Country Department of Animal Care and Control to determine what caused these horses to die.

"While there is much speculation as to the cause of death, we will have to wait until the Department of Agriculture completes its tests and releases its findings to the owners of the horses. In the meantime, we all mourn the loss of these horses. There are no words to describe the grief and sadness shared by everyone--particularly the devastated owners of those magnificent horses."

A similar statement was issued from the International Polo Club - Palm Beach.

Click here to read yesterday's post on The Jurga Report about the Wellington tragedy, written as the details were trickling in.

Polo Tragedy in Florida as Venezuelan Horses Die at US Open

Reports from Wellington, Florida tonight are that a growing number of horses, as many as 14 and possibly more, died this afternoon and that several horses are gravely ill on the grounds of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, according to spectators and reports published on the web sites of the the Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel and Palm Beach Daily News.

While the accounts on the three web sites disagree on details, all three reports agree that the horses were all part of La LeChuza Caracas, the South American team headed by Venezuelan banker Victor Vargas. The team, one of the highest-regarded in the world, has been participating in the International Finals tournament in Wellington. The horses that died were very valuable animals.

Update: an 11 p.m. report from KTLA-TV agrees that 14 horses died and suggests the worst, that all the horses may have suffered a drug reaction and that some horses went down in the trailer en route to the match and were dead on arrival.

At this time this situation does not appear to be initiating any kind of a widespread health alert to the general horse population in Florida or to affect any livestock transport into or out of the state or county. An announcement should be made in a day or two from the state veterinarian or agriculture officials, who will conduct post-mortem examinations of the bodies. Several reports suggest that the bodies are being turned over to the diagnostic laboratory in Kissimmee, Florida.

I will update this post if I have more details. Thanks to everyone who has supplied information so far; I hope this is one of those stories that is not as bad as it sounds. I'm sorry that it is difficult to do much more than pass on links to local reports when a story breaks on Sunday afternoon, but it is safer than quoting an incorrect report published elsewhere.

Tears of Joy and Sorrow for Americans at Historic Dressage World Cup as US Horses Alternately Win...and Stumble

by Fran Jurga | 16 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

I'm gobsmacked again: the American flag is flying high over the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas tonight, where the American combination of rider Steffen Peters and the black 11-year-old Dutch gelding Ravel put in an astounding performance to beat the best that Europe and the world could send to our desert to compete.

For those of you not familiar with international dressage: this is one for the record books and would be like the USA winning the soccer World Cup! It's not over yet; tonight's Grand Prix was like the short program in ice skating; the freestyle on Saturday night will give the Europeans some chances to catch up, should Peters lose form.

Peters and Ravel not only bested Olympic gold medalists, World Cup winners, World Champions, and European Champions tonight, he beat his closest rival, defending champion Anky Van Grunsven of Holland, by almost four full points.

As elated as we all should be for Peters, save some concern for his teammate, Leslie Morse, whose horse Kingston started his test without incident and suddenly went lame in the arena.

USEF Dressage veterinarian Dr. Rick Mitchell has had the 17-year-old stallion under his care since the horse arrived in Las Vegas on Monday and said in a statement provided by the US Equestrian Federation that Kingston had been training well and looked very much on form in Wednesday’s training session in the main arena.

Dr. Mitchell, in his typical routine at a horse show with the US horses, observed Kingston in the warm-up and then went to the arena to watch Morse’s fellow American Jan Ebeling. And with good reason: Ebeling and the 12-year-old Oldenburg mare Rafalca were the lead off combination for the entire Grand Prix. Rafalca, owned by Ann Romney and Beth Meyer, was clearly unsettled by the environment and atmosphere in the arena and was fractious in the arena, according to a memo from USEF. Rafalca's low score will not allow that US combination to continue on to Saturday's freestyle.

When Kingston began his test it was clear that he had some discomfort in the left front leg, something that was a surprise to all connected with the horse, as he has had no problems in this leg during the preparation for this competition.

