News and Notes
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Here's What's Been Happening . . .
 The April meeting
was an “on the edge discussion” about the newly established CARMA program.
This stands for California Retirement Management Account. This outstanding
program will allow all owners to donate .03% of purse money to this account.
The money will then be distributed to worthy racehorse retirement facilities
through a grant process.
CARMA is hoping that other groups such as trainers, jockeys,
and gamblers will follow suit in contributions toward this racehorse retirement
program. The presentation was passionately presented by the director of
CARMA, Madeline Auerbach. She spoke on her involvement with the racehorses
in her life.
There are approximately 2,400 horses that retire off the
California race tracks each year. She explained that TOC now has a code
of ethics, which can be viewed on their website. From this code of ethics
CARMA’s mission statement was formed. It is simply: “CARMA is dedicated
to the goal of providing funding for the rehabilitation, retraining, and/or
retirement of Thoroughbred horses that have raced in California.”
CTFMA president Jerry
Murphy and CARMA director Madeline Auerbach.
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The March
18 meeting of the CTFMA featured a presentation by attorney Bing Bush,
Jr. The traditional "Handshake Horse Deals" which has been standard practice
for centuries is actually against the law. He provided an outline and explained
what buyers and sellers have to do in California to protect themselves.
There were many questions and the group felt they went home with useable
information. Bing brought his young son Ben to the meeting, and he was
off to the World Cup racing extravaganza in Dubai at the end of the week.
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Lita Tabish, Ben
Bush and Bing Bush, Jr. (Below) Bush, Jr. speaking to the group.
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At our February
meeting, Dr. Steven Colburn spoke on nutrition of the young horse, particularly
pertaining to developmental issues. He is working with a large local
farm on a program to follow and chart the growth weights from birth to
two years of age. The goal is to see how weight gains and "hicups" in the
patterns of the gains might have on the incidence of DOD and more specifically
on OCD's. Dr. Colburn is the lead veterinarian during the foaling and breeding
season at Vessels Stallion Farm.
We have new members attending and were very pleased our
good friend and last year's president, Sid Huntley, and his wife could
attend. We were so glad to see them looking very healthy and absolutely
radiant.
Photos from our February meeting:
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| This
is the large sign above the entrance to Richie's Diner between Highway
15 and Highway 215 on Murrieta Hot Springs Road, Murrieta. It's the new
site of our dinner meetings. |
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| Jerry "Richie," our host,
and Mariann Hebner, CTFMA treasurer. |
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| From left: Jerry Murphy,
president; Dr. Steve Colburn, speaker; Lita Tabish, vice-president; and
Mariann Hebner, treasurer. |
2008 started
off with a bang as the California Thoroughbred Farm Managers Association
enjoyed their first meeting at their new location, Richie's Diner in Murrieta.
Alex Hassinger spoke on equine joint health and new ways to prevent injury
along with ways to protect injury from occurring in the first place. One
of the products Alex endorses as well as markets is Lubrisyn, which is
a liquid dietary supplement of hyaluronic acid that supports healthy joint
function at a very affordable price. Mr. Hassinger was even kind enough
to donate a quart of Lubrisyn to the raffle which is always an enjoyable
and fun part of the evening.
The December
meeting was our year-end Christmas party, hosted by Keith and Barbara Card
at their Hi-Card Ranch. As promised, we had great Christmas gift baskets,
outstanding conversation and good feelings, and lots of fun.
Here's a photograph from the
party . . .
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Jerry Murphy, left,
the new CTFMA president, with party hosts Barbara and Keith Card.
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The November
meeting was held on Tuesday the 27th at 6:30 pm. Our guest speakers were
Dr. Martinelli, DVM and Josh Parker, of Game Ready Technology. The research
and reasoning behind the Game Ready therapy was fully explained by Dr.
Martinelli. Then Josh Parker demonstrated the Game Ready therapy wrap on
members arms. It was a very informative meeting.
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Dynah Korhummel,
director of sales of Game Ready Techonolgy, putting the therapy wrap on
members Leigh Ann Howard (center) and Josh Parker.
