ATOMICALLY EXPLODES DENIES LYNX FSS SWEEP

George Isaacs, FTBOA President

OCALA, FL—George Isaacs, general manager of the historic Bridlewood Farm located in Ocala, was elected president of the Association at the board meeting that followed the Oct. 21 annual member meeting. Isaacs said he was grateful to be elected president by his fellow board members.

“I am honored and humbled to be elected by my peers to this important position. Being an active manager of a large Florida breeding operation, I hope to do my part in continuing to bolster the Florida breeding and racing industry, “ Isaacs said.

FTBOA board members Marilyn Campbell of Tyngsboro, Mass., and Joe O’Farrell III of Ocala extended their terms on the board while Jerry Campbell, of Tampa; Mike Hall of Parkersburg, W.V., and Mary Lightner of Williston were named to the board for the first time. They will each serve a three-year term that will run until October 2025.

Leaving the board because of term limits as outlined in the FTBOA by-laws were Valerie Dailey, who served as FTBOA president from October 2021 through October 2022, and past presidents Brent Fernung and Phil Matthews, DVM. As past presidents, all remain on the board without voting privileges with as immediate past chair also continuing to serve on the executive committee.

The board also selected the remaining executive committee officers for 2022-23 with Isaacs as president while George Russell, who owns Rustlewood Farm in Reddick, was named first vice president. Francis Vanlangendonck, who operates Summerfield in Morriston, was named second vice president; and O’Farrell will serve as treasurer. Nick de Meric, who operates de Meric Stables and Sales in Ocala, was elected as secretary.

Isaacs has a long history serving the Florida thoroughbred industry as an FTBOA officer and serving five terms on the FTBOA board.

He became stallion manager at Arthur Appleton’s Bridlewood Farm in Ocala in 1989 before becoming the general manager for Allen Paulson’s Brookside South Farm in 1992. In 1996, Isaacs returned to Bridlewood as general manager and currently manages operations there with John and Leslie Malone, who purchased the farm in 2013.

During his tenure at Bridlewood, more than 100 Florida-bred stakes winners and 12 Grade 1 winners have been bred by the farm.

Isaacs is the chair of the Equine Studies Program at the College of Central Florida, is a Horse Farms Forever board member and an AdventHealth Ocala Foundation board member. Isaacs is the chair for the FTBOA Ocala Downtown Thoroughbred Walk of Fame committee and serves on the FTBOA Farmland Preservation Work Group.

Marilyn Campbell, along with her late husband Gil Campbell, established the 600-acre Stonehedge Farm South in Williston in 1988. Since then, the farm has been a perennial industry leader as the top producer of Florida-breds foals annually from 2016 – 2022. In 2021, Stonehedge was the second leading Florida-bred breeder by earnings with $2.5 million. Stonehedge has bred 89 black type stakes winners including millionaires Blazing Sword and Marlin and graded stakes-winners Always Sunshine, Well Defined, Ivanavinalot and Me and Mr. C.

Robert Crawford Photo Marilyn Campbell

Golfers arrive at Stone Creek t

Pyranha Animal Health wins the tournament with celeb jockey Jacinto Vasquez t t

Stonehedge Farm South takes second

Golf Check-in

FFA Student Volunteers Brianna Zubieta and Breely Yeomans from North Marion High School t

C. Graham Photo J. Nevarez Photo

Scott Kanniss makes a last minute bid

J. Nevarez Photo

Destiny Lawson, Terese Dear, Michael Gilliard, and Mary O’ Neal t

C. Graham Photo

Celebs enjoy the day

C. Graham Photo

FTBOA’s Tammy Gantt and t golf co-chair Debbie Green Augie Greiner and FTBOA board member Joe O’Farrell t

C. Graham Photo

All-In Removal team awaits tournament start

Volunteer squad t with FTBOA president and charity chair Valerie Dailey

C. Graham Photo J. Nevarez Photo

C. Graham Photo C. Graham Photo

t FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell

t FTBOA president and charity chair Valerie Dailey thanks presenters Dr. Tiffany Atteberry and Dr Diane McFarlane

Natalie Schoepf getting a book from author Mary Perdue t

C. Graham Photo

t Brunch guests

J. Nevarez Photo t FTBOA’s Vicki Davis and Jacinto Vasquez

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BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Horses in athletic careers like racing often have greater risks for injury than other horses because of the speeds they travel. Any horse can suffer a coronary band injury (tangling with a fence or putting a foot where it doesn’t belong), but this type of injury tends to occur more often in racehorses working at speed— catching one foot with another. Duncan Peters DVM, DACVSMR, ISELP Certified Member, East-West Equine Sports Medicine, Lexington, Ky., says many of these coronary band injuries are often traumatic, with severe lacerations.

