Your Horse's Heart: Equine Heart Rate and Rhythm Studies

by Fran Jurga | 27 October 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

How much do you know about your horse's heart? Not much, probably. It works--but did you know that the horse's heart is one of the most amazing among all the mammal species?

I always remember people saying that Secretariat's heart was massively larger than that of a normal horse, and that the heart of the great New Zealand runner Phar Lap is preserved in a museum somewhere and people still come to look at it.

But if you own a racehorse or an eventer or an endurance horse, you're probably acutely aware of your horse's cardiovascular system and with the use of heart-rate monitors to keep up with how and when in the exercise or competition cycle your horse is putting his or her heart to full capacity use.

The recent deaths of so many event horses because of cardiopulmonary failure is reason alone to want to know more about how the heart works under stress.







These two videos are from my "greatest hits" album on YouTube.com; they comprise a short documentary made by Ontario Veterinary College last year on their latest research and clinical efforts to improve understanding and care of the horse's heart.

I hope you will watch it and keep an eye out for lots more information about how the horse's heart works, both at rest and under stress. Much of the information is new and all of it adds to our body of knowledge to take better care of our horses, by knowing them better from the start.

Thanks to Ontario Veterinary College for making these videos available to share with you.

Favorite Art: A Perfect Horse for the Fourth of July and a Preview of One of This Summer's Leading Events

Don't you agree? This red-white-and-blue gesture depends a lot on negative space to create the unmistakable image of a horse's head, and it's one of my favorite logos in a long time.

Just when you think you have seen a horse's head interpreted every possible way, some creative mind takes it to a new dimension!

Surprise, surprise, though--this horse is not an American creation at all.

This image will represent the Alltech FEI European Dressage and Showjumping Championships, which will take place at England's famed Windsor Castle outside London in late August. Yes, the Queen Herself has invited everyone over to her suburban home for a very special competition.

With the announcement of title sponsorship by the American-based international animal nutrition giant Alltech, the Europeans have more of a tie to the USA than previously thought. Alltech, of course, is also the title sponsor of the FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next year.

This beautiful artwork was created by Brand Electioneering, a British marketing firm.

To learn more about the plans for the Alltech FEI European Championships, watch this little video of the announcement of Alltech's sponsorship, hosted by the event's managing director Simon Brooks-Ward with Dr Pearce Lyons of Alltech...and some surprise guests at the end.



A press release about the event deems it "the most important equestrian event to be held in the United Kingdom this decade". Some US riders may qualify to compete in the non-championship events.

Thanks to Showjumping Unplugged for releasing this tape.

Five-Time German Dressage Olympian's Horse Tests Positive for Banned Medication

Just a few weeks ago, Germany's equestrian federation sent seismic shock waves through the horse showing world by disbanding its national teams after show-jumping riders began to tell shocking tales of medication and manipulation of their horses to bring home gold medals. Germany promised heads would roll.

So this morning's news was more shocking than ever, read through that lens.

According to the Associated Press and confirmed by Horse and Hound and English-language newspapers in Germany, double Olympic gold medalist Isabel Werth has been suspended from competition and will attend a hearing later this week to answer charges that her horse Whisper tested positive for an anti-psychotic medication at the competition at Wiesbaden on May 30, 2009.

“This is a catastrophy for equestrian sports," said Breido Graf zu Rantzau, president of the equestrian federation, in the Associated Press report.

All sources confirm that Isabel has been suspended; however the system includes a backup: the "B" sample may still be tested and prove her innocent of illegal doping. While the investigation continues, she will not be able to compete at Aachen, the biggest competition for German riders in the run-up to this summer's European Dressage Championships.

Should the "B" sample test positive, Werth would face punishment by both the FEI and German authorities.

Up to this time, most emphasis on doping has centered on show jumping.

Headshaker Horses, Head Here for Resources and Research

by Fran Jurga | 19 June 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

Sometimes I finish writing an article for a magazine or a post for this blog and I look at my desk in amazement: piles of books, files strewn everywhere, journals falling on the floor, three monitor screens flashing information. Is it information overload or is it...information nirvana?

If you're like me, you haven't given up on books and files and journals and notes from conferences to do your research on your horse's health problems. But you love the ease of surfing the net to make sure that there's nothing new that you've missed, providing you can trust the source.

But in my library I can go back and research horsecare as it was practiced 100 years ago or 50 years ago or 25 years ago, with the same ease that the internet carries me deeper and deeper into the Right Now.

One condition in horses that brings many people to The Jurga Report and lots of other sites is the problem called headshaking. It's usually getting worse in horses this time of year, which is why I've put this post together now. The bright sunlight seems to irritate headshaker horses, and they're going to it now. When I go to shows and events now, I see more and more horses with those discreet little nets over their noses, and I'm so glad if they are working.

