in addition, had he/she posted a new thread about it, someone would have commented “there’s already a thread out there on this. Do a search”
:D:D:D:D
Then again maybe the zombie poster thought Secretariat isn’t actually dead … I mean can you fault him/her as the Maryland Jockey Club said he just set a track record last month and on a Tuesday no less! 
Zombie thread or not, I was tickled to find this today (I wasn’t around the board in '07). I’m a diehard Big Red fan, and unlike someone who posted above, I haven’t sold all my “Secretariat stuff” - it’s all over my house! 
I deeply regret that even though I lived in OH I never made to down to see him. I thought there would be time…
When Red died, I was heartbroken. Being a former pre-vet student, I’d hung around the barn at the Ohio State vet hospital while an undergrad, and seen many laminitis cases come and go. I really wanted to know what kind of treatment(s) had been tried with Red; mainstream newspapers certainly weren’t saying, and they were the only source I had then. So I wrote to the vet quoted in the news articles, c/o Claiborne, and asked him. To my great disappointment I never heard back.
Knowing what I know now about IR and Cushings, along with the veterinary world, I think that everyone who said Secretariat had Cushings or at least IR is absolutely right. He was definitely overweight and had “inappropriate” fat deposits. I would hope that nowadays the poor boy would be managed differently.
Unfortunately, the recent photos of Monarchos that I’ve seen (and I did meet him in person when I finally visited Claiborne, as he used to stand there) indicate that he is a giant tub o’ lard now. Not good for the horse who holds the record for second-fastest time in the Derby.
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When I visited Claiborne on my WEG trip, one of the horses they brought out was Pulpit. I thought at the time that he looked awfully fleshy to me but wondered if I just wasn’t used to seeing breeding stallions. Then the groom happened to mention, while talking about him, that he weighed 1460 pounds.
He’s not a great big, tall horse, either. 1460 pounds.
Not that my opinion is close to an expert one, but that does strike me as awfully heavy for a TB.
He did have a gorgeous head. I was just looking through my pics of him, and most are head shots. Not a single real conformation shot among them. Very pretty boy - but definitely plump.
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk8/dressagetraks/WEG%20Claiborne/DSC03430.jpg
When I boarded a 17+ hand Hanoverian, he weighed in at 1485. He was a bit on the heavy side. When we weighed a 16.1 (3/4 TB/QH) at pretty much perfect weight, he was 1085. <why do we always get the “85” number 
>
You would think these huge breeding farms would join the 21st century and embrace the latest equine medical findings, and adjust their feeding and exercise programs accordingly.
Or do some of them think as the halter people do: “Fat Hides Conformation Faults: The Fatter The Better!!”
Most people don’t. In fact it is getting worst all of the time. I see posts about severely obese horses, that I would body score 8/9 and a vet scores them a 6 :no: Vets don’t want to tell their clients they are abusing their horses by making them obese.
I also see horses “rescued” that are just showing a hint of rib, and their owners getting neglect charges. That hint of rib used to be thought of as pretty darn close to perfect.
As we become fatter and fatter, so do our animals. 
What really shocks me though is to see a thin person making their animals overweight. :sigh:
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[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;6446039]
That hint of rib used to be thought of as pretty darn close to perfect.[/QUOTE]
Case in point: this is a picture I took last Saturday of Musketier (GER). He’s 10-yrs old this will be his last year racing. Note the hint of rib on the old guy. Poor horse, right? Ha! He toted 7-lbs more than the winner in the 1 1/2 mile race - a graded stakes one no less - and only lost by a length while closing like a bullet.
This “thin” horse has this year made 4 starts, in addition to his 2nd in the Stars & Stripes (Grade 3); took 3rd in the Mac Diarmida Stakes (Grade 2); 4th in the Elkhorn Stakes (Grade 2); won the Singspiel Stakes (Grade 3)
Those are fantastic results that could never be achieved by a horse that wasn’t in excellent shape. Extra weight on those bones wouldn’t help him one bit.
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[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6446173]
Case in point: this is a picture I took last Saturday of Musketier (GER). [/QUOTE]
Your horse is in a very healthy weight, but I have seen threads where owners were arrested for their horses being in similar weight. :mad:
Where are the “rescues” that are rescuing the obese ones??
