Page 15 - June 2008 The Game

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
The Game, June 2008 15
FSEED-THROUGH FLY CONTROL OPTIONS
The only downsides to y
predators is that they need to be re-applied monthly throughout the y season, and that because they don’t travel far, you won’t see much of
a reduction in ies if your livestock- keeping neighbours don’t follow suit with a similar program. Also, any in- secticide you are using on your horses will kill your y predators too, so it’s best to designate an area away from where you’ve applied them, where
you put y spray on your animals. On the up side, there are now cold-hardy species available which can be used in most parts of southern Canada (some suppliers provide a mix of species with varying degrees of survivability).
uddenly, it’s summer. Every manure, where pest ies will be laying growth regulators, which interrupt the season has its trade-offs, and eggs. growth of chitin (which makes up the
while we’re all grateful not to have
to scrape ice off our windshields for
a few months, summer comes with squadrons of ying scourges which torment our horses and make our lives pretty wretched, too. These days,
insect exoskeleton) and prevent the bugs from maturing, while remain- ing harmless to bene cial insects and mammals.
successfully argued that although the product has a wide margin of safety
in cattle and other livestock, that the product is not inert when fed to horses and that some degree of organophos- phate is absorbed. Farnam, which did not withdraw the product from the market, said in a statement that it “does not agree that there are any legitimate medical studies or any other medical literature demonstrating that the use
it’s not enough to rely solely on a bottle of yspray to combat buzzing, biting ies: we need a multi-pronged approach to y control which can be implemented throughout the season.
The advantage of feed-through products is that they can help keep
y populations down generation after generation – but like the y predators, they’ll be of only limited use on your property if large populations of ies are congregating at your neighbour’s. You’ll also want to read the label carefully to see which type of feed- through product you’ve got. Insect growth regulators have a wide margin of safety and no reports of adverse events (so far), but one organophos- phate product, Farnam’s Equitrol, was involved in a California lawsuit in 2004, in which a jury awarded over a million dollars in damages to plain- tiffs who claimed the product caused or exacerbated a variety of health problems in their Thoroughbreds and warmbloods, including birth defects, stunted growth, hyperexcitability, neurological problems, laminitis, hypothyroidism, colic, and immunosuppression. The prosecution
Flies, of course, congregate and lay their eggs in manure, so wherever there are equine byproducts, there are going to be ies. That also means that one of the most effective ways to implement y control is in and around the manure pile. Get ‘em where they live, so to speak.
The other main way to attack ies before they mature is by using “feed- through y control” products, which make your horse’s manure a hostile environment for y breeding. Added like any other feed supplement, they’re designed to pass through your horse’s system untouched, but be toxic to ies which gather around the manure pile later. There are two basic types of feed-through products: organophos- phates (usually a
of Equitrol on a pregnant or nursing mare would be harmful. However, the company recommends that horse own- ers discuss with their personal veteri- narians its use with speci c horses and their particular situation.”
Consider nature’s own double agents, y predators, which in ltrate and destroy populations from within. These tiny parasitic wasps lay their eggs in the pupae (cocoons) of pest ies such as house ies, horn ies, and face and stable ies. Their own larvae then devour the pupae of their hosts and prevent them from ever maturing to the ying stage. Unobtrusive and utterly harmless to humans and horses (they don’t bite and have no stingers), y predator wasps are commercially available by the thousands (usually by mail-order) and can go to work when- ever they’re spread on or near fresh
Rabon-based feed-through prod- ucts remain popular because they are considerably less expensive than the insect-growth-regulator types.
If you’re considering using a feed- through y control product, read the labels carefully before you buy, so you know which type you’re getting. Many of these products have very similar names.
chemical called Rabon ®), which act as a nerve agent to kill larval ies, and insect
Equine Health
By Karen Briggs
Dave Landry Photo
2008
Chaplaincy Golf Tournament
Monday, July 14th, Noon
Glen Eagle Golf Course
Golf
Dinner
Auction
Special Guest:
Canadian Champion and Hall of Fame Jockey
Sandy Hawley
Golf, Dinner & Auction: $150
Dinner and Auction: $75
(registration deadline: July 7th)
All Proceeds Go To Race Track Chaplaincy of
Canada (Ontario)
Call 905.713.4783 for tickets and info
A portion of ticket price is tax deductable
Queen’s Plate - Continued from Page 14
His rst dam is by Santa Anita Handicap winner
Vigors, his second dam is by Kentucky Derby champion Dust Commander and his third dam is a daughter of Preakness victor Personality. If that doesn’t suggest classic distance potential what does? Kesagami’s sire, Carson City, was a sprint stakes winner and mainly a source of speed but is notable as the maternal grandsire of the aforementioned ill-fated Barbaro.
Tenth choice Pewter is another runner with Canuck stamped all over his pedigree. Like Deputiformer, he
is by Silver Deputy. On his dam’s side he is from four generations of mares owned by important breeder Anderson Farms. His fourth dam Nice Princess was the mother of Nice Dancer, a Northern Dancer colt who was this country’s champion three year old of 1972. Second dam Pennyhill Park won in graded company in the U.S. and was Canada’s champion older mare in 1994. She earned almost $700,000. The family also includes such top runners as Park Regent and Danzig Darling.
What would any list of possible candidates for a thoroughbred race be without a dark horse. A longshot to keep a look out for in this year’s Plate is Took the Time who ran a good race against older allowance company in mid-May at Woodbine. While the top half of his pedigree
is mostly speed ( he is by Champagne winner Greenwood Lake ), his female side suggests he could get ten furlongs
as his dam’s two grandsires are inaugural Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Wild Again and Kentucky Derby hero Spend A Buck.
While it is far from a sure thing that any of these eleven runners will actually win the Plate, pedigree-wise they are clearly a particularly strong group. What is certain is that to win Canada’s most famous race, both class and endurance are required. In that case, when called upon in that all important nal furlong, it’s nice to know that your horse has the family history to back him up.
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