With the horse industry currently under the microscope in light of the continued misuse of steroids and the breakdowns of such high profile horses as the filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, horsemen are scrambling to find solutions before their already struggling sport loses even more support.
Various groups have suggested ways to improve the Thoroughbred, from breeding for soundness instead of speed, to creating injury tracking databases and installing more synthetic surfaces at racetracks, to banning pre-race medications altogether. But one major variable that could help prevent tragedies before they occur could be as simple as starting with the right equine nutrition to develop strong, healthy bones.
Integrity Manufacturing Company, a Winchester-based business creating digestible organic calcium supplements called OrganiCAL, has the timely goal of achieving just that.
"People care about fixing broken horses," said Charlie O'Hara, president and CEO of Integrity Manufacturing, "but why not make one that's better?"
OrganiCAL, which was the subject of a clinical trail at West Texas A&M University in 2007, was discovered to increase bone density by 14 percent during the first 60 days of a horse's training, and as a result could possibly reduce injuries, particularly in young racehorses while their skeletons are still maturing. The study was performed on 40 colts who were eight months old at the start of the 60-day trial.
"I think it's a pretty special thing to be part of a company that devoted a lot of time, energy, resources into something that's powerful enough that we can get patent protection for at least a year on what we're doing," said O'Hara. "People just don't spend money on nutrition, but if they know what kind of results it can bring, they might."
The OrganiCAL products manufactured by the Integrity Manufacturing Company - CAL Density, CAL Pellets, and CAL Pellets Plus - were developed for mares, foals, weanlings, yearlings, and horses in training.
The patent for the products was filed by researcher Dr. Randall Robbins, president and CEO of Advanced Nutrition Technologies of Canyon, Texas, and the scientist who developed the initial studies on OrganiCAL.
Integrity Manufacturing, which began making, selling and shipping its OrganiCAL products worldwide last July, has one of its largest clients based in France.
"We feel like right now that we've got a very consistent product, and our reorder patterns with clients are fantastic," said O'Hara.
Shipping products directly from its Winchester location to its consumers, Integrity Manufacturing is an FDA facility that has every batch of supplements independently analyzed by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"We operate like a pharmaceutical company," O'Hara explained. "We're actually treating horses like they're human medical patients - any way that someone would want to evaluate something we're doing, we want them to take us to the mat, because we're not going to cross the line and do something that's not right."
Depending on which supplement is used, horses could receive the benefits from OrganiCAL products for $0.39 to $6 a day. The supplements come in both powder and pellet forms.
To avoid using preservatives and maintain freshness, OrganiCAL products are made in small batches, with the intention of being consumed in no more than 45 days from the day they were manufactured.
"Everybody has an understanding that Thoroughbreds are threatened by the way they're bred, the way they're trained, the way they're fed, and maybe most importantly the way they're drugged," said O'Hara, noting how the anti-bleeding drug Lasix, one of the most widely used medications for racehorses, has one of the most direct correlations to the destruction of bone and muscle function.
With an additional study of 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old racehorses in training underway, Integrity Manufacturing is seeking up to 25 Lexington-area owners and trainers to document through its organic calcium supplement program their horses' increased bone density and reduced number of catastrophic breakdowns.
Called the Atwood-Robbins trial program, it is designed to mirror the previous OrganiCAL supplement research performed at West Texas A&M University. Data collecting will begin in the fall, and results will be published in 2009.
O'Hara said it would cost less than $15,000 for a farm with 30 horses to participate in the Atwood-Robbins program and feed their horses the most expensive OrganiCAL product.
Local equine facilities Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Woodford Equine Hospital will be participating data collectors in the program, which will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Amy Gill, an expert in nutrition and physical therapy for equines. Based in Lexington, Gill will be independently contracted on behalf of each participating farm to establish the procedures and protocol.
When asked why she enjoyed supervising the project, Gill said, "I enjoy the cutting edge technology (of OrganiCAL), but more importantly, I enjoy being able to translate the information to the owner, breeder, trainer and farm manager so as to benefit the horses they care for."
Gill said if OrganiCAL products are given in carefully balanced rations and are coupled with proper training and management techniques, she expects to see a reduction in skeletal injuries and disorders in all classes of horses following the second study.