Mine That Oxygen, a veterinary take on the Derby victory

Mine That Oxygen: a Vet’s Take on the Derby
By SID GUSTAFSON
Chalk that Derby win up to efficient use of oxygen. No mysticism or surprises in the equine physiology and podiatry camps, just good old dependable O2 at work, along with some nicely-nurtured hooves. Mine That Bird’s road trip from New Mexico brought the horse down into the oxygen the other runners in the Derby came up to, allowing a significant and readily apparent advantage as the race shaped up around the turn into the stretch run. Yes, the 135th running was a freight-train-passing-a-bum scenario if there ever was one, the bums being the other gaspers in the field groping for the oxygen that Mine That Bird sucked up down the stretch run ahead of them.

And some stretch run that was (and how did you like the call? The announcer seemed completely depleted of air.)

The outcome is not really all that surprising to the exercise physiologists and hoof bio-mechanicists laughing in the wings, not to mention the cowboys. Bird’s Rocky Mountain High conditioning stimulated the production of red blood cells by causing a release of endogenous erythropoietin naturally, and natural is the way to go these days as polo ponies attest.

High-altitude acclimation training is one of the oldest endurance strategies, and the affect appeared stunning. By the time Bird crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky his blood was attracting Louisville oxygen like Churchill Downs had attracted dreamers, sucking the stuff right of the air as we watched. If some of you are still wondering why you were feeling a bit lightheaded toward the end of the race, now you know why. I was sorry to hear a couple of ladies fainted, but such is the price to watch an oxygen harvester like Mine That Bird take a race.

Not only did Bird’s blood have the iron to carry the oxygen, his tremendous nares had the shape and flare to inhale the oxygen, much like his hooves had the shape and flare to handle the mud.

Did you notice the Bird had all four legs wrapped? Some consider leg wraps oxygen stockings, and after that performance more will become believers in the strategy. Lower leg pressure wraps can improve a runner’s max VO2 by increasing blood return from the legs to the heart. Additionally, Bird’s body shape and flying style made the perfect oxygen-assimilating piston, as did Calvin’s aerodynamic ride. With horses, each gallop is a breath you know, breathing being interconnected with running, a breath per stride. Did the mathematicians get Bird’s stride count? When they get it all added up, Bird outstrode the also-rans, outstriding equated to outbreathing the competition, enhancing his aerobic capacity further.

Note the oxygen miner’s nose and throat. The winner has the finest nostril flare of them all, pouring the essential horse racing juice into his lungs, to his big heart, to his gliding muscles, gliding muscles harboring a sweet reserve of oxygen to accelerate down the stretch run.

Like his black hooves handled Kentucky mud, his nostrils and blood kept him metabolically astride. The Miner held sway, I’d say, and would have most likely held sway against Rachel and Revenge had they chose also to follow him across the finish line.

With glide like his, Mine That Bird hydroplaned over the Kentucky mud. Yes, it appeared the horse did not break the surface tension like the other plodders along. Those water bugs that run across ponds, what are they called? Boatmen, yes, Mine That Bird’s hooves became his four boatmen, so oxygenated he was. Mudder hooves, yes. Mudder physique, yes. Mudder stride, yes.

What else made this the best Derby ever? Mudder lightness, as in the tapering trailer ride from the mountains. Tapering? you ask. The strategy of reducing intestinal volume to enhance mobility and flight is long practiced, and in this Derby metabolically perfected by New Mexican cowboys, whom it appeared also lost a few pounds on the trip to Louisville, and perhaps will lose a few more as the Triple Crown wears on. Tapering not only reduces a horse’s weight, but it also prepares them physiologically to run a route of ground. It appropriately alkalinizes them, naturally. With a Birdstone horse like That, why Woolley thought he ever needed to ride a motorcycle we will never know.

Gelding, the only gelding in the field wins. Gelding allowed man to domesticate horse like gelding allowed the Bird to win the Derby in gentlemanly fashion. Mine That Bird’s mare mining days ended some time back. On May 2 the Bird mined both oxygen and mud most efficiently. He did not have to bother himself with the hundred plus fillies in heat around the Churchill Downs backside that morning. No, Mine That Bird focused on running, and that lightened his load considerably, as well.

Before we end here, let us all express our gratitude to Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and her professional team of regulatory veterinarians for effectively representing the health and safety of all the 20 horses entered in the Derby this year.

Sid Gustafson, D.V.M., is a novelist and equine veterinarian specializing in thoroughbred sportsmedicine and equine behavior. He currently practices regulatory veterinary medicine, representing the safety and welfare of thoroughbred racehorses.

Thoroughbred Culture

Society and racehorse culture continue to tryingly adjust to the new age of horseracing. Racing jurisdictions became overly permissive regarding medications through the past, the pro-medication argument being to protect the health and assure the comfort and well-being of the horse. The medication experiment went too far, and has failed, with widespread medicating resulting in the adaptability of the horse being exceeded (Eight Belles and too many others).
Racing jurisdictions and regulatory veterinarians are working diligently to improve racing safety and thoroughbred soundness. Previously accepted medication practices are being rescinded on a widespread basis in response to the untoward shift of racehorse medications to achieve competitive advantage. Across the board this year medication has been significantly reduced. Pre-race and post race examinations have been intensified. Soundness concerns (The Pamplemousse) and medication incidents will remain prevalent as we adjust the management of our relationship with the horse.
The blame lies with us all, and it is all of us who must contribute to make racing safer, and to improve the competitive ethic and our relationship with the horse.
In time horsemanship will once again replace medication, and the horse will be appropriately considered, and allowed to race with its senses fully intact. Blinkers take the sense of sight partially away from horses. Nose and mouth aids take the sense of smell and vomeronasal insight away from horses. There is a long tradition of masking these senses in horseracing.
Why do trainers take these senses away from horses? They do it so the horse focuses on the race and does not spook or become unmanageable, in many trainer's minds they do it for the safety and welfare of the horse. The industry is sorting through all this in the best interests of the horse. These practices are subject to change, and the change, while welcome and timely, will be painful at times.


Dr Gustafson provides consultations regarding the design and management of equine facilities to best accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses. He provides information and management assistance creating natural approaches to maintain equine health, prevent diseases, and resolve lameness.