Lava Man-- A Commentary

I don't care how many quotes I read about how much happier Lave Man is now than when residing in a paddock somewhere. No doubt a good horseman can read his animal's emotions to some degree; but until Lava Man inks the contract himself and tells us all just exactly what he really wants to do, this is just another case of humans putting themselves before the animals they claim to love.
Obviously the connections of Lava Man will say they'll only run the old guy if they're 100-percent sure he's healthy and capable. And the truth of the matter is they will have no clue. Consult the spirits of Barbaro, Eight Belles, Pine Island, George Washington and Ruffian.

Since the official announcement of Lava Man's return to the race track I have received numerous emails, phone calls, text messages, commentaries, comments and now the latest, a petition to remove Lava Man from the race track altogether. For some reason, this request directed to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), Dr. Rick Arthur and Doug O'Neill has irritated me more than the others. There isn't a horse alive that "inks a contract" so the comment is hyperbolic at best.

I understand the emotion, I understand the fear and I understand the risk for any horse on any given day; including the risk associated with the "un-retirement" of Lava Man. What I believe has been missed in most of the debate is the potential that many race horses will have their careers extended with the advances of stem cell procedures such as Lava Man's.
I am in a unique position, having a small glimpse into Lava Man from my association with some of those involved with him. I can say that originally I was shocked when I learned that Lava Man was galloping and training at Magali Farms months ago. I love Lava Man as much as the next person, and have had the privilege of seeing him several times during his racing and resting periods. I know the care and condition that he was in before he left Magali and arrived at Hollywood Park. The pictures for this post are from my last visit with him four days after he arrived back at the race track. Does this look like a beaten down, broke down, unhappy horse? I beg to differ.
But his being happy is not what this commentary is about. This commentary is from another point of view. The stem cell research while expensive at this time could have far reaching ramifications for race horses. Much like Barbaro, Eight Belles, and Ruffian (the later having an equine hospital named in honor of her) their tragedies did make a difference, but AFTER their injury and demise. Lava Man is alive and well, and the research and results will be monitored and that means going back to the race track and entering in a race to really understand the full success or failure of this procedure. Absolutely there is risk involved with this, heart sick risk, but when I think of the numbers of horses that could race longer, retire sounder, or have a better quality of life because of advances in equine medicine when they can no longer race, I have to take notice. Others like myself, take in the broken down horses that can't race. At 2 or 3 years of age these horses become available to rescues/retirement facilities on a regular basis. What if these same horses were able to take advantage of replacement therapies as a viable option instead of being a disposable commodity?

In California while synthetic tracks have reduced somewhat the catastrophic injuries, it has been documented that the injuries now to race horses are of a different nature. More fractures and career ending injuries due to the new tracks. What if stem cell therapy was an answer to keeping horses racing longer? Thereby extending for a few more years their careers and alleviating the need to scramble to find them homes (meaning not dumping them when they can no longer race. The potential results, more race horses running, filling races, and keeping horsemen and owners in the game, which is what this sport currently needs especially in California. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/49797/stem-cell-research-potential-benefits

The TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California) recently produced a video of the presentation given on stem cell research perhaps if we educate ourselves on exactly what Lava Man has had done to him, we can better see the advantages of this medical intervention and remove emotion and name calling.

Let's stop for one minute, remove the emotion and outrage from whatever perceived ills the owners of Lava Man have done by putting him in training and let's look to the science of this decision for the greater good of many others. Perhaps this will make it easier to see that Lava Man may have not "inked" this deal, but I do know one thing, Lava Man is a champion in more ways than one, and could have the legacy that makes him one of the greatest for the sport of racing.

USTA, Museum team up to host racing breeds adoption fair

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ --- The USTA and the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame will team up to present an adoption fair, featuring race horses and greyhounds, on Saturday, October 17. The event will be held at the Museum, on 240 Main Street in Goshen, N.Y., from noon to 3 p.m.

About a dozen Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, ready for adoption, will be housed as guests of adjacent Historic Track, located behind the Museum. The horses can be viewed by prospective adopters at the track and learn more about the groups offering them for adoption at booths in the Museum. Both the Thoroughbred and Standardbred Retirement Foundations will send horses looking for a home, along with Equine Rescue Resource, located near the Museum in neighboring Pine Bush, N.Y.

Also joining the adoption fair will be a few greyhounds seeking a permanent home through Greyhound Rescue and Rehabilitation, of Cross River, N.Y. Since horse owners must also have a barn cat to keep rodents out of horse’s grain, the Goshen Animal Shelter will have cats in need of a job on display for potential adopters. The greyhounds and cats will be on hand to greet prospective adopters in the Museum, as only horses will be at Historic Track. All groups will have booths at the Museum.