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The October
meeting was held on Tuesday the 16th at 6:30 p. m. Our guest speakers were
Captain D. J. Grove, Humane Society; Lt. Laura Ward, Department of Animal
Services; and Jackie Cruz, San Diego Sheriff's Department. They presented
a talk entitled: "Animal Disaster Preparedness." This outstanding presentation
walked us through the many safety tips to follow if you are evacuated.
One important tip was to evacuate with your animals in plenty of time,
because if you leave them behind you may not be allowed to return into
the area to get them out.
Other great tips were as a last resort to spray paint
your phone number across the body of your horses that you were unable to
evacuate, leave leather (nylon can melt on the horse) halters on them and
turn them loose. Animal services will evacuate all animals they can find
and safely remove.
The most important part of the talk was to get prepared
ahead of time. Use plastic pencil packs to hold current photos of each
horse with name and description listed, also put copies of registration
papers and ownership contact information in this carrier. Have this in
your barn or tackroom clearly marked. Train all your horses to lead and
to load in a trailer. Have supplies set out and ready to go. Have a plan
as to how you will leave and where you will go.
This meeting turned out to be the most important one of
the year as within one week many of our members and their horses were evacuated
due to the wildfires.
The guest speakers
at our November meeting.
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The July meeting
was an open Party/Potluck event at Vessels Stallion Farm on Sunday July
15. This was a fund-raising event to benefit the UC Davis Center for Equine
Health as well as various other equine-related charities.
The evening included a parade of stallions, wonderful
food, and raffle with outstanding horse-related items up for grabs!
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Enjoying the party.
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Top Quarter Horse sire
Dash for Cash.
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CTFMA board member
Jerry Murphy and Georgia Thompson of the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce (calling
the raffle ticket numbers).
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At the June
meeting our guest speaker was author Bill Nichols. He told us all about
the real Seabiscuit story and his involvement in it. His book tells the
rest of the story, what became of all the people and horses that you heard
about in the first Seabiscuit book. He had copies of his Seabiscuit book
available for members to purchase, and he graciously signed them. This
was a very fun and interesting meeting.
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CTFMA
president Sid Hundley (left) and
guest
Bill Nichols
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The
guest speaker at our May meeting was Dr. Steve Colburn, DMV, from Creekside
Veterinarian Clinic. He attended UC Davis, where he earned his BS in Animal
Science and DVM degree in 1984. He presented a talk entitled: "Maximizing
Reproductive Technologies."
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The guest speaker
at the May CTFMA meeting
was Dr. Steve Colburn,
DMV, shown at right
above with CTFMA
president Sid Hundley and
treasurer Marianne
Hebner. |
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The April meeting was held on Tuesday the 20th at 6:30 pm. Our guest speaker
was Stephanie Searle from Classic Silks who showed her vast array of racing
silks, blinkers, race team apparel, doggie jackets,
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CTFMA president Sid Hundley
with Stephanie
Searle and a sample of
her work.
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saddle towels and everything the
horse owner might need. She discussed the history of silks and explained
to us all what went into a good design as well as the difference between
aerodynamic versus the traditional nylon silks. She also graciously donated
a pair of custom blinkers to our raffle.
The March meeting
was held on Tuesday the 20th at 6:30 pm. Our guest speaker was Jennifer
Collins. Dr. Collins received her DVM from Virginia-Maryland Regional College
College of Veterinary medicine. In 2004 she finished her residency in Equine
Surgery at the University of California at Davis. She is board-certified
in large-animal surgery.
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CTFMA board member
Jerry Murphy
and Jennifer Collins,
DVM.
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Dr. Collins presented: "Advancements in the Management
of the Lame Horse." Her presentation was a wonderful mix of humor and updated
information. She covered the four basics of lameness: The Lameness Exam,
Diagnostic Imaging, Treatments, and Maintenance.
