Moment Of Silence

[Rudy]

....Last Saturdays Wayward Lass had an unfortunate loss of Julies Prize who apparently suffered a heart attack after the race...It has also come to my attention that another horse in a Friday post race died of a heart attack...This seems to be suspicious in that there were two in about a weeks time..I guess my question is how often does this happen,and what can be done to further eliminate such a horrible tragedy.......

[mop38]

I'm no medical doctor, but I can offer some important clues.

Let's compare horses to humans.

The common word used these days is "stress", and people often complain that too much work causes them stress.

Genetics dictates that some of us deal with "stress" better than others.

Some of our genes make us live longer regardless of abuse.

Yet, the combination of care and good genes gets you great health that endures.

Okay, with horses, there seems to be a genetic defect in the Seattle Slew bloodlines since a son of his died of a heart attack (Swale).

Now, given that with some you run a risk of heart attack more than in others, factors such as running style (closers vs. speeders), proper care and balanced conditioning, competent medical attention...these factors all contribute to the end result which is seldom seen................

Good horses having fun winning and retiring late for stud duty.

Seldom seen, but when you see it, thank the management team for that!