Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

The cost of this plan mainly focuses on the initial improvement of the living environment of the sick horses.

In order to reduce the risk of lame horses slipping, at least the stables used in daily life need to be equipped with an additional layer of rubber non-slip mats.

According to the specifications of Nishiken stables, the area required for paving is about 20 square meters.

The cost is 200,000 yen.

In addition, in order to minimize the irritation of the affected leg caused by temperature changes, a floor heating system needs to be installed in the stable.

The cost of this part is 500,000 yen.

Having avoided expensive and risky surgical intervention, the rest becomes much simpler.

As a member of the Hokkaido Racing Club, Kitano's racehorses only have to pay 5,000 yen per session to use the local spa facilities in Hidaka.

More importantly, during the treatment process, especially the electrical stimulation therapy part, the equipment and labor costs that account for most of the cost can be saved.

In Kitano's clinic, there is a Dynatronics electrical stimulator that can be adjusted with high precision.

In addition, he is a practicing veterinarian who masters electrical stimulation therapy.

After checking the control plan several times with some concern, Kitano stood up from the computer desk.

However, before the Queen of Resistance officially enters the stable, an interdisciplinary discussion meeting needs to be held to anticipate future training and competitions.

Driving to Nishiken Ranch, Kitano smelled the scent of herbs from afar.

I knocked on the door of the lounge, and when I opened it, I found a white-haired boy brewing some kind of medicine.

On the sofa on the other side, Ogawa Kanna, wearing black-framed glasses, was writing something with her head down.

"Good morning, Mr. Kitano."

The girl raised her head and greeted Kitano in a low voice.

"Good morning, Ms. Ogawa."

After the same greeting, Kitano tilted his head slightly and asked, "Asheng, is your cold still not healed?"

"No, this is a Japanese and Chinese medicine recipe I found online. It's said to be effective in relieving muscle spasms in racehorses."

Ogawa Katsu turned around, scratched his head and replied.

Ogawa Kana curled her lips, but didn't say anything.

"But I'm not sure if this will help. If I had known earlier, I would have asked you, Kitano-san."

"Licorice and peony, right?"

Kitano only took a glance into the pot and identified the ingredients of the medicine.

"The ingredients are correct, but the water added is too little. This is not enough for one dose."

"Oh! So that's how it is—"

Ogawa Masaru nodded repeatedly, and Kitano gently patted the boy's shoulder.

"You prepared this for the Queen of Resistance, right?"

With the exception of Resistance Queen, he had never heard of any horse in Nishiken suffering from muscle cramps.

Otherwise, Xuhe Zhang would have called the clinic long ago.

"That's right! When Omega-chan first arrived at the ranch yesterday, I saw that its walking posture was very pitiful, so..."

“I just wondered if I could do something about it.”

The boy lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"You did a great job, Sheng."

Kitano's tone became gentle.

As an alternative treatment method with a unique Japanese style, the Japanese-Chinese compound prescription can indeed play a certain conservative therapeutic role in dealing with Stringhalt symptoms in racehorses.

Although quite limited.

However, with tight budgets, this is the treatment most Japanese racehorses with Stringhalt can accept.

"Leave the rest to me!"

He patted Ogawa Katsu's shoulder again and said.

"Eh?"

The boy raised his head in confusion.

Could it be a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation among veterinarians, or something like Sasa acupuncture?

Masaru Ogawa followed Kitano with anticipation, eager to see the methods of the professional veterinarian.

However, the direction was not towards the stable.

"Can I sit here?"

Kitano asked the girl.

"Of course, please take a seat, Mr. Kitano."

After simply tidying up the scattered papers on the sofa, Ogawa Kana nodded and replied.

Putting away her glasses, the girl looked at his profile with some curiosity.

Sitting down on the sofa, Kitano opened the briefcase he carried with him.

Then, he took out a personal computer.

Opening the newly edited document, Kitano explained, "This is my plan for regulating the resistance queen's affected leg."

"However, there is still a part that needs to be discussed with Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Tanaka before we can continue to add to it."

"Ah?"

The expression on Ogawa Katsu's face looked a little surprised, but he was soon attracted by the text on the computer and began to read it attentively.

"Seven, seven hundred thousand yen——"

Just seeing the budget estimate for the initial site renovation was enough to shock the boy.

As for the subsequent long list of professional terms composed of katakana, it is almost completely incomprehensible.

"Is it worth it, Mr. Kitano?"

