Page 10 - The Game April 2006

10 The Game, April 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Photo Left: Danny Wolsey takes on the mechanic bull at a benefit in his honour
Photo Right: Spectators thoroughly enjoyed the bull riding
Back in the Tack
By Pat Gauvreau
On October 14, 2005, Danny Wolsey was breaking young thoroughbreds at the Hayworth Training Centre in Strathmore, Alberta, when he got on his last horse of the day. This particular youngster decided to put up a fight and kicked Danny in the head. Danny received numerous injuries which resulted in 9 titanium plates needed to reconstruct his face, lost most of his teeth and spent eight days in a coma. The most devastating part of this whole thing, was when Danny awoke from his coma, he was told he was permanently blind.
Danny wanted to work around horses from a very young age. He began cleaning stalls during the days and in 1982 when he was only 15, and attending junior high school, Danny began his career as a groom at Stampede park, working weekends with Pinky MacDonald, with aspirations of becoming a jockey one day. The following year, Herbie Olive (ex-jockey, now trainer) noticed Danny and took him under is wing with the intention of helping him become a jockey. It was during this time that Danny had a serious bout with Crones disease which caused his intestines to burst, landing him in the hospital where they removed 2 feet of his large intestine and 4 feet of his small intestine. After three strenuous months in the hospital, Danny focused his attention and rehabilitation to get back to work with Herbie, at
Edmonton's Northlands Park, still aspiring to become a jockey. Then that fall Danny got on his first thoroughbred, Flying Snake, for trainer Red Mackenzie. Now he was hooked.
In 1986 Danny went on to Hastings Park in Vancouver, where he was an exercise rider for Ed Thompson. One of his highlights at Hastings was working "Reve Du". In the late 1990's to mid 2000's Danny continued his work at Hastings as well as Northern California's Golden Gate and Bay Meadows and Southern California's Santa Anita, Del Mar and Hollywood Park race tracks. In 2005 Danny became exercise rider for Greg Tracy, a leading trainer in Calgary.
Through his work history, Danny was known as "Cowboy Dan" for 2 reasons; one being his love of bull riding, but mostly because he was the guy that most turned to when there was a horse that no one else wanted to ride. Cowboy Dan would not only get on but he would make it look easy.
Danny has an impressive list of horses that he has ridden: "Hoover got his Keys" - winner of the Santa Anita Derby, "Echo Eddie" - Golden Gate Derby and Santa Anita Derby and "Silver Don" - BC Derby. Danny has worked horses of such owners as: MC Hammer, Larry Flynt, Johnny Carson, Doc Severson, Frank Stronach and the Sangara's.
A benefit was held at the Ranchman's in Calgary on February 23, 2006 in support of Danny. There was live entertainment, refreshments, hors d'oeuvres and an outstanding silent auction. The "Bull Riding" was a lot of fun and Danny made sure he got in on the action as well.
Photo Left: Danny riding last year at Stampede Park
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Pat Gauvreau Photos
The Importance of Colostrum - New Study
Interview with Dr. John Madigan
by Heather Smith Thomas
John Madigan, DVM (Professor at the University of California, Davis and author of the “Manual of Equine Neonatal Medicine”)
SEPTIC FOAL SYNDROME - If the foal encounters bacteria (and their toxins) that slip through the gut wall into the bloodstream, he may become acutely ill. Septicemia (generalized infection through- out the body) is difficult to treat, and is the major cause of foal deaths.
“The GI tract is the leading source of infection in
foals. The umbilicus is not the primary site of infection, as was once thought. So-called navel ill (infection that enters via the umbilical stump and gets into the bloodstream to attack multiple organs or settle in the joints) affects a certain percentage of foals, but most septicemias do not start this way; we believe the gastrointestinal route is the source of most cases,” says Madigan.
The foal goes through several stages: early sepsis and SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) and then the foal goes into septic shock.
Once the foal goes into shock, it is very difficult to reverse the condition and have a good outcome, so you want to prevent this. Getting colostrum (and its antibodies) into the foal before the pathogens are ingested is probably the best prevention measure that horse breeders can do.
“There are many other things that colostrum does locally in the gut, however, to help the foal. It’s a natural laxative and also has glucose and energy that give the foal more strength to stand and nurse or deal with inclement weather or other stresses. It stimulates systemic immune response; there are activated immune cells that transfer right across the intestinal tract and trigger rapid develop-ment of the immune response. All of these factors suggest that early inges- tion of colostrum would be good,” he says.
Dr. Madigan recommends hand feed- ing a little colostrum before the foal gets up.
CONTINUED PAGE 12 - SEE COLOSTRUM
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