Rags to Riches: I hope we do see her next year; I doubt we will. One has to wonder whether she is truly delicate (as her half-brother, Jazil, seemed to be) or if she is simply [...]]]> Apologies for the lack of updates, it’s been a busy few days. Without further ado, a quick rundown:

Rags to Riches: I hope we do see her next year; I doubt we will. One has to wonder whether she is truly delicate (as her half-brother, Jazil, seemed to be) or if she is simply under a microscope and the kid gloves do more harm than good — after all, hard exercise builds bone mass in growing horses, and her light schedule of late did not really lend itself to that.

The Green Monkey: Hey, he picked up a check! He’s a beautiful horse, I’m sure he’d make a lovely show prospect with a little operation.

Super Frolic: This is a real shame; he was a nice, solid horse who always tried; he only came back to the races after being retired to stud because he excited so little interest on the part of breeders. Speaking to the delicacy issue above, maybe they were onto something. But it’s too bad, nonetheless.

John Henry: It sounds as though the venerable old guy is doing better, but is still being closely monitored.

Now, on to the main event! Dan Liebman wrote a great commentary in The Blood-Horse on the breeding industry this week. An excerpt:

For baby boomers, 60 is the new 40; for airlines, 6 a.m. is the new 8 a.m.; and, according to a recent advertisement in The Blood-Horse, for the Thoroughbred industry, 6% stakes winners from foals is the new “gold standard.”

Wow!

I don’t mind getting older, nor do I mind getting to the airport earlier. But I do mind the notion that 6% stakes winners is now the goal to shoot for when standing a Thoroughbred stallion.

Let me be the first to say that if it is true that 6% stakes winners from foals is what we expect the very best of our stallions to achieve, then this breeding industry has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Well said, sir. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was announced that Sheikh Hamdan will be limiting Invasor and Jazil to 85 mares:

Many farms encourage huge books for their young stallions because if the horses don’t get a grade I winner in their first crop, they are not considered commercially viable anymore. The increased numbers may lead to increased chances at that measure of success as well as generate immediate revenue through stud fees.

However, Nichols [Rick Nichols, Shadwell Farm general manager] said Sheikh Hamdan believes that if it takes 200 mares to produce a grade I winner for a sire, “then that horse is not good enough.”

Nichols and Sheikh Hamdan also are concerned that stallions that cover large numbers of mares may sire more weak offspring in general than those that do not. Furthermore, the trend toward huge books for some stallions means that others that may be worthy are not getting enough opportunities, a trend that eventually will lead to less diversity in the breed.

Speaking of overbooked stallions, it might also be noted that several shuttle stallions (Tale of the Cat, Johannesburg and Lion Heart) are winging their way back from quarantine in Australia so that they don’t miss out on the US breeding season. Fusaichi Pegasus, Dehere, Royal Academy, Elusive Quality, Encosta De Lago and Rock of Gibraltar remain behind. With Encosta De Lago still in lockdown, Makybe Diva has been bred to Fu Peg.

But what has their impact on the breed been? An Australian article in 2004 noted:

On average the service fee of shuttle horses was $15,500, 65 per cent higher than the locals at $9000. The average earnings per runner was $47,000 for the shuttlers, compared to $31,000 for the locally bred stallions.

The average earnings as a multiple of service fees was 3.05 for the shuttlers and 3.45 for the locals, so for every dollar invested the shuttlers gave only a 10 per cent better result. And that is against a background of the shuttle stallions getting much better opportunities.

Taking Danehill out of those figures the shuttlers’ average earnings were only $39,000, bringing the average earnings to stud fee ratio back to 2.62, or 30 per cent inferior to the locals.

The performances of Australian-bred horses such as Choisir and Silent Witness overseas last year has proved Australian-bred sprinters are up with the best in the world.

The recent EI outbreak has also led to calls for bans on shuttle stallions and regulations on how many mares a stallion can be bred to although the plea for artificial insemination seems short-sighted in a market that already breeds far more horses than it can cope with.

But at least the move by Shadwell to limit their stallions books is a step in the right direction; with the possibility of Storm Cat’s fee being reduced and his book being limited (which, given his age seems sensible — it was 111 at last check), it seems that some major players in the breeding game are starting to take a long view that high auction prices don’t magically improve the breed.

Let’s recall that these days, it’s likely that any two racehorses share nearly 47% of their genes and that a Cambridge University study indicated that nearly two thirds of all thoroughbreds are too fragile to race — when you can hear the banjos dueling in the background, you need to take a step back in considering your breeding practices. I’ve complained before that the larger picture has been rather ignored by breeders, and it’s nice to see someone stepping up to the plate — let’s hope others follow. A bit of longue durée would not go amiss…

Disagreement continues over whether or not vaccination [...]]]> Obviously this would have happened a lot sooner if the US were affected by equine influenza in the same fashion, but it seems that a class action lawsuit is starting to come together in Australia. I am intrigued to see exactly who they plan to sue.

Disagreement continues over whether or not vaccination should be the next step — in this corner, we have veterinarian John Walker:

Asked his solution, Walker replied: “Vaccinate ASAP and get on equal footing with the rest of the world.

“If we don’t vaccinate, we will have another nave (horse) population that is susceptible to the flu in five or 10 years time and we will go through this whole rigmarole again.