Headshaking is a subject that fascinates all of us, perhaps because it still eludes explanation. We really don't understand it, but so many of us have been around a horse that has this problem, that we've spent a lot of time pondering it. How many truly great horses have had performance careers curtailed because of headshaking? And how many horses in general just could live a happier, less stressful life without the annoyance of headshaking?

A question that really bothers me is why I don't read more about headshaking in the old books. Did they have a secret remedy that didn't survive into the modern times? Or was headshaking simply not as common then as it is now? And why does it seem to be more common each year?

The University of Lincoln in England has created the most comprehensive resource that I've seen on the problem, and they include both their own research and others. Click here to go there and have a look, but be prepared to spend some time.

This group of researchers has surveyed owners of headshaker horses through a project called the National Equine Headshaking Survey and created a site that is absolutely overflowing with literature citations, links, video, illustrations, and advice for owners. It's very inspiring and would make a great model for anyone considering an information-based site on a horse health problem. They've done a great job.

Headshaking is a seasonal problem for many horses, and the new lightweight nosenets are giving some relief, so I hope you will check those out if you haven't already. The University of Liverpool vet hospital has a page about their program of surgery for treatment of headshaking as a form of neuropathy.

Medication, nasal sprays, homeopathic Capstar...all are options that work for some horses, but there still doesn't seem to be one solution that works for all horses and fits the budgets of all owners.

I'm looking forward to that Eureka! day when we can post the news that a definitive answer to the headshaking mystery has been found. In the meantime, the University of Lincoln's web site comes very close and they are so sympathetic to horses suffering from headshaking that you feel that you truly do have a friend out there on the web. And your headshaking horse does, too.

Photo credit: Stock Exchange

Video: A Foal Finds A Stand-in Mom at Vet College Hospital

by Fran Jurga | 14 May 2009 | The Jurga Report

Here's a quick out-take: a goat allows an abandoned foal to nurse at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Thanks to the Associated Press and our friends at the British social video site, TrotonTV.com for the heads-up on this clip.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rest in Roses: Kentucky Derby Champion Alysheba Was Euthanized Last Night

by Fran Jurga   |  28 March 2009  |  The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

As the horse racing world gears up for an exciting afternoon of racing with the the 2009 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, a pall of sadness drifts across the landscape. It's source? An empty stall at the Kentucky Horse Park outside Lexington.

"Alysheba" is the name on the stall plate.

The Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year was humanely euthanized at 11:13 pm Friday at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, a short trot across Iron Works Parkway from the Horse Park. The 25-year-old stallion was buried this morning at the Hall of Champions, across from the grave of the legendary John Henry.

Alysheba fell in his stall on Friday afternoon and was not able to get up. Hagyard's Dr. Nathan Slovis was immediately called to the Kentucky Horse Park, and an equine ambulance transported Alysheba up the long driveway and across the road. Dr. Slovis and his team treated Alysheba and evaluated his condition. By evening, it was clear that he had sustained an insurmountable injury.

“Due to a chronic degenerative spinal condition that led to ataxia and instability, Alysheba fell in his stall yesterday injuring his right hind femur,” said Kathy Hopkins, Kentucky Horse Park Director of Equine Operations. “Complicated by his advanced age, this trauma resulted in severe pain that did not respond to analgesic therapy. The resulting pain and suffering, and the inability to stand unaided, led to a joint decision for euthanasia. This very difficult decision was made by the veterinary staff of Hagyard Medical, the veterinary staff of His Majesty King Abdullah, and those who loved and cared for him at the Kentucky Horse Park.”

From  John Nicholson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park: “Discussions with Dr. Slovis and King Abdullah’s team, however, led us to conclude that this was the right thing to do for Alysheba, and Hagyard’s staff performed admirably in such a difficult situation. I am grateful to His Majesty for giving us the opportunity to enjoy this special horse and share him again with his many fans, and I am happy that his last days were spent here on his native soil.”

Frank McGovern, General Manager of King Abdullah’s stables in Saudi Arabia, participated in the decision and thanked the park staff for trying to save Alysheba. He stated “his injury is one of those incidents that is not uncommon in older horses, and, unfortunately, nothing can ever be done. I am glad that he was back home and enjoying the first shoots of Spring before this happened.” He added his thanks to the Kentucky Horse Park team “for their work in making Alysheba a star again.”

Before coming to the Kentucky Horse Park, Alysheba spent the previous eight years of his life in the royal stables of His Majesty King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, after standing his first years at stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. Known on the track as “America’s horse,” he was sent to the Kentucky Horse Park as a gift to the American people in October 2008.

