# Cue Card - out of the Festival



## KautoStar1 (3 March 2015)

Apparently due to a trapped epiglottis.  What a shame for connections, but at least the horse is recovering fine and should be fine for Aintree.


----------



## Dobiegirl (3 March 2015)

Its a big shame as I am a fan of his, lets hope he can come back to form at Aintree and will look forward to him running.


----------



## Exploding Chestnuts (3 March 2015)

In a way, that makes things a tad more interesting [I don't have a bet on him]. Lets hope there is a bit of juice in the ground next week.


----------



## Mariposa (3 March 2015)

I just saw this on Racing Post, I feel awful for the Tizzards. Hope he will be right for Aintree.

And annoyingly for me this is the second year I've lost my money on him!


----------



## Clodagh (5 March 2015)

Are there any top thoroughbreds racing who still have the larynx and so on that they were born with, or have they all been lasered off?
Do the flat horses get the same treatment?


----------



## Elf On A Shelf (5 March 2015)

Clodagh said:



			Are there any top thoroughbreds racing who still have the larynx and so on that they were born with, or have they all been lasered off?
Do the flat horses get the same treatment?
		
Click to expand...

It's easier these days to do wind ops and recover quickly. It seems to be the first blame of choice and the easiest route to go down. 

Flat horses rarely get the same treatment due to their race being over before their wind comes into effect.


----------



## Clodagh (5 March 2015)

Thank you for that. I wonder if at some point it will be deemed performance enhancing? I suppose not as they all have it done - surely it would be easier to ban it and return to a level playing field.


----------



## Exploding Chestnuts (5 March 2015)

EKW said:



			It's easier these days to do wind ops and recover quickly. It seems to be the first blame of choice and the easiest route to go down. 

Flat horses rarely get the same treatment due to their race being over before their wind comes into effect.
		
Click to expand...

Ah right, the flat horses are sprinting, running on fitness, and muscles provide the energy for forward motion. NH horses need oxygen in the  lungs to make sure they can run the extra distances involved.

I don't think it is a bad thing operating on horses which are limited by their anatomy, I know its not  "natural", but when we get to the stage of training at the top level, its the way it is.  Horses need as much oxygen as possible, and it is usually a fairly minor op.


----------



## Exploding Chestnuts (5 March 2015)

Clodagh said:



			Thank you for that. I wonder if at some point it will be deemed performance enhancing? I suppose not as they all have it done - surely it would be easier to ban it and return to a level playing field.
		
Click to expand...


Its not "performance enhancing" in the way that giving them Lasix [anti bleeding drug legal in many countries not in UK] would be.

If you take it to extreme, feeding oats or worming horses could be performance enhancing compared to horse who do not have this treatment. Sending your horse to Paul Nicholls is performance enhancing, otherwise you would train it at home!

They don't all have it done, put simply, its a procedure carried out on horses with an obstruction in the airway. It is often not identified until they are on the racecourse running at full speed.

Sometimes the tongue is tied down to allow air in to the airway, this is legal, its never been seen as anything extreme, some horse need it, some don't.


----------



## Elf On A Shelf (5 March 2015)

I see no problem with giving horses a wind op. I would rather that than have it collapse in a heap because it can't get enough oxygen into it's lungs to keep it going. Ok it could go on to be a normal horse but that's not it's job at that specific moment in time. A lot of eventers and hunters have wind ops too. 

It's another forwards development in vet science. You can now have certain wind ops done and be back on the track 4 weeks later. Obviously the more youdo the longer it takes to heal.


----------



## Clodagh (6 March 2015)

Fair enough. Some of them though, that have them repeatedly, maybe just shouldn't be racehorses. I love racing and am not knocking it on a welfare level but you do hear of horses getting recurrent choke after having a lot off, they are meant to vhave a voice box, after all.
My old boy had one in his youth and if he neighs he sounds like a heron shouting down a loo roll tube.


----------

