Page 106 - June 2017

The goal is to get them transitioned from racing machines to mellow broodmares with some body stores of fat.
most fillies and mares that start a career on the track eventually end up as broodmares. This may happen early—if a filly gets injured
or for some other reason can’t continue in a racing career—or later, after a mare has had a successful rac- ing career. Regardless of when this happens, there are some important steps between being a racehorse and becoming a successful broodmare, and it takes good management to help make this transition as easy and stress-free as possible.
Dr. Peter Sheerin owns Nandi Veterinary Associates in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. The facility is an equine practice that specializes in reproduction. Dr. Sheerin proposes that, among other things, the time of year when racehorses are introduced to the broodmare band is the biggest factor in their management. “Were these mares retired from racing in the fall? Were they purchased at a sale or possibly retired for not racing up to their potential and the owner decided to breed them instead? Is there possibly an injury where the horse cannot continue to race?” he asks.
Each mare and filly coming from one of these scenarios should be handled differently. “There is more opportunity for mares and fillies that are retired in the fall to get them into a different routine and to introduce them into groups they are comfortable with. Racehorses have schedules and horses thrive on routines.” You should not abruptly change the mare’s pattern to some- thing she is not ready for.
“A major step is just getting them adjusted to being outside rather than living in a stall,” Sheerin explains. “This can be a big change for many of them, as is being in a group instead of by themselves. Depending on the farm management—whether the broodmares
are outside as a group and fed as a group until it’s time to bring them in and put them under lights in stalls,
or whether they are always in stalls at night and going outside just during the day—the transitioning process may be a bit different from farm to farm.
“If the broodmares are in and out of the barn all the time, it will be different than if they are kept in groups at pasture. Even if the transitioning mare will
be in a stall part of the time, she still needs time to re-adjust her routine if she’s going to be outside in a group part of the time. In the stall, she gets fed at a certain time and is not having to fight for food. But when she goes out, she’ll have to deal with the herd.
“You can gradually introduce these mares to the herd they’ll be in so they can establish their place in the group,” he continues. “If you have several mares coming off the track or arriving at the same time, you could put them together into their own group. But before you turn them out together, you might turn them out individually into a small paddock, possibly under light sedation the first few times they go out (to minimize risk of injury).”
Sheerin goes on to explain how to steadily increase the time spent outside. “Limit the time they are out while gradually increasing their turnout time over a period of days, so that they eventually become used to being out however long your normal turnout period is,” he says.
Sheerin also suggests pairing the new arrival with another horse after the
new arrival is accustomed
to being out in a paddock.
TransiTioning From
The raceTrack To The
Broodmare Band
by Heather Smith Thomas
Heather Smith Thomas
“Then, introduce them to a buddy. Before you put them out together, if possible,
put them side-by-side in two different paddocks so they can get acquainted first. Introduce them to each other this way for a short period of time, then gradually increase that time. Once this has been done, you can put them out together.” This can be time well spent to prevent inju- ries on down the road.
“If you just turn a new mare out with all the others, there will be some fighting because they will redo their
Dr. Peter Sheerin, owner of Nandi Veterinary Associates in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, says one of the main factors in transitioning from the track to the broodmare band is the time of year in which the move occurs.
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equine health