Bred by Preston Madden at Hamburg Place in Lexington, Alysheba (Alydar-Bel Sheba, by Lt. Stevens) was sold as a yearling to Dorothy and Pam Scharbauer for $500,000. They campaigned him under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer, Jack Van Berg, who said, “He stuck out like a diamond in a rock pile.” Later, Van Berg observed, “He was so smart he knew what he was doing all the time.”

Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), Super Derby (G1), and an Eclipse Award as Champion 3-year-old colt. As a 4-year-old, he was even better, winning six Grade 1 stakes: the Strub Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap, Iselin Handicap, Woodward Stakes, Meadowlands Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was ridden in 17 consecutive starts by Hall of Fame Jockey, Chris McCarron. Alysheba is listed at #42 on The Blood-Horse magazine’s list of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, one notch above another Kentucky Derby-winner, Northern Dancer.

His career highlights also included Horse of the Year honors and track records for 1 1/4 miles at Belmont and The Meadowlands. Along the way, he defeated Risen Star, Forty Niner, Bet Twice, Seeking the Gold, and another Kentucky Derby-winner, the ill-fated Ferdinand. Until two-time Horse of the Year Cigar came along, Alysheba was the world’s richest Thoroughbred, with earnings of $6,679,242.

A memorial service for Alysheba will be planned at a later date.

Who could ever forget Alysheba and Ferdinand, two great Kentucky Derby winners, racing neck and neck down the middle of the track? Thanks for the memories, Alysheba.

Thanks to the Kentucky Horse Park for assistance with this post. ESPN will broadcast the Florida Derby at 5 p.m. today and may have more information and possibly a look back at Alysheba, although I don't know what their plans are.

Animal Planet's JOCKEYS Expanded to an Hour; New Series Airs Late Summer 2009

by Fran Jurga | 23 March 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

Will Canadian jockey Chantal Sutherland find love and career success at Santa Anita? Animal Planet will continue to follow her romantic and equine exploits in an extension of the reality series JOCKEYS. Still unknown: why do so many jockey silks include those little bow ties? (Animal Planet photo)

Do you miss the thrills and spills (there certainly were a lot of those) of the Animal Planet reality series JOCKEYS? The inaugural run of the series ended March 13 but Animal Planet announced today that the filming will resume and that the episodes will be expanded to an hour each for the sophomore season.

Adding to the intrigue will be the addition to two very well known jockeys, Garrett Gomez and Corey Nakatani, who join California regulars Aaron Gryder, Mike Smith, Alex Solis, Kayla Stra, Chantal Sutherland and Joe Talamo. Original cast member John Court will not return, as he is relocating to Kentucky.

The freshman season brought Animal Planet viewers into the lives of jockeys who raced at the renowned Santa Anita Race Track during 2009's 30-day Oak Tree meet, the first racing done on the track's new Pro-Ride artificial surface.

The successful first season brought in more than 9.2 million unique viewers, so Animal Planet plans a quick followup second season order with seven hour-long episodes set to premiere late this summer.

This season, viewers also can expect to see more of professional handicapper Jimmy the Hat and West Coast Regional Manager of the Jockeys' Guild, Darrell Haire.

Let's hope they remember that the horses are the reason that many of us watched the series...and that the network is, after all, called "Animal" Planet. JOCKEYS gets ten bonus points and a gold star in my book for the links on its web site to CANTER and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

More mention of what becomes of the horses after the jockeys hop off for the last time would be a great addition to the series. At a track like Santa Anita, there's nowhere to go but down; horses that don't succeed there are dropped down in class to cheaper races at cheaper tracks. If one of the jockeys spoke out about Thoroughbred retirement and/or welfare issues in racing, this series would really win my heart. 

Likewise, the producers could find the horses that the jocks rode in the first series and ask "Where are they now?" I'd like to know, wouldn't you? Or is asking a reality show to have a conscience too much to ask?

Someone in Louisville Loves This Blog...and Told the World!

by Fran Jurga | 16 March 2009 | The Jurga Report
Writing this blog reminds me of being on stage in a play. The lights are so bright, you can't see beyond the stage apron. Is there a full house...or will your words just echo around an empty hall? When I hit the "Publish" button for today's post, will there be the hoped-for wave of laughter, maybe a smattering of polite applause...or an uncomfortable silence, with a cough or two?

Blogging has taught me to take a lot of risks. I have to open my email account to anyone who posts a comment. I have to read and then delete the obscene, abusive or overtly commercial messages left by drive-by comment thugs. I scrutinize statistics of unique visits, page views, referring sites and landing pages.