“If the horse gets a little unbalanced during a race or workout, one foot may come up and catch the coronary band of another foot and cause significant trauma,” Peters said. “This might be anything from bruising to lacerations.”

Dr. Mark Cassells (Homestead Veterinary Hospital, Villa Ridge, Mo.,) says some coronary band injuries can be problematic for future soundness unless they are handled appropriately.

“Horses can easily injure the coronary band if another foot comes up and lands on the coronary band—which may bruise or slice it. This might be an opposite limb or a hind foot landing on a foreleg,” Cassells said.

“The coronary band is very vascular, with good blood supply, so it bleeds easily. It also contains the germinal layer of cells that produce hoof horn,” Cassells said. “The hoof wall grows down from the coronary band, and if that area is damaged too much, it can no longer produce normal, strong hoof horn. There may forever be a part of the hoof wall that is weaker and more prone to hoof cracks.”

“Even without a laceration, there may be serious bruising,” Peters said. “Some of those tissues underneath the coronary band may have prolonged soreness. There is good nerve supply in that area, and trauma to those underlying tissues can be very painful. There is quite a bit of movement there; the coronary band [must] flex every time the horse puts that foot down,” Peters said.

I’ve seen horses that bang a foot or step on themselves, with dramatic bruising on the coronary band. You can often see a red spot on the coronary band at the top of the hoof, especially in a white-footed horse. You can actually see that red spot in the hoof wall grow down as the hoof grows. This means there was probably a hematoma under there, and some of those horses will stay sore and lame on that foot for three weeks to a couple of months.” These kinds of injuries can happen in many ways. A horse might stick a foot under the edge of a stall wall or the metal sheeting of a building or shed, and create serious inju- Hailie DeVries Photo ry. A horse might paw at a fence and get a hoof caught. Wire cuts at the coronary band may be difficult to repair and can end up with scar tissue that comes over the side of the collateral cartilage and coronary band.

“I’ve also seen foreign bodies that Coronary band laceration n Hailie DeVries Photo penetrate into the coronary band,” Peters said. “I’ve seen horses with splinters from a fence embedded deeply into those tissues, or a piece of wood/tree branch jammed down inside the hoof wall, right through the coronary band. This is like driving a nail under your toenail or fingernail. These can be very sore, and those splinters can sometimes puncture into the coffin joint and be serious.”

Dr. Olivia Rudolphi (Rudolphi Veterinary Services, in Noble, Illinois) says the coronary band injuries she sees are often lacerations from getting a foot caught.

“This may be a cut clear through the coronary band or a flap that pulls downward and pulls the hoof wall off with it, or flips upward and still has skin attached,” she explains.

“Depending on the site of the injury, a laceration can sometimes be closed with sutures, if adequate tissue still remains. Sometimes we have to remove that entire portion that is unattached. We need to make sure there’s not a puncture going into the coffin joint or pastern joint. It’s wise to use antibiotics and make sure the horse’s tetanus vaccinations are up to date,” Rudophi said. “We have to make sure the coffin joint is not infected, and then see if we can suture it. If we can’t, we may let it heal by second intention [with the wound healing from the inside out]. We may use some biologic or regenerative therapies to help it grow back a little bit better,” she said. Some injuries will need careful evaluation and surgical repair. “There are many important structures near the coronary band, including the coffin joint,” Peters said. “The bony recesses/pouches of this joint come close to the collateral cartilages from the coffin bone. These can be damaged if something cuts into them and can potentially cause infections. The bones themselves—pastern and coffin bone—can be injured, along with their ligament attachments. This may include the coffin joint and pastern joints.” Careful evaluation of the damage or laceration is imperative, to see what structures may be involved. “If there is joint fluid in the injury, we probably need to flush those joints and keep the lower leg bandaged and very clean. Treatment may be quite complicated in order to have a good outcome,” Peters said. Cassells points says that once the initial care is accomplished (immediately after the injury—to apply pressure and stop the bleeding), it’s important to clean the hoof and get it properly bandaged and dressed. “This is a difficult area to stitch, partly because there is a lot of movement but also because that tissue does not hold suture material very well,” Cassells said. “If it’s right on the coronary band, we can’t suture into the hoof wall. Usually we depend on appropriate bandaging to stabilize the area, and let it heal by second intention [as opposed to sutures]. This means we simply let the wound close over from the inside out, just because they are difficult to stitch. Obviously if the wound comes farther up onto the pastern, we can suture that area.” Sometimes a cast is used, to immobilize the tissues until they can heal and grow back together. “If we apply a cast, the area must be adequately cleaned first; otherwise it will trap infection in there,” Cassells said. “Some people prefer to use a cast, since this simplifies the care and is not as