Rider Morse said: "I could tell in the first corner, he felt unbalanced and I knew he wasn’t right. We respect the Ground Jury’s decision to ring the bell and we all agreed it was absolutely in the best interest of the horse which is always the most important consideration. Kingston has just been a gift for the last nine years and has introduced me to this level of competition.”

“We need to further examine Kingston to determine the nature and extent of the injury,” said Dr. Mitchell. “Everyone is devastated for Leslie and the horse.”

Thanks to Joanie Morris of the US Equestrian Federation for her assistance with this post.

History Repeats Itself in Las Vegas: Crowd Favorite Goes Lame Before Dressage World Cup

The headline this morning on Dutch dressage rider Anky Van Grunsven's web site says it all: "Parzival teruggetrokken!" (Parzival withdrawn!)

The last time the FEI World Cup was held in Las Vegas, we were all eager to see the sensational Danish mare Blue Hors Matine perform. She had been runner-up at the World Equestrian Games in 2006 in Aachen, Germany; could Andreas Helgstrand and the graceful gray beat Anky van Grunsven and Isabel Werth? The world was interested....and then devastated. The horse was injured before the event even began.

And this year, we have the same situation. Holland's Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival made the trip after winning three qualifiers at home in Europe and being runners-up to Isabel Werth at Aachen in 2008. They are the sensation of Europe and are actually placed higher in Las Vegas than Anky, who is there as defending champion but had limited competition this year because of her sore back.

But on Wednesday the 12-year-old Parzival was taken to the veterinary area when he appeared unlevel. According to the Dutch Warmblood news society (KWPN), an ultrasound revealed a tendon injury and Cornelissen has withdrawn him.

Adelinde has only recently become a professional rider, after traveling to Hong Kong as the Dutch team's reserve rider. She speaks perfect English and will be a great ambassador for Holland wherever she goes but, had she been able to ride, she just might have changed the course of dressage history.

Remember her name, and let's hope that Parzival's injury is only minor. This horse has true star power.

I'm gobsmacked.

The Drama of Dressage: DVD from Germany Peels the Paint You Watched Dry All Those Years

by Fran Jurga | 14 April 2009 | The Jurga Report


This subtitled trailer is a bit outdated; the new English soundtrack version was launched in the United States this month, but you'll glimpse some of this DVD's lavish effects and drama.

If you're like me, you have often heard people (especially men) make jokes about going to a dressage show being as boring as "watching paint dry". Well, now we have something to wake those people up and get them to pay attention. In fact, we can now roll up our sleeves and have a good argument because German veterinarian Gerd Heuschmann has set the stage for the rollkur/overflexion debate of recent years to continue. With this DVD, the classical vs modern dressage discussion rolls out of the lecture halls and academia and into the streets; everyone is sure to have an opinion after watching this DVD.

Heuschmann comes at the competition/sport side of dressage--trainers, judges, riders, owners, breeders--with charges of "foul!" and uses the sacred texts and artifacts and even icons like the chief rider of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna to help him make his case.

But is this passionate young German a modern-day Don Quixote, tilting at judging box windmills astride a perfectly collected horse? Book buyers who made his Tug of War hardcover book an equestrian bestseller--it is now sold in four languages--certainly thought he had something worthy of their attention and purchasing power.

Heuschmann's best ally in his plea for un-tense, free-moving dressage horses is his producer, Isabella Sonntag. Sonntag spared no expense in creating powerful graphics and very high-tech 3-D computer animation. She also hired a masterful sound editor whose dramatic soundtrack, as evidenced on the trailer, makes you feel that grand prix dressage may be as big a risk to a horse's health and safety as navigating a four-star event course.

This DVD is not without its flaws. It is a one-sided argument: the mainstream "sport" dressage community does not have a chance to defend itself, nor does Heuschmann give us the background of existing biomechanical research on the horse's back and neck, conducted at the University of Utrecht, France's CIRALE, Sweden's Uppsala center or our own McPhail Center at Michigan State University.