Those who cannot adopt a horse, dog or cat, can find out about other ways to help the equine, canine and feline adoption groups, including volunteering, providing foster care or providing a donation.

“As part of our mission to present the best about racing, we’re happy to educate visitors about the many terrific horses and dogs off the track and looking for a new job,” said Museum President Ebby Gerry. “After Saratoga County, there are more horses in Orange County than anywhere else in New York. The Museum is in a good position to help put together people looking for a horse with the right animal for them and we’re happy to provide the venue.”

There is no charge to attend the adoption fair. The Museum will donate a portion of the day’s gift shop proceeds to each of the groups in attendance.

For more information regarding the Harness Racing Museum http://www.harnessmuseum.com/

On the Road Again, the Tale of Trailering two Thoroughbreds

This past Thursday, Kimberly and I began the adventure of trailering Ocean Chief and Podger to their foster home. Now this sounds like a simple enough task to complete. We started the day with Kimberly (also the foster mom) driving up from Valley Center in the San Diego County area to Bradbury and Sunshine Farms where the horses had been at for the past couple months. The owner and trainer of these two horses had been waiting for an adoption that hadn't taken place, so these two charges were now the property of The Second Race. Ocean Chief "Chief" and Podger loaded up like champs, which is especially interesting as the trailer is a step up design and race horses are used to ramps. Anyway, Chief loads up after Podger and thinks that "bitey face" is a good idea, we secure Chief and began the 2 hour trip down the road. I was enjoying the boys with their heads out of the trailer, taking in the hot dusty air outside of Norco, when I heard a loud pop followed by the breaking up of tire tread bouncy off the freeway and the smell of rubber. Kimberly's trailer had a flat, and all I could think of was how would I keep two Thoroughbreds quiet on the side of the road. My mind raced as Kimberly pulled over to the median and we both got out to look at the damaged tire. We decided to limp the trailer along to the first off ramp and find a place to park. I said I would call my friends to help us out. Unknown to me someone on the freeway had also noticed the tire blow out and followed us off the freeway ramp. A young gal got out of her SUV and introduced herself. She had three stalls in her backyard, lived in the area and said that if were to be delayed for any length of time, she would be happy to allow us to put Chief and Podger in her barn overnight if necessary. Turns out she is a realtor in the area and as we chatted some more, she told me she had an older Thoroughbred that she was looking for a pasture mate for, or would be willing to have him adopted out for the same purpose. I called my friends to see if they could help us out. Mario who is a jockey and former trainer and his wife, Teresa live outside of Corona (where the tire had blown) and I was able to catch him prior to his leaving for Pomona to ride at Fairplex that afternoon. They have their own horse trailer and Mario said he would pull off a tire for us to use. While we waited for our guardian angels to arrive, we found literally the only shade tree in the shopping center parking lot for the horses, while they stayed in the trailer. The temperature was 100 degrees outside. Kimberly had some carrots and I had horse cookies in my car so we appeased the curious boys with goodies to keep them calm. Our 'angels' arrived and unfortunately discovered that we had a six lug nut tire and Mario's tire had five. Fortunately, Discount Tire was a few blocks away and the tire was replaced. All of this easily delayed our trip about an hour, but Mario was a champ and was able to hoist up the trailer (horses inside) with a jack and change the tire for us. (don't tell me jockeys aren't strong). Now the sidebar of this was when we returned from the tire store, we pulled up to Mario holding court with two ladies looking at the horse trailer and the contents inside in wonderment. They introduced themselves as visiting from Michigan and said "that had never seen a real race horse in person". They both remarked how beautiful the horses where and how they didn't look "like regular horses". One of the ladies and I struck up a conversation and it turns out she rescues rabbits and cats and has a national pet sitting business (which is why she was in the area). We exchanged information as she said she is often asked to place horses and didn't have a resource to go to. Now who can network two different resources while awaiting a tire to be fixed! I have always said there are no such things as "accidents" in the universe. We were back on the freeway heading down through the Temecula area when we approached dead stopped traffic, by now the temperature is soaring around 105 degrees. NOW WHAT I heard myself yell out, we inched along for almost one hour in traffic to find a jack knifed truck that had spilled it's load and fuel on the highway. Eventually we made our way past this mess and arrived 4 1/2 hours later from the original two. We hosed the geldings off as they left the trailer, gave them some water to drink, took pictures and then turned them out to the paddock to run and stretch their legs. Chief was the first let off the trailer, and the pride that I felt when he ran around, I can't describe. As I was leaving, Chief ran up to me, stopped, put his head down and leaned his forehead against my shoulder as if to say "thank you" and took off again farting and squealing with excitement. It was a glorious day!