The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

c payton — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:43:03 GMT

I'm trying to find out where Lava Man is with his training for the 2010 season. Is he in training or not? I have him in my virtual stable for workouts, race notifications. So far I have had no notifications. I was off line for the winter, and just recently got back on.

I live in Indy and was looking forward to driving down to Old Friends to meet Lava Man. I have been a fan of this great champion for some time. His owners thought no one out of California knew who he was! Michael Blowen, founder of Old friends, was keeping us informed about his arrival via newsletters & website. So, I was disappointed that he was not coming. But, if his health is good, and his feet and ankles have improved with the therapy, then I am happy for him and his owners. I wish him the Best. May the wings of God be with him when he runs.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Mark Fleming — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:03:52 GMT

Lava Man retired. That did not take long, the blog up top took more time to write than the comeback!! Enjoy retirement this time Lava Man, you deserved it and congratulations on the connections for doing the right thing this go around.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Householder — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:17:56 GMT

The trainer mentioned blood on his back hooves upon return. Anything to this? Did he just grab a shoe? Kick the gate? Have not heard much.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Mark G. — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:38:03 GMT

"Race was to long," Slew he ran 4 furlongs in 48 seconds and before the hit the 6 furlongs in 1:12 he was already done. What positive are you looking at? Saw one of the owners say 7/8 would have been a better race for him, LOL. The only problem with that is they would have run 3 seconds or 15 lengths faster at that distance. No positive spin possible, except that he made it back to the barn in one piece, which you have to cross your fingers on each time out. When horses get as tired as LM was, bad things happen. Bad Step etc etc. Think anyone hoping for big things was dreaming, but now I really just hope the trainer has the decency to do the right thing.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Mike Relva — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:47:00 GMT

SLEW:

I will give you that Lava Man looked good and was running well at the beginning of the race. I didn't expect him to win cause of the long layoff,age,etc. But,he did fade to last and the fact is I believe he should be retired. Be interesting to see what connections decide. I only wish him good health.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Slew — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:18:58 GMT

Mike, apparently you really didn't note how well Lava Man actually ran. The race was too long for a first time, but he really wanted to run. The competition was simply too young. Look at my poor

Einstein this year...he had it rough in the late summer. Age is catching up with him...but he always looks good and runs as well as he can. Lava Man's connections are considering retirement again, but although he lost steam in this race, I think he still has the will and the determination to race.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Mike Relva — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:57:09 GMT

SLEW

Wake up! I've ALWAYS been a major fan of Lava Man and posted on this blog how I opposed him being brought back. I've stated it wouldn't work and yesterday proves it. For the good of the horse,connections NEED TO GET OVER THEMSELVES AND FOR ONCE DO THE RIGHT THING!

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Slew — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:05:41 GMT

The post parade for the 7th race at Santa Anita today was a treat. Lava Man was THE best-looking horse in the field, and the most fractious. He ran well, setting the pace, but he lacked that final kick he needed to ward off the competition. I still think he's a winner, he certainly seems to want to run. I think they just need time to work him up to a race this tough...the competition was heavy.

I hope we get to see him again...he was certainly worth watching.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Jonathan — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:42:50 GMT

Enough PLEASE..Retire him. Sad. Slow Pace, and no desire to compete.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Santa Monica Bruce — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:44:31 GMT

Bullet Points

12/19/09

First, let me answer a couple of questions that were tossed my way. In regards to Lava Man, I was not overwhelmed with the way he had been training up to the race that he was eventually scratched from last week. Even in his prime years, Lava Man had never been a 'wow' type in the mornings. He had a blue collar style. In his recent series there had been no fireworks. A few of the works were actually rather dull..

__________________________________

Top Southern Cal (Harris, Turrel)clocker reports on Lava Man comeback workouts. Not quite what you are hearing from the Lava Man camp. Not that its a surprise.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Footlick — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:40:51 GMT

subject117- Very commendable. Good luck to you in your homebreeding endeavors!