In many ways, Heuschmann is debating an enemy who didn't show for the battle. For those who have decided that an about-face return to classical dressage is the answer to dressage's problems and that massive reform is needed in the sport, this DVD will be the flagship to show and share with others. For those who want to learn what rollkur/overflexion is (and isn't), this video will certainly give you a very strong opinion of why the practice has been discouraged by the FEI. Some people from outside the sport will nod their heads all the way through, and embrace Heuschmann for saving horses from a sport they didn't even know could be so perilous, and that is certainly his intended mission.

For all his persuasiveness and all the DVD's drama, the subject is part of a much larger picture of equine biomechanics that is unfolding within the relatively new field of equestrian sport science. Over the next few years, science may well prove that Heuschmann and the Old Masters were right all along, Ms. Sonntag's money was well-spent, and the DVD's high-stakes drama is reality, after all.

This graphic is a still capture from one of the DVD's many anatomy animations.

Yet it is not enough to feel betrayed that a sport's leaders and stars are damaging horses and shortening their careers with rushed training and harsh methods. The public needs to know what to do: where's Heuschmann's plan to reform dressage? I'm sure there is one, perhaps rooted in the great mind of the esteemed Xenophon Society in Europe--great minds that include Dr. Gerd Heuschmann's.

Don't miss this DVD, and the chance to form your own opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though the anatomical/biomechanical detail may be more in-depth than some people are seeking (that's why the remote has that fast-forward button) and we never did find out exactly why that horse in the promo trailer was having surgery on its leg and how it was connected to improper dressage training. But it certainly was dramatic!

Specifics: • 75 minute DVD format in English • USA DVD format (may not play on Euro systems) • "Starring" Dr. Gerd Heuschmann with commentary by Chief Rider Johann Riegler of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Professor Heinz Meyer, Peter Kreinberg, and David de Wispelaere, with introduction and epilogue by equestrian historian Hans-Heinrich Isenbart. • Special effects and animation by Pixomondo • Produced by Isabella Sonntag and Wu-Wei Verlag • Released April 2009 by Trafalgar Square Books

Ok, Dog's Done...Will a Pony Be Next?

by Fran Jurga | Updated 13 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

President Obama introduces his daughter to the family's new puppy, Bo. Or could it possibly have been the other way around? The First Daughters have a soft spot for ponies, too; their aunt made sure a copy of Molly the Pony's book about the rescued amputee Katrina survivor went to the White House with Malia and Sasha. Someone should tell them that Caroline Kennedy kept a pony named Macaroni on the White House lawn! By the way, Bo, a six-month old Portuguese water dog, is a gift from Senator and Mrs. Edward Kennedy to Sasha and Malia. (Pete Souza photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov blog)

President Obama got off pretty easily; surely Senator Kennedy remembers Macaroni the Pony's time at the White House. That's Caroline Kennedy asking her dad to hold the reins for a minute. (White House Historical Society photo)

My computer was smoking when I turned it on this morning. Humane organizations are disappointed, to say the least, in the Obama family's acceptance of the Kennedy gift puppy, which is a purebred dog from a breeder who has bred some of the Kennedys' own dogs.

I am sure the puppy mills around the country have been preparing for this moment, when the tousled-top rasta Bo would be unveiled. Portuguese water spaniels are popular around here, and I know quite a few. They're great dogs, especially if you have a boat or live near the beach. I guess the Obamas are coming here this summer for a vacation on Martha's Vineyard, so Bo might get to see some water then.

In the meantime, if the White House gardens have a water garden, this pup will be in it, you can bet on that. One of Senator Kennedy's dogs is named "Splash" for a reason!

Because of the allergy problem, there was no easy answer for the Obamas, and I think they should be let off the hook this time. I don't think that a cash donation to a Washington shelter will do much good. Their clout as new dog owners, asking people to look for their next dogs at shelters and rescue organizations, might be more helpful.

