Page 104 - Speedhorse November 2019

DR. TOMMY HAYS
by John Moorehouse
“I live by that: above all, do no harm.”
He’s done that, time and time again, for decades.
It’s been estimated that he performs more than 1,000 surgeries each year, but his involvement in the industry does not end there. Hays has enjoyed success on the competitive side of things as well, owning or co-owning several starters through the years. That group includes 2015 Champion Aged Stallion Open Me A Corona, who is now out to stud with his first crop of progeny getting set to run in 2020. Hays also is active on the political side of the sport – serving as the current president of the Texas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. In that role, he was pivotal in the recent passage of legislation that allocates $25 million annually to Quarter Horse racing in Texas from funds spent in the state on horse supplies and trailers.
“What that does is help put us on a little bit more level playing field with our surrounding states: New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana all have gambling at the racetracks and casinos and everything. They subsidize their racing,” Hays explained. “What’s happened is there’s been a big exodus from Texas going to the other states, because the purses are so much higher there. We’re going to get it where they stay home and rebuild their business here.”
You already know a lot about one of the elite equine veterinarians in the nation, but let’s dig a bit deeper, shall we? Get to know more about Hays in the latest installment of our Lighter Side.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was actually born in Thibodeaux, Louisiana,
but my father got burned in a bad accident and
that humidity down there was just causing a lot of problems. They suggested we move to an arid climate and so we moved to western Oklahoma – Laverne, which is very, very arid and very dry.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of
horse racing?
A: I love to hunt and fish. If I’m not messing with
the horses or doing vet work or going to races, I’m looking for somewhere to go hunt and fish. That’s my passion. Growing up, my family hunted and fished the whole time. That was kind of a family tradition.
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: One favorite’s an old movie . . . “Out of Africa.” I love Africa, I’ve been hunting there and vacationed there multiple times. If I could go back and live in time, I’d probably go back and live in that time of Africa: the development and exploration of it.
John Moorehouse
Dr. Tommy Hays was in a hurry on the day he connected with Speedhorse for a phone interview. You see, he was prepping to perform surgery on 12 different horses the following day. That may sound like an eye-popping number, but to Hays, it’s just another day in the office – or, operating room.
“I can get that many [12] done in a day. It’s a full day, that I can tell you,” said Hays.
Working out of Elgin Veterinary Hospital in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, Hays has been part of the staff there since graduating from veterinary school at Oklahoma State in 1985. In his 34-plus years at Elgin, Hays has fashioned a reputation as an elite equine surgeon.
“I grew up in a town in western Oklahoma that did not have a veterinarian,” he recalled. “Every time we needed a vet, we had to drive 40 miles or so. I started doing a lot of stuff for other people around there – the simple stuff. I finally realized nobody wanted to pay
to have a cow worked on, but they would pay to have a horse worked on. I always loved horses. I don’t know, I just had a bigger affinity to horses.
“I worked for a guy when I was a kid. He had the best mare he ever had on the place, who got colic and died. At that time, none of the vets really knew what to do . . . he had to watch her suffer and die. I thought, I’m going to go be a vet and I’m going to do things better to at least try to save these horses.”
102 SPEEDHORSE, November 2019
THE LIGHTER SIDE