But I don't have a clue who you. the readers, are or, some days, if you are.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that The Jurga Report was recently the subject of a very favorable and flattering article in one of my favorite daily newspapers, The Louisville Courier-Journal. Reporter Diane Heilenman, it turns out, is a regular reader of this blog and she wasn't afraid to tell the world. Then Google News picked up the story...and for a few days, the blog picked up steam and a few rows of new readers from the Louisville area.

Thank you, Diane, for tuning in to this blog and for sharing your enthusiasm with the world. I am still shocked at your kind words and the paper's nice graphic presentation of the article about the blog.

The newspapers lately are filled with stories about web predators, identity thieves, viruses, and rip-off schemes. Every time you download a file, do you wonder who--or what--might be hitchhiking a ride into your hard drive? Do you screen your email through filters and guard your "white list" like its a key to your inner sanctum? It just might be, if you believe what you read in the newspaper.

I'd like to encourage everyone who reads this blog to stay safe on the web, but also to take some chances. Find new web sites and blogs and forums that are out there waiting for you, beyond the Yahoos and the Googles and breed/sport horse sites of this world. Explore the world, not just the USA, and re-discover how much fun the web used to be, before we all became paranoid and security-crazed.

You can be safe and surf at the same time, so head out there today and have a good time. Just don't lose the bookmark or RSS feed of The Jurga Report. I'll still be here when you get back, with some interesting news. You can count on that.

Thanks for reading The Jurga Report, whoever you all are!

Get Ready for JOCKEYS: Santa Anita Doc-Soap Reality Series Begins February 6 on Animal Planet

by Fran Jurga | 15 January 2009 | The Jurga Report on equisearch.com



What: "Jockeys" documentary/reality tv series
When: Friday nights in February, beginning February 6, at 9 PM ET/PT
Where: Animal Planet, found on most cable providers
Who: This cross-section of California Thoroughbred racing's colorful iron men and women is a docu-soap producer's dream, including this lineup, as described by the network:

•THE ICON – Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is a living legend and a fan favorite. His fierce riding style and stringent pre-race ritual has earned him a shaman-like reputation among fellow jockeys.

•THE HOTSHOT – Joe Talamo may be young, but he already has taken the racing world by storm earning nearly $4 million in purse money in one racing season.

•THE BREAKOUT FEMALE STAR – Canadian jockey star Chantal Sutherland is a woman who’s dominating the tracks. And, because she’s dating fellow jockey Mike Smith, it puts her in competition with the man she loves. Can they make this work?

•THE WORKING MAN – Aaron Gryder is credited with more than 3,000 career wins and is motivated by supporting his family.

•THE ELDER STATESMAN – After racing more than 30 years, Jon Court is the consummate veteran, and he has no plans to quit.

•THE NEW GIRL – Fresh-faced Kayla Stra is racing gold in her native land of Australia, but only time will tell if she has what it takes to be a success in the US.

•THE COMEBACK KID – Alex Solis bounced back after a broken back injury nearly took his life. He’s been to the winner’s circle 4,000 times, but he’s yet to be inducted into the Jockey Hall of Fame.

For these jockeys, everything they have is riding on the 30 days of last fall's Oak Tree fall racing series at California's Santa Anita racetrack, which lead up to the two most important days of the entire racing year: The Breeders’ Cup.

But the real stars of the show are sure to be the horses, the danger, and the adrenalin that drive all toward the elusive finish line.

Whether you love racing or hate it, you must agree that the amazing atheletic ability of jockeys and the pressure they live under is the stuff of great drama, and it's doubtful the cameras will sugarcoat the grisly side of life at the track. It won't be all limousines and champagne.

The new synthetic racing surface just installed at Santa Anita was untested when the filming began. It was surely another challenge to the jockeys. The timing for the series to have been filmed is amazing.

Watch for more news about the series here on The Jurga Report. Bookmark this blog now, or click on the links on the right to subscribe to the RSS feed.

Jockey Alex Solis studies the facts and figures on his competition in the next race. (Animal Planet Photo)

Five Million More Quarter Horses? AQHA Will Host Open Forum on Cloning Option

by Fran Jurga | 13 January 2009 | The Jurga Report on equisearch.com

Did you receive that nice triangle-shaped green brochure in the mail recently? I did, and I expect most or all AQHA members did. It was from a company called ViaGen and I wondered how I had gotten on their mailing list. Today, I found out.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is planning to host an open forum on the subject of cloning at the group's annual convention next month in San Antonio, Texas. The forum is scheduled for Friday, March 6, 2009 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

According to the AQHA's announcement, this forum's panel will include representatives from equine industry and educational research institutions.