I just hope Bo is neutered! Bob Barker would probably march on the White House if he's not. Publicly announcing that Bo has been neutered might also help raise a lot of awareness and spur more people to action.

Jackie Kennedy (Onassis) rode in Middleburg during her years at the White House. Let's hope the Obamas find their way to that horsey edge of Washington's world. We'll greet them with open arms, and a leg up.

"A lot of shelter dogs are mutts--like me," President Obama said when he announced that the family would be getting a dog and that he preferred a shelter dog, but had concerns about his daughter's allergies. This pro-adoption poster was designed after Obama's "Hope" campaign poster.

New Zealand Event Horse Dead After Cross-Country

The Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI) provided this statement regarding the death of a horse today in New Zealand at the Mitavite International Horse Trials:

"Double Chocolate, a horse ridden by Katrina McQuarters (NZL), died today following elimination from the cross country phase of the Mitavite International Horse Trials at Kihikihi, Waikato (NZL). The horse completed 21 fences clear before being eliminated at fence 22 following 3 refusals.

"The rider was walking home when the horse became distressed and collapsed. The treating vet was on hand within two minutes and advised that the horse was already beyond all aid. The cause of death was a heart attack."

Paul Revere Weeps: City of Boston Seeks Homes for Veteran Equine Officers

Tonight's news report from the New England Cable News Network sums up the shock and sadness in this city tonight as we learn that the Mayor plans to go ahead with the dissolution of the oldest mounted police unit in the United States.

Horses and humans lose their jobs sometime this summer.

These horses have stood watch over our famous World Series celebration riots, labor strikes, Pope visits, the Sacco-Vanzetti trial (and executions), Super Bowl victories, Larry Bird's NBA Championship years, JFK, the Big Dig, Civil War peace jubilees, anti-busing school desegregation demonstrations, the Ryder Cup, the Coconut Grove nightclub fire, two World Wars, the Tall Ships, several National Democratic Conventions, the Molasses Flood, student revolutions, The Great Boston Fire, the Boston Strangler, Fourth of July concerts with fireworks (they didn't flinch) on the banks of the Charles River, and over 100 Boston Marathons. And a whole lot more.

Next week will be their last Boston Marathon.

They even survived Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy and yes, even Mitt Romney.

The first official retirement home for horses in the USA was Red Acres Farm in Stow, Massachusetts, built so these horses would have a place to go. But, sadly, it's gone too.

I received the sad news today from Paula McVey Walsh, wife of one of the mounted officers you will see in the video. Thanks, Paula.

Clones Will Be Left at the Gate in Oklahoma if Governor Signs Legislation

by Fran Jurga | 9 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

Thanks to our friends at the Quarter Horse Racing Journal and American Quarter Horse Association for the "ears up" about horse-related legislation in Oklahoma that is headed for the Governor's office to be signed.

No, it's not equine dentists this time: The AQHA announced yesterday that Oklahoma has banned clones and (if I am reading this article correctly) their offspring from racing in the state.

Click here to read the Racing Journal's article.

An article in the Oklahoman newspaper has some quotes but some of the points aren't quite clear, since it is unlikely that clones themselves would be racing anyway.

It seems to me that the whole point of commercial cloning (vs sentimental cloning of a pet) is for breeding. Legislation like this would take a lot of wind out of cloning's sails. And sales. It's interesting that the clones would be banned from racing but not showing or commercial breeding or sales.

The story gets even murkier when you get down to realizing that if the AQHA doesn't even register clones, this is a "just in case" piece of legislation--in effect, closing the barn door before the clone gets out.

Will clones have a big C branded into their foreheads for all to see? They look just like other horses, after all, and their offspring will too. And a clone's DNA test will not look like something from a mountaintop in Transylvania.

The cloning story continues to write itself, right in front of our eyes. I urge you all to read more about this fascinating subject. Sooner or later, no matter where you live or no matter what breed of horse you may show or race or breed or own, or what equestrian sport discipline you choose, you'll be hearing about cloning.

