Kentucky Farm Reveals Recipe for Raising a Triple Crown Winner

Kentucky Farm Reveals Recipe
for Raising a Triple Crown Winner
Farm manager John Hall discusses his hands-on experience with American Pharoah
as a young colt and provides
rare details into the “Taylor
Made Way” of raising champion Thoroughbreds.
O
n January 16, 2013, a colt by
the stallion Pioneerof The
Nile, out of a mare named
Littleprincessemma, arrived at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky. He stood fifteen hands tall and
weighed eight hundred and twenty
pounds. Even then, at just eleven
months old, he stood out from the
crowd.
His owner and breeder, Zayat Stables, entrusted us to raise the colt
and prepare him for the public auction in Saratoga Springs, New York
that August.
Over the next eight months of his
yearling year, which is a critical period in the development of any Thoroughbred, we raised him with the
same care and attention that we give
all the horses boarded at Taylor Made
Farm.
Our system is a family recipe that
has been passed down for generations and has helped produce some
of the finest racehorses in history.
To begin with, all yearlings that ar-
American Pharoah at Taylor Made Farm (14 months old)
rive at Taylor Made Farm go through
our standard quarantine protocol
prior to being integrated with other
horses. One of the most important
screening tests in this process is the
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR),
which checks the yearlings for a condition called Strangles.
Once American Pharoah completed this protocol, he joined a small
group of colts at our Dayjur Division
(named after a champion sprinter
raised at Taylor Made). He came up
every morning at 7am and was given
his breakfast, a special Taylor Made
blend of feed for yearlings, designed
by our nutritionist, Dr. Steve Jackson.
When the time came to begin
prepping American Pharoah for The
Saratoga Sale, we switched his diet to
Taylor Made’s Sales Preparation Formula.
We also added corn oil and chondrogen to his daily ration. Corn oil
has a number of benefits. It improves
digestion and leads to a better hair
coat. Chondrogen is a joint supplement designed to aid bone growth
American Pharoah: Raising A Triple Crown Winner... The Taylor Made Way
Page 2
and development; it is produced by
Kinetic, a company in Lexington.
Daily Grooming
After breakfast, American Pharoah
was groomed each day and his feet
were picked and painted. We feel
that daily grooming is essential to the
overall well-being of the yearling, as
hands-on attention can often detect
any issues that need extra care before they become a problem. Once a
groom is accustomed to his yearlings,
he quickly recognizes any changes or
minor swelling starting to develop.
Preventative Medicine
Taylor Made has a very strict vaccination and de-worming program
that was designed by veterinarians
at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital.
Taylor Made’s philosophy is preventive medicine is the best medicine.
Hoof Care
Our Farrier, Bobby Langley, trims
every yearling’s hooves once a month.
As a Master Farrier, Bob takes careful
notes on all the yearlings and strives
to get a good, healthy, balanced foot.
Our assistant yearling manager, Cesar Terrazas, and I accompany Bob
while he works on the yearlings. We
feel it is very important to monitor
each yearling’s conformation as he
grows. Things can go bad very quickly and this allows us to stay in front
of any negative changes to the conformation.
Turn Out and Feeding
Once the morning grooming was
completed, American Pharoah was
turned back out in the same field
with his group of seven other colts.
We like to keep all the yearlings in
the same groups unless it becomes
necessary to make a change. Anytime
you can prevent a horse from being
stressed it is good for their overall
well-being.
Every afternoon all the yearlings
are fed outside, the grooms will shake
a small amount of hay on the ground
and put a measured ration of feed on
the hay.
It’s important to ensure that these
piles are spread far enough apart so
yearlings aren’t close enough to kick
each other. If there are eight yearlings
in a group, we make sure there are
at least nine separate piles so that
everyone will have their own spot
to eat. Just as in a group of human
adolescents, competition among the
colts can become spirited, which is
actually a good thing.
en including views of the knees, ankles and hocks. American Pharoah’s
films were clean, except for a small
lucency (an area that has less dense
bone) in one of his front fetlocks that
we treated very simply with aspirin
and isoxuprine. The aspirin reduced
inflammation and also thinned the
blood. The isoxuprine helped to dilate the blood vessels. The theory is
that this treatment will increase circulation and promote healing.
Afternoon Check-up
Our grooms walk through the
group while they are eating, looking
for any bumps, scrapes, or swellings,
and to make sure all of them are eating and feeling well.
Twenty Hours A Day
We believe it’s good for a yearling
to stay turned out twenty hours a
day to keep them strong, tough and
athletically fit. We keep our yearlings
on this routine until we begin to prep
them for the sales.
X-Rays
In February, our veterinarians
shoot and evaluate x-rays on every
yearling. American Pharoah was no
exception. Thirty-two views are tak-
Checking the Throat
We also do an endoscopic evaluation on each yearling to get a baseline
view of their throats and breathing
function. American Pharoah had a
Grade A scope — the best grade possible. We were pleased to send his
evaluation grades and a clean bill of
health to his owner, Zayat Stables.
As with all of our clients’ horses, we sent monthly photographs of
American Pharoah to his owner as a
way to show how well the horse is
progressing.
American Pharoah: Raising A Triple Crown Winner... The Taylor Made Way
Page 3
such an injury is unsightly, so we
used all available therapy to try to
eliminate the swelling.
