#Soundbites - With increased restrictions on the use of Lasix beginning this year, should tracks have protocols for horses’ environment in the barn concerning ventilation, air flow and bedding?
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Compiled by Bill Heller
With increased restrictions on the use of Lasix beginning this year, should tracks have protocols for horses’ environment in the barn concerning ventilation, air flow and bedding?
Christophe Clement
It’s now a new thing. The environment is very important; I think about it every single day of my life because I think about my horses every single day of my life. Creating the best environment is very important. I’m a strong believer in fresh air. The more fresh air, the better. The more time you can keep them out of their stalls and grazing, the better. It shouldn’t be done by the tracks. Individuals should do it.
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Peter Miller
Peter Miller
It’s a horrible idea to begin with. Restricting Lasix is a horrible idea. That’s where I’m coming from. It doesn’t really matter what they do. Horses are going to always bleed without Lasix. It’s really environment. You can have the best barn in the world, the best ventilation, the best bedding; horses will still bleed without it. Those are all good practices. I use those practices with Lasix. You want clean air. You want all these things as part of animal husbandry. You want those things. But It’s a moot point without Lasix.
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Kenny McPeek
Kenny McPeek
Yes. I think it’s good that tracks maintain the proper environment. Enclosed ventilation in barns is bad for everybody, depending on what surface you’re on. There are open-air barns and racetracks which have poor environments. It’s very important. Horses need a clean environment.
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Ian Wilkes
It definitely would help. A closed environment is not natural for horses. You have to get them out, getting fresh air and grazing. With some tracks, there are no turnouts. There’s not a lot of room. I think it’s very important. It’s not good when you get away from horses living naturally and having nature take care of them. It gets dusty in barns with a closed environment. Even if you have the best bedding, if you pay the top dollar and you get this tremendous straw, when you shake it, it’s still dusty. Horses have allergies like people.
Ian Wilkes
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Jamie Ness
I think it’s very important. I think it really depends on where you are. At Delaware Park, they have open barns with a lot of ventilation. But that’s in the summer. I’m at Parx, just 50 miles away, in the winter time, and we have to keep the barn closed. It’s cold out there. It stays warm inside, but you have 40 horses in stalls with low ceilings. The ventilation isn’t that great.
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Gary Gullo
Gary Gullow
With or without Lasix, I believe good ventilation, bedding and good quality hay is the best thing for horses. Trainers need to have that. With dust and the environment, the daily stuff 24 hours a day, it definitely helps a horse to get good ventilation.
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Mitch Friedman
No. Absolutely not. The tracks have no idea what’s right or wrong. They’re making up rules as they go along. No Lasix. Yes Lasix. This is why the game changed. I worked horses for Hobeau (Farm). If a horse was hurt, they sent him back to the farm. Then they sent three other ones. Farms don’t exist anymore where they turn horses out. The more regulations and rules, it gets worse over the years. The problem is this, in my opinion. I was an assistant trainer for Gasper Moschera. He never had horses break down because they raced every month. Gasper would jog them. Now with Scoot Palmer, these races can’t be run because they’ll suffer breakdowns. The game was never like that. They keep coming up with rules that make it harder and harder.
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John Sadler
John Sadler
Yes. My experience is that better ventilation, more air, is really good at preventing airborne disease. Good ventilation is key. The one thing we try to do is eliminate dust in the barn. We ask our grooms to do it. Don’t fluff up their straw while they’re in the stall. Wait until they’re out to control the environment. Getting fresh air is very important.
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With or without Lasix, I believe good ventilation, bedding and good quality hay is the best thing for horses. Trainers need to have that. With dust and the environment, the daily stuff 24 hours a day, it definitely helps a horse to get good ventilation.
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