An interesting story lingers behind the successful resumption of Animi Sub Ignis, after a 400 day spell, at Launceston on Sunday night. The 5YO gelding is trained by John Castles and Erin Hollaway drove a patient race to win the McKillop Insurance Brokers Pace Division One by seven metres ahead of Metro Mouse and Berri Damour.
As a 3YO, Animi Sub Ignis showed promise by winning and running second to Resurgent Spirit (18 wins) in a heat of the Breeders’ Crown. Unfortunately the ability was mixed with a large dose of intractability which, after three dismal failures, resulted in his dismissal by stewards back to the trials.
Connections then decided to have his legs scanned to see if there was any undiagnosed problem. The scan showed a small tear in the suspensory ligament and a six months spell was recommended
The horse was sent to Sue Streit at Elderslie Horse Care and Spelling. Streit was most concerned when Animi Sub Ignis struggled to put on any condition. When it was discovered at the six months vet check that the suspensory had not repaired itself, and the horse’s general condition was not good, Streit decided to take matters into her own hands and sent off a hair sample for analysis.
Without knowing anything about the horse, the report indicated that one of the problems the horse was suffering from was stomach fluke, a parasite which is found mainly in horses in south east Queensland.
The intermediary host for stomach fluke is a water snail and although stomach fluke is common in cattle and sheep it is unusual to find it in horses. The amazing thing was a horse in Tasmania was diagnosed with a Queensland condition. That was due to Animi Sub Ignis being purchased from Queensland as a yearling.
Following treatment for stomach fluke, and a further four months in the paddock, the ligament healed, the hooves grew and Animi Sub Ignis put on considerable condition. His general attitude improved and he no longer stood around the paddock with his legs tucked under him as if he had a pain in the gut.
When put back into work, the previous steering problems were minimal. The lugging pole and burr were discarded and there were no gallops in running. The obligatory trial was negotiated successfully and Animi Sub Ignis returned to the track last Sunday night – 400 days after he had been banished.
No one quite knew what to expect under race conditions but he began very well from the back row and except for hanging for a stride or two when very wide around the home turn, he tracked very well.
Stomach fluke is not that frequently found in horses and is not eliminated by normal drenches. To check whether your horse has fluke, the droppings need to be specifically tested for fluke. Low levels of fluke do not adversely affect horses but at high levels it can be quite debilitating. It is prevalent in wet temperate climates and in Tasmania would almost be entirely restricted to horses coming from the Brisbane area.