[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;6446183]
Your horse is in a very healthy weight …[/QUOTE]
Ha! I’d love to own Musketier! Although Ms. Stella Perdomo isn’t apt to ever part with him.
My horse has ribs showing in the back but eats a ton. Ive been called abusive and been told how 8 have been starving him by people who came to the barn to look at the sleek QHs and WBs next to him.
He is sleek, muscled, and rides great but he is not near fat. I wish that horse people would back off from the fat is good for horses.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6446173]
Case in point: this is a picture I took last Saturday of Musketier (GER). He’s 10-yrs old this will be his last year racing. Note the hint of rib on the old guy. Poor horse, right? Ha! He toted 7-lbs more than the winner in the 1 1/2 mile race - a graded stakes one no less - and only lost by a length while closing like a bullet.
This “thin” horse has this year made 4 starts, in addition to his 2nd in the Stars & Stripes (Grade 3); took 3rd in the Mac Diarmida Stakes (Grade 2); 4th in the Elkhorn Stakes (Grade 2); won the Singspiel Stakes (Grade 3)
Those are fantastic results that could never be achieved by a horse that wasn’t in excellent shape. Extra weight on those bones wouldn’t help him one bit.[/QUOTE]
He may be fast and strong but he is too thin. I like to see one to two ribs tops, not six or seven but then I always think about what will happen if they get a bit sick and go off feed. He has too many ribs showing in this picture however it may be because he is bending his torso at the monent of the shot.
old wives tales
Shoot… There have been so many “causes” projected:confused:; all the way back to “Monday morning disease”
in addition to not cutting feed on a “rest day”, allowing horses to drink too much cold water after work, before being cooled out totally. there was walking a hot horse on hard footing/ rocks while cooling out:o I had read, I thought on this forum:cool: that, Secretariat did have Cushings:sadsmile: more “old wives tales” allowing horses to graze on wet pasture, i.e., too earely in the morning. it was a relief :yes:to read about Rick Reddens’ “Laminitis seminars” and to learn about scientific 
research being done;
what’s his score?
I , too, think he is too thin; I really get concerned when I see the pelvis as we do on this horse
a; I would be interested to know , on the scale used by animal control agencies, humane control ;)officers as well as vets how this horse would score;
rank “Pancho” Martin dies( sorry, if this old news)
rank “Pancho” Martin, one of the greatest trainers in the history of New York thoroughbred racing, died Wednesday night at the age of 86. The Hall of Famer trained horses on the New York circuit since 1951. His career included almost 19,000 starters with 3,240 winners and earnings over $47,000,000.
Martin was probably most famous as the trainer of Sham, the horse that battledSecretariat in all three of the 1973 Triple Crown races. Sham may have been his most famous horse, but Martin dominated the trainer standings in New York in the 70’s and early 80’s. While training for his primary owners Viola and Sigmund Sommer he won over 20 training titles. Martin was honored 10 times by the New York Turf Writers Association.
Martin trained two champions with Autobiography in 1972 and Outstandingly in 1984.Autobiography won the championship for Older Horses after winning the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup by 15 lengths defeating Key to the Mint and the Kentucky Derby winner Riva Ridge. An Eclipse Award went to Outstandingly based on her wins in the 1984 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly by disqualification and the Hollywood Starlet.
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Pretty sure the cushings came after he retired. Like a decade or so later.
Cushing’s Question
I’ve never heard about Secretariat having Cushing’s, but anything is possible. I know the articles I have read about his heart say it was perfect, just larger than most. I’m wondering if any of Secretariat’s offspring have Cushing’s? I know it’s not necessarily genetic, but can be passed on. I always wondered why he was put down, when he seemed, at least to the outsiders, to be in descent condition. The reporter who visited the farm 3 days before his death shows Secretariat looking, in my opinion, far from death. I’ve always felt there was something missing about his health. Something we didn’t know. I know Penny loved him dearly and wouldn’t put him down pointlessly. This Cushing’s disease could be the reason. It’s just the first I’ve heard of it. Regardless of what killed him, he was the best, most beloved racehorse in history. I just visited Claiborne Farms July 27th, 2015. It’s a beautiful farm and has wonderful staff. It was part of my Anniversary present from my husband. Definitely recommend it to anyone who’s close enough to make the trip.
Laminitis.