Whether they are watching from the audience, or participate directly in the forum, representatives of ViaGen have a lot riding on that forum. Since the closing of slaughterhouses, ViaGen had to move its lab to Canada to be close to slaughterable mares to harvest uterus parts, but they know that a nod from the AQHA to allow clones of the world's Quarter horses to be registered would be the answer to the company's prayers. It would be the first breed association to take that giant step. Add that the AQHA is the largest and most influential breed association in the world, and you see all that could be at stake here for ViaGen and the next generation of the ready-to-blossom equine reproduction technology field.

Within the past couple of years, commercial cloning of a number of horses, including American Quarter Horses, has been well publicized. Racing mules have been cloned, but most of the clones you hear about are high-end international-level show jumpers, like Gem Twist. The western horses have been primarily cutting horses or rodeo event horses, so the fact that the horses were not AQHA-registered was not a significant factor; cutting and barrel racing organizations allow any horse to compete.

Under Rule 227(a) of the AQHA Official Handbook, a rule that became effective in 2004, American Quarter Horses produced by any cloning process are not eligible for registration.

At the AQHA’s 2008 Convention, the Stud Book and Registration Committee (SBRC) received the first-ever proposed change to Rule 227(a); it was tabled then and has been brought back for 2009; the change would allow a live foal produced via a particular type of cloning to be registered if its DNA matches that of a registered American Quarter Horse.

Currently, the AQHA is not naming which particular procedure would be approved, but after seeing all the ViaGen ads cropping up on internet sites lately, it's not a tough guess.

In 2008, the SBRC recommended that any decision regarding the proposed change be postponed pending further study to be undertaken at the direction of the SBRC. As a result, on October 15, 2008, representatives from Colorado State University, Texas A&M University and ViaGen met with the SBRC in Amarillo to discuss the topic of cloning.

The proposed change to Rule 227(a) will be on the SBRC agenda in March in San Antonio. In an effort to make the most recent information on equine cloning available to AQHA members, AQHA has scheduled the open forum. The AQHA anticipates the forum will include presentations by panel of speakers from the equine industry and educational research institutions.

This forum will be open to all interested AQHA members. Save me a seat.

The SBRC meets on Monday.

The Superman Foal © 2009 Fran Jurga, created with Puppet Tool Software

Congratulations to Horse Groups Riding in the Obama Inaugural Parade

by Fran Jurga | 12 January 2009 | The Jurga Report at equisearch.com


Colorado's Freedom Riders are saddling up for the trip to Washington DC next week.

Lots of horse groups are checking in and announcing that they have been invited to be part of the Obama inaugural parade in Washington DC next week. This is very exciting and here's a list of some of the horses you'll be able to see:

• Four Lipizzan horses from Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, Illinois;
• Southern Ohio Ladies Aside, a women's sidesaddle riding club, will be turned out in capes, caps and skirts modeled after what a Civil War era officer's wife might have worn. At least one will be sidesaddle on Bud the Clydesdale!
• Colorado's Freedom Riders is a group of women who formed a color guard to honor US servicemen and -women.
• Governor Barry Schweitzer of Montana will ride in the parade, as will the entire congressional delegation from Montana (I want to see this!) and 20 Crow mounted horsemen.
• Fourteen troopers from the Mounted Color Guard from Fort Riley in Kansas, dressed in Civil War military clothes, will be riding horses on the parade route.
• Culver Academies in Indiana is sending 100 student riders and their horses.
• Ten Border Patrol agents from Washington State will ride their American Mustangs, obtained from BLM stock.

Let me know if I have left out a group so I can add them and their link to the list!

You can keep up with details on the parade and the inauguration ceremony at the official web site, which features a great blog.

And, PS: don't even think about trying to go to the parade. It's sold out!

Video: Footage Released to Press, Public as Massive Horse Cruelty Trial Continues in England

This is the complete, straight footage from the RSPCA, without narration.
Warning: this may be too graphic for some people to view or comprehend.

This is the television network version, with narration.

I was saving this story for the end of the year. I would have labeled this the worst news story of the year.

The story comes from England, the country on the planet with some of the strictest provisions for horse welfare and some of the most enabled law enforcement agencies dedicated to horse advocacy.

But it wasn't enough. Last January, a horrific news story broke, with tales of unimaginable, disgusting conditions. Agencies worked together to rescue close to 100 horses and house them all over England, but for many, it was too late. By the time they hacked through the red tape to get onto the farm, many horses lay dead and decaying on the ground.

The case, the horses, the entire saga has been encapsulated into a single word in British horse minds: "Amersham". Say no more. Amersham is the town in Buckinghamshire where horse dealer James Gray warehoused horses.

