Is anyone intertested in a backside tour on Saturday morning at 9:30AM. Brittany and I will be back there at 9am tending to some other business but one of us could break off at 9:30 and meet at the stable gate for a tour. It would take about an hour to 90 minutes. Looks like it is supposed to be sunny. Let me know via email and we will it organized. I know it is a holiday weekend and late notice but we will schedule another one later as well. Racing is at 4pm that day followed by fireworks.
JM

Hello all,

We don’t want everyone to think the Gown situation is stalled quite yet, we still have a lot of summer and some options.

We are working on getting updated with the bills still, as we have some more veterinarian bills from this month. Once those are organized, Jeff and I will keep you updated.

Moving towards the horse situation. . .we want you to voice your opinion about what you think should happen next. Should we purchase a new horse? Should we claim a new horse? Or would you rather pay the bills and end the summer a little early? Please let us know what you think and if you have any questions.

bc

If you were not able to make it to the backside tour this Wednesday, here is a behind the scenes video update of the backside.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

bc

Gown did suffer a torn suspensory ligament. Below is a video with more detail. The decision was made for us with this new injury. Club member Curt has provided a link in the previous post to a good summary of this type of injury.
http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Gown continued to train well following two days of walking. This weekend some filling was discovered in her left front ankle. Xrays were taken and it appears that there could be a suspensory problem. This would represent a setback at best but more likely a condition that would be causebtp stop on her completely.
A suspensory problem would be
unrelated to the hocks which seemed to have been addressed last week.
Other than bad luck, I don’t know how to explain it.
Setbacks and delays are common but this mare seems to be starcrossed and our group is caught in the crossfire.
Tammy is on her way to Shakopee as this is written.

The tour on Wednesday will proceed as planned.
JM

Here is an updated video of Gown’s progress and what she has been up to.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

bc

Next Wednesday, June 23 is a target date for a backside tour. It is a non-racing day so the barn won’t be disrupted by visitors. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

I need to get a handle on the group size so we can manage it. Please email me and let me know if you can be there. Britt and I will get back to you with specific directions. Plan on meeting at 9:15am. The tour should take about an hour. There will be a good amount of walking as vehicles are not allowed in the stable area during training hours.

Once entries come out we can look at a possible Saturday tour.

I don’t like to visit the barn with a group on raceday as it can throw the horses off. Some can handle it but some not. For example, I was working on a news story a couple weeks ago and wanted to take a crew to a barn to see a specific horse hours before racetime. After consulting with the trainer we decided not to use that filly as he said she was the nervous type. I saw her in the paddock and on the track before the race and he was right. She washed out and ran like she left her race in the paddock.

JM

I realize there is a level of frustration involving the progress and some disagreement on the path to take with Gown. Having a possible reason for her lack of performance and a potential solution is cause to give her one more try. If she weren’t training well and showing positive signs, then it would be a different story.

While there has not been a vote per se, the majority opinion expressed through the blog and emails has been to try. Of course that could ultimately prove to be the wrong decision. Every decision in this game has a chance of coming up ‘tails.’

There also has been concern expressed about Gown’s vet treatment for her hocks. These horses are athletes and are treated as such. If there was something harmful being done we would not be discussing it opening here certainly. If this treatment works, she will feel better about racing.
I spoke with Tammy and Dan yesterday about what would happen today. Gown jogged a mile and then had a strong two-minute mile. The vet will attend to her and then she will walk for a couple days before returning to training.

“She went good again today. She has all week,” Dan told me. “She galloped strong and changed leads as she should.” Gown continues to be eager to go to the track and train.

I would like to get a backside visit organized. It looks like the weather will clear up this week.
Ideal days would when there are no Domenosky horses entered to run. Many horses are high strung on race day and large groups wandering the barn can lead to problems. Wednesdays are good as there is no racing and the equine pool is open.

Entries for Saturday are taken Weds. If there is nothing entered then next Saturday could work for a tour.

If Wednesdays work for anyone please let me know. It would be great if we could split up the groups and not try to navigate the barn area with 60+ people during training hours.
JM

Gown was on the track this morning to gallop and exercise.

Tammy has a training plan in place.

The vet will inject her hocks with cortisone over the weekend. At that point she needs three days off and then returns to training on Thursday or Friday. The old fluid is removed and replaced with new fluid and the joint heals. “Just like they do with people,” Tammy said.
She also intends to take Gown to the starting gate afterwards. If she was not breaking well because of the sore hocks then she needs to learn that it does not hurt to break from the gate. Blinkers may also be added to see if she will be more focused. “We may try an extended cup,” she said.

Gown has not grown sour at all and continues to travel well over the track. There may be more than one solution to the problem or more than one problem for that matter. What we do know is that Tammy’s horses do not run the way Gown has so somewhere in there is an answer.

JM

Dr. Sorum examined Gown this morning. He performed a flex test and concluded that Gown has sore hocks. I have included a picture and definition for you.

Let’s regroup and discuss here.