Don’t bet against a horse with screws
There are many red-flag phrases in the playbook for horse shoppers. ‘Lag screw fixation’ should not be one of them. So explains top veterinary surgeon Dr. Patricia Hogan, a seasoned equine veterinarian who has performed lag screw fixation—a surgical technique used to mend fractures—on many Thoroughbreds, including the great Take Charge Indy. In this week’s Veterinary Answers column, Hogan, a former board member of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), who performs charitable work for both the TRF and other equine charities, explains the technique of mending leg fractures, and offers insights on what the presence of screws means and does […]
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Beautiful Harry battles horrible illness
Horrible Hairy Hog, a darkly beautiful OTTB rescued from the slaughter pipeline in September, has been stricken by an illness that caused him to go down. The 17-year-old Thoroughbred, who was rescued by a team of caring individuals in a collaborative effort that helped him land safely at Our Farm Equine Rescue in New York, took a sudden turn in late October, says Sharon Kress. Harry, as he is now named, suddenly and without warning, began to sweat, spiked a fever, and his hind leg ballooned up in size, Kress says, noting the onset of troubles began the night before […]
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Denny Emerson: Racing’s mixed emotions
BY DENNY EMERSON —I am well aware that many people have mixed emotions about horse racing. The industry has a reputation for pushing too many young horses too hard at too young an age, with too many getting injured in the process, and that’s a valid criticism. I also believe, though, that modern sport horses in general, most of which are at least part thoroughbred, would be LESS tough and hardy and athletic WITHOUT racing being used as a tough filtering system to find out which horses can handle all the athletic stresses, because the winners tend to breed on, and […]