The farm's owners are now on trial, and this week a London newspaper, The Sun, went to court to release video taken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) when the premises were entered. Yesterday a link was released to a video download site, which is normal for the press. I didn't dally, but by the time I got to the link, the maximum downloads (usually 500 or 1000) had been reached.

That gives you some idea of the intensity of this trial. It will be the horse cruelty event by which all others will be measured. The news report shown here is from the ITN network and shows the less sordid footage; the narrator also provides some background.

I don't know how long it will take to reach a verdict, but it's not always a foregone conclusion that the owners will be convicted.

Click here to go to a dedicated site with a press file documenting the unfolding of this case.

There are many things I don't understand about this case and, until now, I had not seen the video, which is deeply disturbing. The fact that so many of the horses have stable blankets on seems so incongruous with neglected, abandoned, starving horses. There are also many, many questions about previous investigations of the property.

CEM in a Kentucky Stallion; Quarantine Begins

The following press release is from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Anyone working with horses in the state should be aware of this situation as it may affect how the horse business is conducted and might stop horses from being shipped inot and out of the state of Kentucky. With breeding season upon us, this is NEWS....and not good news.

An important point in this article that is not clearly stated in the press release is that stallions generally show no signs of being infected with CEM. The danger is the effect that the disease has on the mares bred to an infected stallion, and the ongoing transmission of the disease.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — State and federal agriculture officials are investigating a case of contagious equine metritis (CEM) in a quarter horse in central Kentucky.

The 16-year-old stallion tested positive for CEM during routine testing on Dec. 10. The test was performed by the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center as a preliminary step to shipping frozen semen to the European Union. Samples were sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, which confirmed the diagnosis on Monday.

The index horse and all exposed horses are under quarantine and undergoing testing protocols. The index horse is being treated, and exposed horses have been tested to see if they are infected.

The index horse was moved to Kentucky in February from Texas, where he had been located for his entire breeding career. All breeding was done artificially with no history of natural service.

During the 2008 breeding season, 22 stallions from various states were bred on the farm. Thirteen of the stallions were relocated to other states, and one was relocated to another facility in Kentucky. The index stallion was bred to 44 mares both on the farm and by shipped semen.

Contagious equine metritis is a transmissible, exotic venereal disease in horses. It usually results in infertility in mares and, on rare occasions, can cause mares to spontaneously abort. Infected stallions exhibit no clinical signs but can carry the CEM bacteria for years. CEM is commonly transmitted during sexual intercourse but also may be transmitted indirectly through artificial insemination or contact with contaminated hands or objects.

There is no evidence that CEM affects people.

CEM can be treated with disinfectants and antibiotics. CEM-positive mares and mares from CEM-positive counties in Kentucky are required by state regulations to go through a treatment protocol and remain in quarantine for no less than 21 days. Stallions in Kentucky that have CEM or come from a CEM-positive country also are required to remain quarantined until a treatment protocol is completed and they test negative for the disease.

The first cases of CEM in the United States were diagnosed in central Kentucky in 1978. Another outbreak occurred in Missouri in 1979. The disease was eradicated rapidly in both outbreaks.

TO LEARN MORE: This blog covered CEM in detail in 2007 when stallions at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria tested positive for CEM. What is missing from the Kentucky press release is where the other horses are who came into contact with this stallion. Finding them will not be easy, but it is certainly important.

The United States has very strict restrictions against the import of horses from CEM-positive countries, and a very complex testing regimen is required to ascertain that a stallion is negative before it can be imported.

Identifying CEM in the USA, a country believed to be free of the disease, could have far-reaching effects, including stopping the export of horses from the US to some other countries, or even the interstate transport of horses into and out of Kentucky on the cusp of the Thoroughbred breeding season.

In the bigger picture, consider this: in the past six weeks, two very serious equine diseases believed to have been eradicated from US soil--piroplasmosis and CEM--have shown up in our horses, bringing us back to square one in prevention and endangering the livelihood of horse owners, trainers, breeders, and competitors. If Americans don't know much about CEM, it is because they weren't around back in 1978 when it stopped the Thoroughbred industry in its tracks. Thirty years later, reading the history of that year--ironically the last year a horse won the Triple Crown--will send a chill down your spine.

Here are some links to past stories:

CEM: Equine Reproductive Nightmare (2007) This blog post describes the disease and why it is taken so seriously.

When Bad Things Happen to Nice Horses: Equine Venereal Disease at Austria's Spanish Riding School (2007)

Good News from Vienna: Spanish Riding School Stables Are Open Again (2007)

USDA Ease of Import Restrictions Against CEM-Infected Countries (June 2008)

Congratulations to Dr. Eleanor Green: AAEP President Will Be Dean at Texas A&M Vet School in 2009

It's nice to have some good news to report once in a while. No diseases, no crashes, no fractures today: let's celebrate!