Therapy included an anti-inflammatory, ice, and later a poultice.
Consequently, American Pharoah
was hand-walked on a daily basis,
which proved to be all he needed, because he prepped great for the sale
—except for the swelling on his shin.
Avoiding Sunburn
American Pharoah at Taylor Made Farm (16 months old)
Destination: Saratoga
Sale Prep
It was decided that American
Pharoah would be entered into the
2013 Saratoga Yearling Sale, so we
began prepping him for that sale in
May, right after the Kentucky Derby.
He was moved to Yearling Complex
C, which is where we board all the
yearlings which are being prepped
for either the Fasig-Tipton July Sale
or the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.
Once in his new barn, he was separated into a small paddock by himself
to prevent any nicks, scrapes or cuts
which could occur if turned out with
a bunch of other rambunctious colts.
At this point, we altered his routine. He was brought up at 7 AM to
eat breakfast. He was switched to our
Prep Feed, which has corn oil and
also beet pulp mixed in.
At Taylor Made, each yearling has
an individual nutrition plan. American Pharoah was evaluated by our
nutritionist and recommendations
were made about his daily rations.
We started him on a natural rice
bran supplement called MASS, also
made by Kinetic.
The Walking Machine
The yearlings are also put on an
individual exercise plan, which includes time on a walking machine
and hand-walking.
Unfortunately, American Pharoah
had an accident his first day on the
machine. He banged his right shin
and ended up with a knot on the
cannon bone of his right front leg. It
was just soft tissue swelling, but we
take no chances with our yearlings.
He had x-rays and an ultrasound to
ensure we weren’t missing anything.
All tests were negative, but there was
a bit of thickness to the extensor tendon that runs down the front of the
cannon bone. Although superficial,
American Pharoah, during his
preparation for the sale, was fed
again at 3:00pm in the afternoon, but
not turned out until 7:00pm, in order
to miss the heat of the day.
By keeping him out of the sun, it
ensured a good hair coat and avoided
sunburn, which would have bleached
his coat.
Dentist
After the first of July, our dentist
floated American Pharoah’s teeth
and pulled his wolf teeth. This was to
ensure he chewed properly and that
he got the most nutrition out of his
grain. It is always better to pull the
wolf teeth before a colt has a bit in
his mouth.
Re-checking the Throat
A month before the scheduled
sale, our veterinarian, Dr. Bart Barber, scoped the yearlings again looking for any upper airway infections,
or irritations that needed treatment.
American Pharoah’s throat looked
great and did not need any treatment.
More X-rays
Dr. Barber did his sale x-rays two
weeks before the sale and x-rays
were clean, so it was all systems go
— except for the blemish on his shin.
New Shoes
On July 30th, 2013, Bob Langley, our farrier, put on American
Pharoah’s first set of shoes. He noted
that the colt had a nice big, well-balanced foot and was very correct.
Tube-oiling
The morning of August 1st, 2013,
our veterinarian tube-oiled all of the
yearlings shipping to Saratoga. When
American Pharoah: Raising A Triple Crown Winner... The Taylor Made Way
Page 4
tube-oiling, one half gallon of mineral oil with electrolytes is induced into
the horse’s stomach via a stomach
tube. This is to prevent possible constipation and also to hydrate them
before the trip.
First Road Trip
Arrival in New York
Photo by Z
American Pharoah arrived at the
sale grounds in good shape and
showed himself well at The Saratoga
Sale. He was well received. He was
shown over one hundred times to different buyers.
Most of the Thoroughbred industry’s best talent scouts looked at
American Pharoah, and many of
them returned for a second look. But
none made a bid high enough to take
him home.
American Pharoah at the 2013 Saratoga Sale, consigned by Taylor Made
A Blessing in Disguise
In this case, Mr. Zayat was very
fortunate that no one could see the
future of America’s next Super Horse.
American Pharoah went on to win
the Eclipse Award for Champion
Two-year-old Colt, a string of Grade
1 victories, the Kentucky Derby, the
Preakness and cemented his place in
history by winning the Belmont and
thus becoming the first horse in 37
years to win Thoroughbred racing’s
grandest and most elusive distinction, the coveted Triple Crown.
We appreciate Mr. Zayat choosing
Taylor Made and allowing us to be a
part of raising this great horse, which
has brought admiration from everyone who has seen his magnificent
performances.
God has truly blessed the Taylor
Made Team in many ways, including
this opportunity to take part in the
raising of a Triple Crown Winner.
Like Winston Churchill said,
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the
inside of a man.”
American Pharoah has touched our
lives, and left an indelible mark upon
all of us here at Taylor Made. For that
we are forever grateful.
HorsePhotos.com
American Pharoah was shipped
loose in a box stall, bedded down
in two feet of straw, with a bucket
of cold water and freshly shaken,
top-quality hay.
We had one attendant for every two
horses on this trip, as is our standard
practice. Each attendant had a medical box with emergency supplies, just
in case there was a problem on the
road. We believe that preparation is
the best prevention.
Each attendant had a cell phone
and each van was equipped with
cameras, so the drivers were always
aware of what was going on in the
back.
My final words to the driver were,
“Please treat them like you own
them.”
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Questions? Feel free to contact
Duncan Taylor • 859-885-3345
dtaylor@taylormadesales.com
TAYLOR MADE
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