The Irish Racehorse Retirement Fund

From Dr. Sue Dyson and Kathryn Lauritzen of Padma Video, the Executive Producers of the award-winning film The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain, we are excited to preview a new full-length documentary, “Horses and the Science of Harmony.”

Featuring a who’s who of legendary equestrians as well as some of the top equine veterinarians and researchers in the world, this moving and educational film explores the nature of trust-based relationships between horse and rider through the lens of cutting-edge science.

Be one of the first to see the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbC7Ny6K27k

“Horses and The Science of Harmony” will be available to watch for free on YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, ROKU, LG, Samsung and online via Equus Television Network beginning Friday October 25, 2024.

⭐️ Equi-ed are delighted to announce Equine Dissection date for Ireland with Becks Nairn. ⭐️

🟢 23rd & 24th Nov - Kildare, Ireland

Every horse has a story to tell. Our 2 - day journey aims to provide therapists, saddle fitters, hoof carers, trainers, and horse enthusiasts with the knowledge and experience necessary to unravel the mysteries of the horse’s anatomy and biomechanics.

By examining what’s beneath the skin, you’ll gain insight into how problems arise and how they can affect the rest of the body.

Check out our website to register - payment plans available on request.

https://www.equied.com/product/equine-dissection-becks-nairns/

You can also contact us by email - [email protected]



Becks Nairn

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Beautiful four year old chestnut filly and three year old bay filly, both unraced, that will soon be heading to Solway Racehorses in Scotland for rehoming.
It's important to remember, even though we don't have accurate statistics on horses never getting to a racecourse in Ireland, the figure from Australia is 35%. They have a similar number of foals born each year.

Apologies for the lack of posts in recent days. Busy collecting the latest horses destined for their new homes. As always, a thank you to the owners/trainers for ensuring that there is a good outcome for their horses after racing.

Variations in the spinal column of the equine skeleton seem to have a profound effect on biomechanics, a shock to some and a no s**t moment for others.

What does that mean? I have found in my dissections that the majority of biomechanical dysfunction and early break down of joints appears to happen at a transition between vertebrae along the spinal column. Cervical to thoracic, thoracic to lumbar, lumbar to sacrum. In the cervical to thoracic region we get ECVM (equine complex vertebral malformation) which presents in many different ways. There is plenty of information on ECVM on the internet from people studying the issue. Some horses seem to cope fine with ECVM and for others it’s debilitating. As Tami elkenham said last week, eventually gravity wins and I agree. From the thoracic spine onto the lumbar we can get transitional ribs, these also present in many different ways. They can be onesided or on both sides and present as either a rib with no facet joint or a transverse process with a facet joint. The problem I have found with these is their lack of orientation with the rest of the ribs. I often find them pointing backwards into the flank area causing discomfort in bending. They also make saddle fit a challenge because they aren’t a true rib often.

What I am seeing allot in the horses/pony’s that present to me for dissection is sacralised lumbar. These horses always seem to have a stiff hind end gait and trouble rotating the pelvis for canter work. The lumbosacral junction is pushed further back into the pelvis, the ilium of the pelvis is wider and the sacroiliac joint is set further back. Generally it’s the hind end that has broken down in discomfort early that they end up being put down. This week I dissected two young horses with this issue, a 5 year old purebred QH who had a sacralised lumbar and already broken down, inflammation in the sacroiliac joint, broken down cartilage, bruising of the lumbo sacral junction and all hind joints full of inflammation in the synovial lining.
The other was a 2 year old gypsy cobxTB who never recovered from a viral infection and had compromised lungs. Her owner reported weird hind end action and very stiff movement. She already at her young age had serious joint issues by way of inflammation in the joints and break down of cartilage. She had a sacralised lumbar limiting her range of hind end motion adding to her problems. Both of these horses had a depressed feeling about them, I do not recommend paddock mates for dysfunctional horses. It’s my personal preference to release them from their faulty meat suits.

There are serious issues creeping into bloodlines that most people are not aware of their implications.

So much more research is needed to get a handle on breeding practises and optional conformation of skeletal form. Every variation has an impact on form and function. A good skeleton is the foundation of which great horses are developed on.

The photo below shows the normal anatomy in the top picture and a sacralised lumbar in dissection below it.

The Irish Racehorse Retirement Funf (IRRF) remains dedicated to assisting trainers in finding new homes for their racehorses. There is always room for improvement within our industry, and we will persist in championing those who prioritize the highest standards of welfare. Most importantly, we will continue to be strong advocates for the well-being of our racehorses.

📸 David Betts Photography

Harchibald & reunited in retirement.

The hugely popular Harchibald, who is remembered most for his part in the thrilling 2005 Champion Hurdle, has died at the age of 25.

Is it “just” a scar?

This horse had a thickened tendon and an osseous growth on his hind medial splint bone, it felt to involve the superficial and deep digital tendons. He was not lame but he was a very unhappy animal with explosive behaviour when pushed beyond his capacity of coping. He also had some serious arthritis in the fetlock joint of this leg.

Not everything that makes a horse miserable makes them lame. This wasn’t the only problem he was coping with and I will talk about those issues further on the patreon page.

Behaviour is communication.

For the full video follow the link to my patreon page.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/is-it-just-scar-103913456?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Below is a picture of the superficial tendons from both sides of the horse.

My 50th horse in Ireland was a great dissection full of discovery!

This horse(7years old) had struggled with right hind lameness issues for years and his owners were unable to get answers. My assessment phase showed me a very dysfunctional hind end, sloppy hocks and stifles that had been injected with no improvement, a pelvis in rotation to the right and lack of rotation left in movement, the compensation patterns had caused joint issues down the hind limbs seen in uneven wearing of cartilage. A small bone chip was found in the hoof but in my opinion was a red herring to the real problem that was a fracture in the ischium(seat bone)

Fractures of the ischium are usually displaced ventrally as a consequence of tension created by the caudal thigh muscles, the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus muscles. This injury coupled with some serious gelding scars ment he was very limited.

Thank you to his owners for this learning opportunity and to Equi-ed for giving Ireland this opportunity. As the bones are cleaned we should have better images.

Videos of his gelding scars and looking at whether manual manipulation is possible on my patreon page.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/gelding-scars-102512092?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

This is a 52kg tumour we pulled out of a young TB(7)

He had a relatively fresh set of shoes on, let that sink in……
They are not built to show pain, they soldier on. His stomach was full but his kidneys appeared to be in renal failure and full of pus, his heart was scarred on the internal lining yet he died chewing hay as he was euthanised. The internal necrosis was horrifying, dying from the inside out and he kept eating hay.

We had a woman attending the dissection who weighed 52kgs. This was only the main mass, the tumors were everywhere. It was wonderful to have academics on this dissection and the first one to add to the conversations. I’m glad this horse didn’t take his secrets to the grave but moving forward a collaborative effort is needed to improve welfare for horses.

To watch the video

https://www.patreon.com/posts/52kg-tumour-from-102668261?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Therese from Equi-ed, your a hero for getting this underway in Ireland. Your awesome team of supportive people around you made this week run smoothly.

Collaboration not competition.

Jennifer Lynch Our family home was in Kenagh, Co.Longford and my earliest memory was a photo of showjumping legend Eddie Macken and Boomerang hanging in my bedroom.

Sue Dyson Training Day:

Thank you to everyone who joined us, especially those that brought horses!

The lighting wasn’t great, but David Betts Photography still managed to create a small album of today’s practical session.