Equine Health and Well Being

Tractors have been one of the most important advancements in agriculture and farming, but what about some of the animals that they came to replace, such as horses? Pfizer Animal Health and NTRA has established an alliance to promote health and wellness in the equine population. NTRA is the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and Pfizer is best known for its flagship product, Viagra.

Together the NTRA and Pfizer have hosted and sponsored events like the ninth annual Track Superintendents’ Field Day, which featured two panel discussions with many distinguished speakers, including the likes of Dwight Ange and Kent Hughes of John Deere, among many others. These guests talked about he theory and practice of injury prevention, requirements for safety training and continuing education, and other subjects related to the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance. This alliance strives to enforce safety and integrity standards all across the country, that are applied through several measures, for instance mandatory member reporting, on-site inspections and constant education.

So far almost 20 racetracks have received full accreditation from the alliance, which comprises 55 racetracks, horsemen’s organizations, horse owners, breeders, trainers, veterinarians, jockeys, fans and others; and more have been expected throughout this year. Six major areas are the main focus of the alliance, namely medication and testing; injury reporting and prevention; research; a safer racing environment; aftercare for retired racehorses; and wagering integrity. As for the Pfizer Animal Health division, it has been working to develop new vaccines and prescription medicines for our furry four-legged friends, including dogs, cats and horses, the latter of which have benefited from a vast variety of biologic components, parasiticides, sedatives and analgesics, creating the unarguably best pharmacy for racing horses.