This subject has rekindled my interest in equine reproduction, which had been eclipsed by my total obsession with lameness for many years. When the first clone goes lame, it will be my story.

Click here for a one-stop archive of recent articles here on the Jurga Report about the AQHA's struggle with finding a reasonable resolution to this issue.

And stay tuned, both to this blog and AQHA sources for more cloning news as it happens.

Make-Yourself-Watch-It Video: Veterinary Heroes of Australia's "Black Saturday" Bush Fires

by Fran Jurga | 7 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

The last time I checked,we're in a lull between disasters here in the United States, except possibly for the Alaskan volcano causing a lot of respiratory sensitivity in horses. Hopefully, not too many horses were affected by the earthquake in Italy.

But if I log onto Twitter, I'm sure to find that something has gone wrong somewhere.

I have hoarded these two videos from Australia, and waited to post them now because we all know that the spring fire season and the winds will be starting soon, and it's good to have some sobering reminders of how bad things can get.

But on another level, veterinarians have been taking a bashing lately on many fronts.(Have you read the blog "badvetsdaily.com"? Now there's someone with an ax to grind!) There's nothing like a disaster to bring out the good vets...or maybe it's to bring the good out in every vet.





Meet Australia's Drs. John Butler, who lost his house to the fire, but not his will to help animals, and Judith Mulholland, who drove from afar to help out however she can during the crisis.



Dr. Jude made this mini-documentary soon after the February 22nd disastrous wildfire ripped through a once horse-happy suburb of Melbourne. Click here to visit her terrific website.



Finally, here's a horse owner re-united with what looks like an Arabian stallion in pretty good shape. The owner seems somewhat in shock still that her horse is in such good shape, while so many others are dead. She is a very lucky woman.

For Australia to have suffered the terrible insult of the equine influenza epidemic last year that shut down racing and showing and breeding, as well as a terrible drought and now to have this disaster to overcome, is quite a burden.

The economy is not any better there than it is here, but the people have surely shown us what strength of spirit and love for animals is all about.

Kentucky Derby Barbie, Meet Backstretch Barbie: Which Would You Buy?

by Fran Jurga | 3 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

The Louisville's Courier-Journal tells us that the Kentucky Derby Museum's gift shop's shelves are stocked with a special commemorative Kentucky Derby Barbie doll. And I'm still scratching my head.

I guess my initial reaction is surprise. They still make Barbie dolls? People still buy them?

My next reaction was more positive, as in: Wow, Mattel thinks that horse racing is worthy of creating a commemorative doll. Maybe the industry isn't as deep in the gutter as it thinks it is.

But if we lived in a perfect world, which we don’t, how great would it be to give shoppers and collectors a choice of dolls? Yes, you do think of women in hats and fab frocks on Derby Day, because that’s what the media shows us.

But what about the women on the backside of the racetrack--shouldn't they be portrayed in a doll? Little girls could choose either the frock-and-heels Turf Club Barbie or maybe Backstretch Barbie, an exercise rider dressed in black fringed chaps, with some great tattoos, a body protector vest and a jock helmet with cool goggles.

Exercise riders have arms even Michelle Obama would envy...

One of my key memories of last year's Belmont was when exercise rider/assistant trainer Michelle Nevin ran out into the deep track toward Big Brown as he was pulled up at the finish. She was dressed in her in-case-we-get-to-the-winners-circle clothes and looked so different from the athletic figure who'd been photographed in her work clothes a million times in the months running up to that moment. You wouldn't have recognized her on the street.

Every summer, the thought flashes before me that the New York Times is missing a great photo feature for the Style section by not doing a fashion shoot of the exercise riders at Saratoga--male and female. I could see an assemblage of them on the cover of Vanity Fair. Annie Leibovitz, are you reading this?

