I'll Have Another - ESWT

[mjellish]

I think this is a perfect example of what I was saying earlier.  If in the last weeks leading up to Louisville, you hear anything that can be construed as bad news about a horse\'s condition coming out of the barn, it\'s usually a negative thing.  To win this race you are going to have to fire an A effort AND most likely get the trip.

That being said, this may not be that big of an issue for this race as they may be able to squeeze another race out of IHA no matter what.  You just never know.  For me, if it is an issue that matters our best chance to confirm this will probably come in the last work and the gallops (or lack of gallops) at Churchill after the work.  So I am going to withold judgement until then.

[sighthound]

Seriously, doubt it would be shins, ESWT would not help that so quickly, guaranteed.

Somebody good has to watch the horse move in the morning, trot or regular gallop, and make sure his back is okay, he has good reach up underneath him.  Colts are often weak, they grow so unevenly sometimes in spring ....

[sighthound]

I do alot of chiropractice and sports massage/muscle therapy just for \"elite athlete maintenance\".  It\'s common in other equine sports, and on the track in other countries, and is finally getting more common on the back stretch here.
   
Just warning, don\'t assume could only be trouble and throw out a horse you otherwise like  - watch this one carefully in the am.  Does not have to be bad news.

[magicnight]

I seem to remember a horse with back trouble who finally got a flat race track to run over and won a decent-sized purse. Paid $269.20 to win.

[miff]

Trainer Doug O'Neill said that I'll Have Another, the Santa Anita Derby winner, had shock-wave therapy on his back.

"The legal, licensed machinery is great therapy for backs," O'Neill said. "We've done it with him a few times in the past."

The treatment, though legal and regulated in California, does require a horse to be placed on the state racing board's veterinarian list for 10 days, during which time he cannot race. According to Dr. Rick Arthur, the equine medical director for the California racing board, I'll Have Another was placed on the list April 21 and comes off the list May 1, four days before the Derby. As of Wednesday, there were 28 horses on the racing board vet's list for shock-wave therapy, including such well-known runners as Midnight Interlude and Richard's Kid.