Page 152 - April 2016

Louisiana Downs Announces Meet Leaders
Louisiana Downs ended their meet on March 23 after severe flooding forced the evacuation of horses from the backside and the subsequent rescheduling of the several big stakes races. Jockey Eddi Martinez (below left) was named the Leading Jockey after riding the earners of $218,789 and 30 winners. Kenneth Weeks (below right) was the tracks Leading Trainer with 18 winners and earnings of $107,704. The Leading Owner title went to Julien R. Stevens III with 8 winners.
Humane Society Offers Horse Emergency & Rescue Course
On May 11 at the second annual Honoring The Horse event, the Humane Society of the United States will host a daylong certificate course - Horses 101: Health, Emergencies & Sheltering - at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Leading experts will speak on a variety of issues related to horse care, including equine disaster pre- paredness, trailering safety, cruelty assessment, horse health and nutrition, large animal rescue and more. The event will be geared toward equestrians, horse rescue personnel, law enforcement and those work- ing in the sheltering community. For more details, an event schedule, and to register, visit www.ani- malsheltering.org/expo/daylong-certificate-courses.
Effects of Equine Assisted Activities on PTSD Symptoms
The University of Missouri-Columbia, College of Veterinary Medicine reported findings from their research related to military veterans with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The project was funded through a grant from the Horses & Humans Research Foundation (HHRF) and led by Rebecca A. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP. Randomly assigned veterans participated in a 6-week therapeutic horse-riding program that showed clear evidence of a decrease in PTSD symptoms and that benefits increased the longer the individual participated in the program. HHRF is dedicated to funding research to inves- tigate the equine-assisted activities and therapies field. To make a donation or learn more about the foundation, visit www.HorsesandHumans.org.
2016 El Moro de Cumpas Sponsor Announced
3 Amigos Tequila is the official spon-
sor of the 2016 El Moro de Cumpas Festival
in Arizona. Race trials will be contested in Safford (April 23-24, 2016) and in Sonoita (May 7-8, 2016), with the finals run in Douglas (May 21-22, 2016). It has been almost 5 years since horse races were held at the Safford and Douglas racetracks, while Sonoita racetrack has been holding races for the past 100 years. 2016 will be the first time that the three tracks partner together with
the El Moro Foundation to promote the El Moro de Cumpas regional strategies for the “Racing for Economic Development Initiative” (REDI Program). The El Moro de Cumpas horse race is named in honor of El Moro
from the Mexican town of Cumpas. In 1957, El Moro lost a match race to El Relampago from California. Over 1.8 million pesos were bet, as well as cars, trucks, farm animals, and even farms and ranches. El Moro lost to El Relampago, but the name lives on as a tribute that both winners and losers are heroes.
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Egg Hatch Begins in Kentucky
Eastern Tent Caterpillars, which are among the first insects to become active in the spring and are well adapted to survive Kentucky’s erratic winter and early spring, began to hatch on March 17. The population of this insect
has been steadily increasing over the past 4-5 years and the trend is expected to continue.
If consumed by pregnant mares, the caterpil- lar hairs embed into the lining of the horse’s
alimentary tract causing Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS). MRLS can cause late- term foal losses, early- & late-term fetal losses and weak foals. For information regarding
how to assess trees for egg masses you can visit http://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef449.
Equine Earphones Could Provide Relaxation for Horses
According to The Horse, research has shown that music can help horses relax and they can benefit from certain kinds of music in stressful situations. That research has
led to high-tech equine earphones. Claire Neveux, MSc, researcher and equine behavior consultant with Ethonova, in Normandy, France, teamed up with colleagues from
the University of Caen and the University
of Strasbourg to test the stress-minimizing effects of the newly developed earphones. The team tested the effects in two stress-
ful situations: trailering and during farriery work. Their findings, which were presented at the 42nd French Equine Research Day on March 17 in Paris, showed the horses in both situations tended to recover from stress faster if they listened to classical music through the headphones, noting that the horses held their ears forward and their heads upright without muscular tension.
Omar Reyes AQHA February Jockey Of The Month
Jockey Omar
Reyes, who was
the inaugural
winner of the
monthly AQHA
Jockey of the
Month award in
March of 2015,
for the second
time received
the award for
the month of
February 2016.
Reyes, who topped all AQHA riders in February with 23 wins and was second with $309,129 in earnings, finished the Hialeah Park meet as leading rider for second straight season with 43 victories.
Abby Beal Passes Away
Abby DaNay Beal, 36, passed away on March 24. Born in Grove, Oklahoma, to Charles Thomas North and Patricia Gwen (Sharp) North of North Farms, Beal was the founder of the after school children’s ministry program at Grace Harbor Baptist Church and she ministered at the Delaware County Jail. Beal is survived by her husband Randy, mother Patricia North, two children Wrangler & Tehlar Beal, and many other family members and friends.
150 SPEEDHORSE, April 2016
news briefs
Coady Photography
Lou Hodges
Lou Hodges