Ogawa Kana suddenly asked.

"The first year's investment alone is probably over a million yen, right?"

The girl tilted her head in confusion.

"Whether it's worth doing or not, I can't really judge."

In fact, Kitano was not even very confident about the plan he designed.

"However, since you are the horse owner——"

"At least try to do something within your ability, right?"

This was also the plan he had made before becoming the owner of Resistance Queen.

Chapter 33 Multi-party Discussion Meeting

After a while, Ogawa Jō and Tanaka also arrived at the lounge.

Also coming was Mr. Shimura, the hoof trimmer.

Before the discussion officially began, Kitano distributed a series of copies including electromyography, MRI (partial hind limb) and X-ray examination results to everyone.

Once the acquisition is completed, ownership will be transferred along with a comprehensive neurological examination and imaging diagnostic report.

"It's a symptom of the stable phase. How is it when you run?"

After taking a quick look at the report in his hand, Tanaka first asked the question that concerned him the most.

"There was no noticeable compensatory limp during the run, and the flexion was not severe."

As Xuhe Zhang spoke, he opened his mobile phone and played a slow-motion video of the Resistance Queen running in a straight line.

At Kitano's request, he conducted a simple test of the Resistance Queen's running gait.

"The flexion angle should be fine. Is there anything unusual before and after the test?"

Nodding, Tanaka continued to ask.

"A horse may shiver slightly during warm-up, and after periods of intense exercise, the lameness may become more noticeable as the horse gaits."

Ogawa Jō replied.

Although he didn't hold much hope at the beginning, the performance of the Resistance Queen exceeded his expectations.

Even with the limp, he could clearly feel the power hidden in the horse's body.

"In this way, we can at least get a G2 to G3 rating."

Tanaka said with a smile.

According to the rules set by the Japan Racing Horse Association, lameness in lame horses is divided into five levels from G1 to G5 according to the severity.

A G1 lame horse will be normal throughout the race, with only minor muscle tremors after warming up.

In this case, it can even be allowed to compete in the G1 race in the central region normally after passing the veterinary examination.

The G2 grading standard is that the single flexion angle is less than 30° in the initial stage and there is no compensatory claudication throughout the whole process.

Although they are not allowed to run in G1 events, G2-rated lame horses can enter most major prizes and open races other than G1.

Buckling occurs at least once per 200-meter interval, but straight-line gait is not affected, resulting in a G3 rating.

G3 lame horses are prohibited from participating in any central high-stakes events, and even if they participate in open tournaments, they must undergo strict veterinary review.

However, for local horse racing, the G3 rating is enough to participate in all races except the exchange and big prize races.

As for horses with G4 lameness, they have usually reached the point where compensatory lameness persists.

If you want to continue participating in the competition, you can only consider switching to obstacle horse riding.

The lowest level, G5, is the level where one cannot even complete a 1000-meter training.

In this case, the lame horse will be prohibited from participating in any races.

Judging from her performance in the video, the Resistance Queen's limp while running is not as severe as when walking, and there is even a good chance that she can get a G1 rating.

However, since the distance shown is too short, Tanaka prefers to make a conservative estimate.

"If everything goes well, before his debut, in addition to three hydrotherapy sessions midweek, I plan to arrange two days of wildebeest training and one day of long rein walking to improve his hind limb coordination."

Putting away his phone, Ogawa Jō began to explain the training plan to everyone.

"No problem. Also, you can try combining ground pole exercises with your wildebeest training to improve the symmetry of your gait."

Tanaka affirmed the training plan customized by Ogawa Jō, and then added.

As a senior horse trainer, he has come into contact with many lame horses over the years and naturally has some experience in how to conduct targeted training.

The two looked at Kitano.

"After training, you must pay attention to stretching and applying heat to the hind limb flexor muscles to avoid excessive tension in the hind limb muscles."

"As for the specific content of the training, I'll leave it to Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Tanaka to arrange."

He nodded, indicating that he had no further questions.

"Leave it to me, Brother Kitano!"

Ogawa Sheng on the side patted his chest.

"Don't get complacent too soon. Taking care of a lame horse isn't as easy as you think."

Ogawa Jō smiled and patted his head.

"How about going to the stables and observing for yourself?"

After comparing the slow-motion video and the report several times, Shimura slowly suggested.

"No problem, everyone please follow me."

Xuhe Zhang stood up first and walked in front to lead the way.