Texas A&M University announced today that an exhaustive search for a new dean of the vet school there has been completed and the new dean will be the University of Florida's Dr. Eleanor Green, who is currently professor and chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.

The timing of the announcement is interesting, since this week is the close of Dr. Green's term as president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. I hope she has time to catch her breath!

Video Insight: Strangles Signs, Treatment and Prevention

by Fran Jurga | 4 December 2008 | The Jurga Report on Equisearch.com



An enterprising group of veterinarians has launched vetstoria.com, an online community for horse owners seeking access to video-based education on horse diseases and health concerns.

As a sample, I am posting for you an important description of the disease we call "Strangles". This time of year many horses are changing barns (or owners) and coming in from long summer turnout. Barns, blankets and buckets combine with new stalls, new trailers, new handlers to increase the risk of highly contagious diseases like strangles.

I have witnessed strangles firsthand, and more than once, and I can testify that this is a disease that you do not want your horse to experience. My horse was at a boarding barn on the farm of a horse dealer, and lots of horses came and went. We always assumed that the strangles outbreaks were related to some horse that had shipped in, but we never really knew. It could have been spread in so many ways, but it is also possible that a resident horse was a carrier and only occasionally shed the bacteria.

It seemed like the innocent boarder horses went through a ritual of falling victim to the disease. The owners were devastated. It was heartbreaking to watch the horses endure the disease, particularly when it advanced into bastard strangles.

Take the time to watch this video and learn the signs of strangles. Talk to your veterinarian about how to prevent the disease, and if vaccination is something you should consider.

Thanks to Vetstoria.com's vets for making this video available.

Good-bye, New York! Beloved Kentucky Derby Winner Funny Cide Will Retire to Kentucky Horse Park

by Fran Jurga | 26 November 2008 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

Funny Cide at Belmont Park, originally uploaded by wRock and Racehorses.

Horse lovers in New York will be in mourning this Thanksgiving. The Kentucky Horse Park announced today that beloved Funny Cide, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) will become the newest resident of the Kentucky Horse Park when he packs his bags and moves south on December 5.

Since his retirement as a race horse in 2007, the eight-year-old gelding has been used as Barclay Tagg’s stable pony on the track in New York and Florida. According to Barclay, “The rigors of racing and training for several years have started to cause him mild discomfort recently as he continued working on a regular basis as my stable pony.”

Funny Cide was an overachieving New York-bred racehorse who captured the imagination of New York racegoers and the nation. No one ever told him that New York breds were not supposed to win the Kentucky Derby, but win he did...and the Preakness...and other graded stakes. His popularity with New York horse lovers and betters grew as he aged, and some people turned out at Saratoga just to see if they could catch a glimpse of him in his retirement, being ridden by trainer Barclay Tagg in the early morning light.

Funny Cide Facts: Funny Cide (Distorted Humor – Belle’s Good Cide, by Slewacide) was bred by William Casner and Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm in a collaborative venture with McMahon Thoroughbreds of Saratoga Springs, New York where he was foaled, raised and then sold as a yearling for $22,000 at the August 2001 Fasig-Tipton NY Bred Preferred Yearlings Sale. He was later purchased privately as a two-year old by Sackatoga Stable for $75,000. For them he went on to earn $3,529,412 and an Eclipse Award as Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, becoming the highest-earning New York-bred in history for trainer Barclay Tagg, under Jose Santos. His nine stakes wins also included the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

Funny Cide has his own website, FunnyCide.com, and a fan club.

The public is invited to the Kentucky Horse Park for Funny Cide’s Welcome Reception on Friday, December 5 at 2 p.m. Funny Cide will join another Kentucky Derby winner, Alysheba, who came to the park in October.

I hope they don't make fun of his New Yawk accent! And I hope he never loses it!

Thanks to Sarah Andrews (Rock and Racehorses) for her great photo of Funny Cide at Belmont Park with assistant trainer Robin Smullen up.

Brumbies Steal the Show at Australia's Equitana Asia-Pacific

Written by Fran Jurga | 19 November 2008 | The Jurga Report at EquiSearch.com


As the curtain rose today on the Equitana Asia-Pacific exhibition in Melbourne, Victoria, Australian horse lovers must have breathed a sigh of relief. Just a year ago, the blockbuster event had to be canceled as Equine Influenza (EI) swept through the neighboring state of New South Wales and, further north, through Queensland.

