Game On!

Raffy races this weekend!

A letter from the Vet:

Hello all
I wanted to give you the run down on Raffy. She work yesterday. This morning I examined her and was pleased with what I found. After her last work she was pretty sore in her ankles with secondary compensatory changes in her shoulder muscles. I think that some of these
changes were a factor of her body getting
used to the different track surface but she may have a predisposition to front end problems
because of her way going behind.


Tim's crew has worked extremely hard
on her with icing and bandaging. I started her on a medication called Adequan which
helps promote healthy joints. She has responded well because this morning her
ankles (fetlock joints) were cold and pain
free. She still has some discomfort in her shoulders and neck muscles. The equine sports therapist is working on her tonight and I may incorporated some acupuncture into her maintenance and prevention plan also. She is due two more doses of Adequan. Hopefully we will be able to keep her sound and performing to the best of her ability with this approach.

The only other observation this morning was a splint bone on the inside of the right front limb is what we call "live" meaning painful. This is a common cause for
lameness. I will re-evaluate and discuss
with Tim to come up with the best plan to

deal with it. Generally splints have a good
response to treatment and long term
prognosis is excellent for soundness.

Well we couldn't find a race for Rafflesia that would fill so she had a 5 furlong workout instead. This time she ran with one of her stablemates named Northern Rookie.

As you can see in the picture she likes the taste and feel of the electric heater blanket cord. She worked 5 furlongs in 1:06:80. I was hoping she was charging up far a high voltage workout.

The barn area is busy this week as the Canadian Derby is on Saturday and all of the contenders have arrived from out of town. Raffy's half brother and one of Tim's horses made it into the Derby so we have a couple to cheer for.

Conditions

So we are having a hard time finding a race for Rafflesia. In horse racing the goal is to get your horse into races that give your horse the best chance of winning. You are always trying to race horses with similar conditions to increase your chances of sipping champagne and smoking cigars. The problem is that we are currently trying to run her in an allowance race for Fillies three years old or older with no more than 1 win. Being that Alberta is a relatively small market a race like this is not filling with at least five horses. This is the magic number you need to hold the race at Northlands. If we want to see our girl run we may need a change.

So we have two choices:

1- We run her under different conditions.

2- We wait and hope more horses turn up and fill the races she is currently entering.

Tim and his staff are icing Raffy's ankles and say she is dong well but she will need to race to improve her competitive edge. She is eager and ready to go we just need to find a spot for her to race.

Working Girl

Saturday was a day of work for Rafflesia and a couple of the Venture crew were there to see how she is doing.

She had a light work so as to give her swollen ankles a little more time to recover from the post race swelling of last weekend. Raffy covered Five Furlongs in a pretty pedestrian 1:07:00. Tim and John are aiming to have her in another race this weekend if they can find enough horses.

I took my Damian into the back stretch to meet our jockey and Rafflesia and it was a big thrill for him to see what happens at the track in the morning.

What are you thinking?

So this week I have been fielding quite a few questions around why would you spend your hard earned money on a race horse?

The simple answer is racing is fun!

To me not many things are as special as going to the races. What other sport can you walk up to a professional athlete give them a big pat on the neck and say good luck. Then stand or sit in front row seats (which are free in Alberta) and let the excitement build till the horses roar by and the one you are cheering for wins by a nose. Of course the English in me likes the free part best but what keeps me going back is the sheer fun of it all. Sure we didn't have to jump in and buy a horse to feel the same rush, it just makes the game that much better.

Now we are part owners in a sports franchise and how many people can say that!

Dirty Girl

Having a little spare time on Saturday following Raffy's race I stopped by the barns to see her.

First off I would like to say that if you have not yet been to the back stretch to see Rafflesia.....DO IT. She really is sweet and anyone with kids should take them to see her. Don't forget to bring a mint or two!

Being a new owner I was not sure how welcome I would feel in the barns with people who do this for a living. But let me be the first to tell you that Tim and his team are friendly and took the time to answer my questions no matter how basic. They spend the most time with the horses and treat them like family.

Our girl Raffy looked a little tired from the big effort from the night before but was in good spirits. The grooms and trainers in the backstretch must of thought I was crazy as I was petting, talking and looking into her big kind eyes for way longer than any grown man should.

I was lucky enough to be with Rafflesia when Jodie our Vet showed up to do a check on her from head to hoof. She spotted a little heat in her ankles but said it was pretty normal considering. Jodie also answered all my questions and explained Lasix to me in a way even I could understand.

I then went to the track to watch some horses train before heading home after a pretty exciting couple of days.