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Mike Relva — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:25:13 GMT

GAIL G

Trust me,I'm one of the "educated" and being a huge fan of both Zenyatta and RA,a match race was something I wouldn't want for any horse.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

subject117 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:34:46 GMT

No worries:) I am definately looking to follow some of the guidelines that farms like Claiborne used. Even if that means I will have to breed to race them myself:) I hope one day I can play a small part in bringing back the endurance and toughness of the breed...

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Footlick — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:08:56 GMT

subject177- Sorry I misunderstood. I agree. I wish more people homebred instead of breeding for sales. Then, they might breed for a different reason.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

subject117 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:41:54 GMT

Footlick, I am not saying people are breeding unsound horses on purpose. What I meant is that many people are breeding for a particular market or to a particular stud with no consideration as to the soundness of the individual or to whether this is the correct stud to use for their mare. Too many it is strictly about money and not the individual animal and that I believe is what has made our breed as a whole so unsound.

Regarding AI: I recently attended an equine breeding seminar where the host (an equine AI specialist) reported that the Thoroughbred has the most sound genetic makeup (not sure of terminology here). He acccredited that to the fact that AI is banned and applauded the Jockey Club for their tighter restrictions. Thought it was worth mentioning in regards to the comment about AI. He was however from A&M so you can weigh his thoughts how you like...

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Householder — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:07:33 GMT

U.C. Davis also caught flack a few years back for genetically altering a tomato (The Flavor Savor). Now if the Thoroughbred industry would ever embrace ideas like artificial insemination and the harvesting of eggs from a racing mare and using a surrogate...I doubt it. Nevertheless, the technology for safer breeding practices already exists, in part, due to equine science and research.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

steve s — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:17:02 GMT

Quater horse racing is where PETA should be Targeting-

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

helsbelles — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:48:30 GMT

>>>>> Under the care of Alamo Pintado senior veterinarian Dr. Doug Herthel and Hudson, Lava Man has undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his ankles. He then began a three-month period of stem cell therapy on the ankles, which consisted of one 20-minute treatment per month.

“We are the only place in the world doing this kind of work on cartilages,” Dr. Herthel said. “And Lava Man is one of the first high-profile racehorses on which stem cells and bone marrow were used.”

“When Lava Man retired, the owners wanted to be sure he would have a very comfortable active future. We found that just removing the bone chips from his ankles wouldn’t prevent future lameness and chronic arthritis. He’s the kind of horse who likes to be active and after three months of getting stem cells, along with great nutrition at Magali Farms, he began jogging with a rider on his back and was experiencing no pain.”

The treatments consisted of removing cells from Lava Man’s sternum and injecting them into his ankles. “He received ten million of his own cells at each treatment,” said Dr. Herthel, a 1971 graduate of UC Davis, where one of his classmates was Dr. Greg Ferraro, head of UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine.<<<<<<

After reading all the above, this is my opinion... The fact that Alamo Pintado is the only place in the world to use this therapy to strengthen existing cartilage makes Lava Man's situation all the more experimental. Also, the fact that he will now be making his comeback on opening weekend at Santa Anita, rather than at the tail-end of the Hollywood Park meet, makes Lava Man's task even more difficult, for two reasons. Firstly, the Pro-Ride surface at SA is more taxing, and therefore requires greater physical fitness. Doug O'Neill has stated that Lava Man's body is currently a little soft. At this juncture, he won't have much opportunity to work over the surface to build the necessary stamina. And secondly, he will now most likely face a fuller field, as opposed to the dwindled down one he would have faced at HP.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