As thousands of horses sniffled and coughed, racetracks shut down, rodeos and shows were canceled. All horse transport stopped. You couldn't even trailer your horse to a trainer or ship a mare to be bred. It was the first time the highly-contagious disease had been known in Australia. It gripped the nation's equine economy by the throat and held on for six months. At one point, there were doubts that Australian horses and riders would be allowed to compete at the 2008 Olympics. It was a dark time.

Equitana was one of the many events canceled but it was re-scheudled for this year. This huge festival of horsedom includes exhibitions, a giant trade show, clinics, nightly circus-like performing horse acts, and the creation of a re-united tribe, for a few days anyway, that is relaxing and enjoying the shows.

How would you choose between clinics by Australia's Olympic eventer Clayton Fredericks, the USA's natural horse-couple of Pat and Linda Parelli, or the Danish dressage rider Andreas Helgstrand? Tough one.

I know one clinic I wouldn't want to miss. Greg Powell is the man from snowy river, himself, a brumby (Australian for wild horse) expert who has been active to save the wild horses of the New South Wales mountain ranges. Greg has been working with a program called Youth Off the Streets that involves troubled kids in the training of brumbies. I think I would make time to listen to anyone who says things like:

"As a society we (should be) embarrassed about what we've done to our wild horses," he said yesterday in an interview with The Age newspaper as he prepped his crew of brumbies for his Equitana show. "The street kids get swept under the carpet in the same way." They say that three months out with the brumbies is worth five years of counseling and therapy.

Madeleine Pickens, are you reading this? (See Monday's post on this blog about Texas equine activist Ms. Pickens, who is working to "adopt" the 30,000 or so wild horses currently penned by the US government; she's going to need some helpers when and if her plan succeeds.)

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Age about Greg, or click here to go to his web site.

And call me if you can tell me how he got four wild horses to pose for that picture.

Churchill Downs Turns Pink, from the Spires to the Backside

posted by Fran Jurga | 17 November 2008 | The Jurga Report on Equisearch.com

If they had run the Derby yesterday, the blanket of roses draped over the winner's withers would have been pink instead of the traditional red ones.

Yesterday was not "business as usual" at the iconic Louisville racetrack, as 900 breast cancer survivors joined the state's First Lady, Jane Beshear, in raising awareness and funds for the prevention of breast cancer among the racetrack's employees.

Beshear's "Horses and Hope" program has been hosting awareness events at Kentucky's racetracks through October. Beshear has built on her relationships in the equine industry to deliver breast cancer education and services to racetrack workers and their families by hosting fundraising events at the state's tracks. So many supporters showed up at Churchill Downs that a second dining room had to be turned over to the group!

"There are over 80,000 equine related employees across the Bluegrass, many of whom are uninsured or underinsured," Beshear points out. "These individuals are the backbone of our signature industry and I am committed to giving back to the people that help to make Kentucky the horse capital of the world."

A committee of women who work in the equine industry is the engine that drives the program. It's called "The Pink Stable" and yesterday they turned the racetrack pink! Pink is the symbolic color of breast cancer awareness and fund-raising and not a color normally seen at the racetrack. All that changed yesterday!

Jockeys, outriders and grooms wore pink clothing or accents, and a pink cosmopolitan was the drink of the day. Winston, the mascot horse of the Kentucky Derby Museum, wore panniers as he circulated through the crowd so that donations to cancer research could be deposited in his saddle bags. A feature race was the "Horses and Hope" Stakes, and cancer survivors were invited to pose for the win photo in the winners circle.

While the fundraising group partied in the clubhouse, a mobile medical unit was set up in the stable area, offering breast cancer awareness information and free mammograms to women working in the barns and at the track.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the twin spires of Churchill Downs have been swathed in pink spotlights.

It's wonderful to see an initiative like this to help racetrack workers. The event also brought 900 racegoers, mostly women, to the racetrack to meet Jane Beshear and be part of the fundraiser. Many of those women are probably not regular visitors to Churchill Down, so horse racing won, too!

EquiSearch.com Wins USEF Pegasus Award for Best Website on Horses for Fifth Consecutive Year!

January 19, 2008 -- Source Interlink Media's Equine Network is proud to announce that Equisearch.com, the host website of The Jurga Report Blog, has won the United States Equestrian Federation's (USEF) 2007 Pegasus Award for Web Sites.

The award was one of three presented by USEF President David O'Connor to connections of the Equine Network during the USEF Awards for Media luncheon January 10 in Louisville, Ky.

EquiSearch.com received the top prize in the USEF's website category for the fifth consecutive year. Susan Harding, the vice president and group publishing director for the Equine Network, was on hand to accept both of her company's awards. "Once again, it was wonderful to see EquiSearch.com acknowledged as THE Internet resource for equestrians," she said.