involved as a daily bandage change. There are different schools of thought on this. Some people like to take the bandage off every day and take a look at it to make sure it’s healing the way they want; other people want to put a cast on, as a low-maintenance treatment option. It all depends on the situation, the horse, the owner, and the veterinarian who is in charge of the case.

“Sometimes it’s a good idea to take a couple radiographs just to make sure there is no deeper damage, such as to the coffin bone or joint. In most cases these wounds don’t get that deep, so x-rays may or may not be warranted,” Cassells added. “The times I usually take an x-ray are when the horse is very lame—more lame than it should be for just a wound—or if there is injury from a foreign object such as sheet metal, if the horse kicked through the barn wall.”

Sometimes a horse may jam a foreign object into the foot through the coronary band, such as a splinter of wood. If there is suspicion that part of that foreign object may still be embedded in the hoof, it’s good to do some imaging like an x-ray or ultrasound just to make sure there are no fragments still inside that need to be surgically removed.

“This can be challenging, but also very rewarding when we get it out of there, like getting the splinter out from under your fingernail,” Cassells said. “Antibiotics are recommended for these situations (and any time there is a deep wound to the coronary band) because the foot is always in an unsanitary environment, whether walking around in the stall, pen or pasture. There’s always some dust and dirt, so antibiotics are a good idea.”

Even if the laceration is not very deep, it may have a long-lasting impact on future hoof soundness. If it doesn’t heal together perfectly, it may leave a weak spot where hoof growth is impaired. The horse may be prone to hoof cracks in that area for the rest of his life.

“Hoof growth may be impaired, though some of these damaged areas improve with time,” Cassells said. “As the hoof starts

to grow, many of these defects will grow out. Generally, these horses will be able to perform and function normally in daily life and in competition, especially if they have appropriate shoeing to protect and stabilize the foot while the hoof wall is damaged and still growing out.” Special shoeing can take the pressure and stress off that area and allow it to grow out normally, without risk for separation. “Proper farrier work will be paramount in the future if there is a damaged hoof wall, but in my experience these horses tend to do very well,” Cassells said. “We just need to keep in mind that as the hoof wall grows out there may be some Hailie DeVries Photo changes that must be done with future trimming and shoeing. “With some injuries, it can take anywhere from 10 to 12 months to completely grow down and grow new hoof capsule. It may still leave a hoof wall defect/weakness that may or may not be a potential problem for later performance,” he explains. If there is a lot of hoof wall involved it is good to have your farrier on hand from the beginning, to collaborate with the veterinarian. If the hoof wall is unstable, you need an appropriate shoe to support it—and eliminate any pressure that would tend to spread that area as Coronary band laceration repaired n Hailie DeVries Photo it heals. Jillian Mills, DVM, DACVSMR, Presidio Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Encinitas, Calif., says the foot may need careful shoeing for the rest of the horse’s life, to ensure there won’t be any stress on that weak area that might cause the hoof wall to crack and separate. “You have to account for the heel growing at a different rate than the rest of the hoof wall. This is what generates the shearing forces that create a crack,” Mills said. “It can cause reopening of the injury or a quarter crack up by the coronary band. If this happens there will be bleeding which may result in clinical lameness.” The farrier will have to do some creative therapeutic shoeing to eliminate shearing forces. “Generally we try to unweight the back part of the foot on the affected side in order to alleviate the pressure that would create shearing forces on the hoof wall,” Mills said. TFH