Maybe flowered-frock Barbie is the image the Derby's marketing department wants to project. But little girls would think that Backstretch Barbie was Way Cool. She's got style, and the attitude and guts to pull it off.

And how about a sunburned Infield Barbie, wearing a tank-top, cutoffs and carrying a Churchill Downs beer cooler?

Thanks to Sarah K. Andrew of Rock and Racehorses equine photography for her use of the photo of Saratoga exercise riders. Sarah writes, "I owned exactly one Barbie, and her only purpose in life was to ride the Barbie Horse."

Kentucky Derby Barbie is for sale online for $47 at the Kentucky Derby Store web site. Maybe, like Michelle Nevin, she comes with a change of clothes.

The Legend Will Ride On with All of Us: Equestrian Icon Sally Swift Has Died

by Fran Jurga | 2 April 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

The Zen Mistress of Equestrianism, Sally Swift received the Equine Industry Vision Award in 2008 at the age of 95. She traveled from her home in Vermont to the American Horse Publications convention in Saratoga Springs, New York. Sally may have been delighted to win that award...but we were all even more delighted to see her! (Daniel K. Lew/AHP Photo)

Let your eyes go soft tonight: Sally Swift died this afternoon.

Few details are available yet, but when they are, Equisearch.com will have them, so please check back soon and often.

Update April 3, 2009: Plans for a memorial service in honor of Swift are underway and will be announced at www.centeredriding.org . In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Centered Riding, Inc. P.O. Box 157, Perkiomenville, PA 28074; Windham County Humane Society, 916 W. River Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301; The Heifer International Foundation, 1015 Louisiana St., P.O. Box 727, Little Rock, AR 72203; or Amnesty International, 16th Floor, 5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

In the meantime, click here to read a great and recent article about Sally Swift and the concept of Centered Riding.

It is impossible to write about Sally Swift without including her theory of Centered Riding. Before any of us had bought our first yoga mat, Sally had us doing breathing exercises in the saddle. She taught about using "soft eyes" to see what is beyond your sharp-focus tunnel-vision view as you ride. And she had us aware of our spines, our horses' spines and the way that we could (and probably did) pass tension through the reins and through our seats and through our legs. She had us aware of where we were in space, using principles from yoga, martial arts and a host of way-ahead-of-the-rest-of-the-word resources that are now standard training tools for athletes in all sports.

If you could learn something from her great book Centered Riding, it was that the time you spent in the saddle was a microcosm of the rest of your life. The book became a cult literary classic, a sort of "Riding on the Right Side of Your Brain". And it still is.

Sally Swift suffered from scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine) from childhood and spent her life not so much overcoming her disability as learning how to utilize her mind to ride the way that would be most effective for herself and her horse.

I don't know if Sally Swift ever competed in equestrian sports, yet her name is up there with the likes of Bill Steinkraus and George Morris. Sally Swift's medals and ribbons were the confidence and the wonder that she brought out in people, helping them enjoy their horses more than they ever had.

For me, Sally Swift was the nice lady up the road. She was just a few hours away, just over the border in Vermont. I was always going to visit her on her farm. I would get to it next. It was on the list.

You know, you probably have a list of your own: that list of the 100 things in the horse world that you promise yourself you'll do, or that you dream of doing. Most of us never made it down that road in Vermont, but I can be pretty sure that a trip to Vermont to actually ride with Sally Swift was on that list for many, many people who will read this blog tonight.

Sally Swift rode into our lives like the zen equivalent of gangbusters and, in a single book, changed the way we thought about riding a horse. She taught us that if we would just stop beating ourselves up and start breathing, the rest would come naturally.

Last year, Sally wrote in her newsletter: "Centered Riding is not about lofty ideals or selling books. For me, Centered represents all that is good in today’s world, and the people I have come to know through this “centered” journey have become my friends and family. As I write this today, I realize that Centered Riding was my vision of what can be when we tear down the human armor and give a little of ourselves to one another and our four legged friends."

You'll always be riding with us, Sally Swift.