“This AusVet plan is clearly a failure. It can’t contain the virus. That has been evidenced in New South Wales and Queensland, with new cases spreading up all the time. Why are we attempting to control it?

“This containment policy in NSW is sending people to the wall and they are dying by slow strangulation.”

And on the other side of the debate, we have Dr. David Pascoe:

“This could all be over in one or two months if people comply, but if they don’t then it will be a long and drawn out process,” Dr Pascoe said.

“It’s a highly contagious virus and it can spread 100 km/h in a truck and that what’s people don’t realise. That’s how fast it can spread.”

Dr Pascoe’s warning followed reports that people stranded at Morgan Park at Warwick, the site where EI was first confirmed in south-east Queensland, have frequently left to make trips into the town where they mingled with locals.

….

“The vaccine we have in Australia probably won’t stop this virus, which means we’d have to import a new vaccine which would be very expensive,” he said.

“The biggest threat with this outbreak is the breaches of horse movement.”

Even if a a vaccination program were introduced immediately, it would not be a speedy solution; quarantines would still be in place, even though it seems that people are violating them quite openly in some places.

The larger issue this brings up is that there is no real international standard for dealing with horses that fly in and out from country to country — they have passports with health certificates, but the standards each ‘host’ country employs vary widely (rather like the situation with what drugs are allowed in different racing jurisdictions — this document makes for fascinating reading in that regard).

(In case any of the Tin Hat Brigade were wondering, the EU requires horse passports with detailed medical information mostly so that they can determine which horses are ‘fit for human consumption’ — feel free to insert your own New World Order conspiracy theory there if you are so inclined, but please check Snopes first). The reality is that by allowing horses from other regions into your country, you are inviting disease, even with isolation procedures in place.

Racehorses in the UK (indeed, in most countries) are required to be vaccinated against EI — in fact, a vet was struck off earlier this year for falsifying vaccination dates in the horses’ passports. The International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities maintains specific guidelines on EI — but note that they are simply recommendations:

20.19. Equine Influenza Vaccination

20.19.1. It is most strongly recommended that because of the highly infectious nature
of this viral respiratory disease, all horses should be properly vaccinated
against equine influenza.

20.19.2. Vaccines containing the most updated strains of equine influenza viruses
should be used and administered according to manufacturer’s
recommendations.

20.19.3. A primary equine influenza vaccination course must have comprised at least
2 doses given within an interval of 4 to 6 weeks. Following a primary course
a horse must have received annual boosters within a regular 12-month
period. Failure to do so will necessitate the horse receiving a primary course
prior to export.

20.19.4. During the 60 days immediately prior to export from its country of origin
(permanent/usual residency), but not within 14 days of export, the horse
must have been administered a certified primary or booster course of
approved equine influenza vaccinations as defined in 20.19.3.

Given that Australia allows importation of horses who are coming from countries where vaccination is required (and disease endemic), it would follow that a change of the rules is in order in the long run — but whether it can solve the current crisis is another matter. For now, whether vaccination goes ahead or not, maintaining the biosecurity procedures will need to remain a reality for now if Victoria is to remain flu-free.

Among the stud farms now affected is Emirates Park (part of the Darley empire) — three yearlings, some mares as well as a teaser [...]]]> Equine influenza continues to march across New South Wales and Queensland, although Victoria still remains flu-free at this point and no horses are allowed into the state from infected areas.

Among the stud farms now affected is Emirates Park (part of the Darley empire) — three yearlings, some mares as well as a teaser and a nursemare have all tested positive.

While there are good arguments for vaccination (see below), it seems clear that not everyone is following the strict biosecurity procedures that have been put in place — some Perth trainers were fined for disobeying the lockdown rules and moving their horses to a ‘private’ training area. One imagines that there are other similar infractions that have not been noted. Given the fact that seven shuttle stallions are confirmed to have the disease, it would seem worth pursuing whether or not the rules have been applied to to everyone equally.

But back to the vaccination issue; while horses who travel often are routinely vaccinated, the local horse population in Australia has never had a need to be similarly protected, since until two weeks ago, it shared the distinction of being entirely free of the virus with only New Zealand and Iceland. Indeed, diseases such as EI are the major reason that Iceland never allows horses to return once they have left the country, nor can you import horse equipment unless it is new in its original packaging or has gone through a ‘dip’ — the last time I went to Iceland during the British Foot & Mouth outbreak, I was required to have my boots dipped into before wearing them to any horse farms, and with good reason. At work we have a well-developed set of biosecurity protocols, but if you gave an anonymous survey, everyone could point to several occasions where they have not been followed, and there are initiatives in place to ensure that the importance of adhering to those protocols is understood at every level. The arguments for and against vaccination are summed up by two opinions:

“As they [officials] procrastinate on whether to vaccinate or not … they’re risking our industry and the long-term viability of our industry,” Mr O’Shea [Randwick trainer John O'Shea] said. “The rest of the world deals with it (EI) through vaccination so why should we be any different.”

Vets disagree. “You can vaccinate to try to make sure they don’t get it but you can see at Eastern Creek they have been vaccinated and they have it,” says NSW chief veterinarian Dr Bruce Christie. “The strains change all the time.” He advocates containment, and letting it burn itself out – like a bushfire.

There are no easy answers.

In addition to the elderly horse who died last week, EI has claimed its first racehorse victim — a previously healthy horse who had just won a race in late July.