Horses hit by vaccine side-effects

THE aftermath of the equine influenza crisis is an increasing number of racehorses unable to reach peak performance because of reactions to the vaccines imported to defeat the outbreak, which closed the bloodstock industry in NSW and Queensland.

The claims came mostly from Victorian trainers whose horses were vaccinated as a precautionary measure, despite protests that as the state was not affected by EI it was dangerous to expose the animals to the virus.

Six weeks after the Australian horse population was declared free of EI, the series of inoculations administered to protect horses from the debilitating illness are being viewed as anything but a panacea by some trainers.

Irregular white cell counts leaving horses lethargic or with a mild temperature are consistent with forecasts from the vaccine's distributors, who suggested 5 per cent of stock would experience mild, short-term side effects. However, some trainers are claiming the onset of respiratory problems is linked to the inoculations and the side-effects are more serious.

Melbourne trainer Colin Davies, with a dozen horses in training at outer southeastern Cranbourne, said sprinter Stanzout's form has tapered since winning a Group II race at Flemington last October and Davies said yesterday it coincided with the EI vaccinations.

"I think there have been more horses that have been damaged by these injections than we really think," he said.

"I was one of those guys that didn't believe we should give our horses the injections in Victoria. Fair enough to do it in Sydney, but it (vaccinating) should not have come into Victoria while it (the virus) wasn't here."

Stanzout was vetted after a disappointing run in the Victoria Handicap at Caulfield on Easter Monday and was found to have atrial fibrulation. Davies asked his veterinary surgeon to perform an exhaustive check of Stanzout that revealed pharyngitis.

"It is unusual for a five-year-old to get it. It is more common in a two- or three-year-old. His throat and windpipe was red raw, like it was sunburnt," Davies said. The vet cleared the horse to resume training on Friday. Davies' other well-performed horse, Shadow, won at Caulfield in the spring before being inoculated and "won't get out of his own way".

Riverina galloper Leica Falcon, which challenged champion stayer Makybe Diva for Melbourne Cup favouritism in 2005 before running fourth to the great mare, contracted pneumonia after his his third inoculation on January27. "It just stuffed him completely and we've had nothing but complications since. The horse was flying before that and now we need to give him a spell until June and hope we can get him up for the major cups this spring," said Rick Freyer, son of trainer Richard Freyer.

Ross McDonald, trainer of the world's highest-ranked three-year-old and Sydney's Doncaster Handicap favourite, Weekend Hussler, has successfully applied to stewards to delay the administration of the EI booster shot by about a week, for fear that the gelding's reaction may deny him any hope of winning the Group I race at the end of the month.

"It will be 168 days since his last shot when he runs in the Doncaster, which will make him eight days overdue.

"His white cell count was out last time and I don't want to take any chances," McDonald said.

The strain of the virus that struck in Australia was not as severe as those that devastated racing in other nations, such as South Africa almost 20 years ago.

Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy, who has had a hands-on role in the crisis, said there was not enough evidence to suggest EI had caused long-term effects. "Trainers grasp at straws when horses perform poorly," he said.

"Not every horse comes up every preparation. A study may show otherwise but I've seen no evidence of it inSydney."