On the treatment topics she explained the use of many
new and old treatment methods such as Shock-wave Therapy, IRAP, Tildren,
Acupuncture, and Platelet Rich Plasma. The evening was both informational
and very entertaining!
The February
meeting was held on Tuesday the 20th at 6:30 pm. Our guest speaker was
Nancy Yearsley of Yearsley Bloodstock Insurance, Ltd. She gave a detailed
report on the types of horse insurance available,
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Nancy Yearsley and
CEO Garry Spain, both of Yearsley Bloodstock Insurance, Ltd.
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the process required to obtain insurance, and the differences
between domestic policies and international policies. There was a very
lively and informative question & answer session where most of the
horsemen present were able to get their personal questions & needs
analyzed.
CTFMA members
under the leadership of Leigh Ann Howard, Board Member attended a mini
stallion tour on Saturday February 3rd. The CTBA cancelled the big bus
tour, due to a lack of interest. At that point Leigh Ann took over and
set up a "drive along caravan" to visit five stallion farms in San Diego
County. About a dozen farm managers, mare owners, and breeders followed
from farm to farm to view the stallions. The farms toured were; Vessels
Stallion Farm, Valley Creek Farm, Irish Oaks Farm, Ballena Vista Farm,
and E.A. Ranches. It was an enjoyable and informative day for everyone
that attended. A special thanks to all the farms and to Leigh Ann Howard.
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| Above, scenes from the stallion
tour, visiting Valley Creek Farm (top) and Ballena Vista Farm. At right,
at the January meeting CTFMA director Leigh Ann Howard visits with guest
speaker Peter Hopkins. |
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The January
meeting was held on Tuesday the 16th at 6:30 pm. Our guest speaker was
Peter Hopkins of SoCal Infrared. He spoke about Equine Thermography with
the new hand held infrared camera. He talked about the development of the
camera and it's uses in the building industry. Then he showed how this
non-evasive tool can show up all "hot spots" on a horses body. It is a
wonderful tool to use on a horse that is just a little off, to pin point
the trouble area. The meeting was very interesting with many questions
and discussions.
Click here for reports
of earlier meetings.
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Welcome to the CTFMA!
Stop by the back room of Richie's
Diner in Murrieta on the third Tuesday, and you may overhear dinner conversations
about the rising cost of hay and grain . . . mares who won't cycle . .
. that mare who is nearly 12 months pregnant and still hasn't foaled
. . . or perhaps some tactful bragging about the good-looking foal who
was born last week.
It's just the Farm Managers
group talking shop on their night out. It varies according to the season,
but the ever-present theme is the challenge of keeping the Thoroughbreds
healthy and happy.
The after-dinner program may
be a veterinarian with a video demonstrating surgical resectioning of a
twisted intestine, or it may be a handicapping contest prior to one of
the big race days like Breeders Cup or California Cup. We do try to mix
a little fun in with our educational and charitable activities.
This non-profit organization
consists of managers, owner/managers, and "previous" managers of Thoroughbred
farms, ranging from single-mare households to large commercial operations.
Also, persons who share our goals and interests and are affiliated with
the Thoroughbred industry are welcomed as associate (non-voting) members.
We seek to increase the productivity
of our farms, along with the speed and soundness of our runners; to be
good neighbors in our communities; and to protect the quality of life of
the Thoroughbred.
Our efforts may be structured,
such as our annual contributions to a variety of charitable and research
groups that benefit the horse. Or it may be a small individual act such
as supplying colostrum to a neighbor whose mare has no milk for her newborn
foal . . . or helping a client find a good home for his ex-racehorse.
We would welcome your participation.
For more information or a membership application, contact Lita Tabish or
any of the following:
2008 Officers
President - Jerry Murphy
Vice President - Lita Tabish
Secretary - Cyndalee Wahlstrom
Assistant Secretary - Leigh Ann Howard
Treasurer - Marianne Hebner
Board of Directors
Kimberly Carville, chairman
Alan Conway
Keith Card
Jeanne Davis
Carol Engles
Linda Madsen
Roberta Petersen |
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