GailG — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:45:05 GMT

I wish the "public" was either more educated on the subject of horses or would keep their uneducated comments to themselves. I was thrilled to read Dr. Bramlage's comments on the Zenyatta and Rachel Alexander so called match race. Maybe if the public hadn't been so demanding of a "match-race" for Ruffian, she would have been around to produce some nice foals. People clamor for blood, and when they get it, they are the first to condemn the connections that fell prey to the pressure and allowed these events to come about. I hope Lava Man does great, and I thank you for the wonderful, educational article. It should also be noted that most of the horses that compete in the Olympics are 15 years or older.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Footlick — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:23:47 GMT

subject117- I don't think this treatment gives a horse an unfair advantage, as a horse can only run to what he's capable of running. There is no guarantee that Lava Man would have been any better with better ankles. Might it have affected his races on dirt? Possibly, but we will probably never know. The use of Lasix has been in this same debate forever, as to whether it is a performance enhancer or not. I say a horse can only run as well as it can. Theoretically, Lasix allows a horse to do that. The difference is that a horse who is a bleeder may not have had as long a career controlling the condition with natural methods. And in Europe, a horse cannot race for a certain amount of time after a bleeding incident. It used to be a year, but I'm not sure if that may have been shortened.

As to the breeding question, I don't think anybody is attempting to breed unsound horses. I would say that there are probably some sires who because of medication showed their brilliance on the track and are standing stud that otherwise wouldn't have been given the chance. But sires like Northern Dancer and Buckpasser didn't run on meds, and were brilliant sires and still passed weaknesses on. These weaknesses weren't enough to outweigh the golden bloodlines that were passed on. So breeders and trainers dealt with them. The only country I know of in the world that has a no-med policy for stallions is Germany. If a horse has run on meds even once, they will not stand them. The German thoroughbred is considered one of the sturdiest bred in the world, and in Europe is starting to be found in many fashionable pedigrees. I believe we just need to get some stoutness back into our breed. The industry is aware of it and is trying, but it takes a long time. Breeding for speed streamlines the bone. A lighter animal is a faster animal.

I am hoping that if this research proves to be viable, it will be used correctly and benefit not only thoroughbreds but humans as well. We may be able to reduce the number of joint replacements with this technique. Cartilage was never able to regenerate before, so once you lost it you lost it. This is an amazing discovery and hopefully it develops so that it can help humans also.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

MAT — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:34:59 GMT

I wonder if this kind of therapy would help Smarty Jones? Not to return him to racing but to make him more comfortable and to make it possible for him to be ridden for exercise like they do all their other stallions at 3 Chimneys. Last I heard he still couldn't be ridden. Don't know if that has changed.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Draynay — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:17:13 GMT

I believe we are going to see two of the best 4 year old horses we have seen in the last 20 years or more. Quality Road and Rachel will not be beaten this year until they meet at the end of the year at the Classic.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Householder — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:37:19 GMT

Draynay. Saw Quality Road up close at the Breeder's Cup. He is a very very sharp looking horse. Hope they can get him back in the game after his cross county travels.

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

Householder — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:30:49 GMT

Dr. Herthel did his undergraduate and D.V.M. at U.C. Davis. He is well published and also specializes in otrhomolecular science or the prevention of disease through nutritional regulation of naturally occuring chemicals in ones body. These vets at Alamo Pintado, a lot of them also from Davis, are top notch.

The next U.C. Davis Veterinary Medicine open house will be Saturday April 17th at 2010 during "Picnic Day."

It's a great place to take kids who are not yet of College bound age. Davis offers Animal Science, Vet-Met, broodmare management and a whole host of animal related degrees like Avian science.

Go Aggies!

re: The Truth About Lava Man's Historic Comeback

subject117 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:10:10 GMT

I was very skeptical when I first heard Lava Man was coming back, I kept thinking about George Washington and even Black Gold…

There are two questions that keep running through my mind after reading this article. First, does this give him an unfair advantage over other horses that have not received this treatment? Second, will this treatment encourage people to breed unsound horses because if they have a problem you can just give them stem cell treatments? Why not fix the problem instead of covering it up with the latest miracle cure?

Any chance this type of research would help horses that have foundered? I wonder if Kip Deville owner’s have looked into it for him?

Either way thanks for a great article. I am sure it has helped a lot of people rest easier about his comeback!