CarriageHorse

StableAssessmentReports,
Summary,andRecommendations.

BrookdaleFarms
Assessment
7/13/14

Dr.SarahFrei
Veterinarian,CityofStLouis
2801ClarkAve
St.Louis,MO63103

On7/13/14ACORonFischerandIperformedaninformalassessmentoftheBrookdale
FarmsstablelocatedonLombardStreetneardowntownSt.Louis.Thestableisretrofittedintoan
olderstylewarehousebuildingandisunmarked.Twosinglegaragedoors(oneonthenorthside,one
onthesouthside)arethemainpointsofingress/egress.Anindustrialdrumfanwaspositionednearthe
southdoor,butappearedtobemalfunctioning(employeeworkedonfanuntiliteventuallyran).The
odorofammoniawasimmediatelynotedandwhilenotoverwhelming,washeavierthanIwouldexpect
fromawellmaintainedstable.Squarecinderblockstallslinedtheeastandwestbordersofthebuilding.
Whenwearrived,horseswerebeingfedmixedgrasshayandgrainfromthegroundintheirstall.
Woodshavingsatadepthof34incheswerepresentinthestalls(norubbermats).Theshavingsin
moststallsweredampenoughtoholdshapewhenballedinafist.Theemployeethatassistedus
(Travis)remarkedthatallofthestallswereinneedofstripping(completeremovalofoldbeddingand
replacementwithnew).Waterwasprovidedtoeachstalloutof55gallonbluebarrels(halved)and
appearedpotableandgenerallyfreeofexcessdebris.Thestabledidnothaveindividualboxfansfor
eachstallthelackofwhichwasapparent.Theairwithinthestablewasgenerallywarmandstagnant
duetothelackofexternalwindows,eaves,ordoorsotherthanthepreviouslymentioned.Astockpile
ofhayandshavingswerepresentinthesouthwestcornerofthebarn.Therearenooutdoorpaddocks
attheLombardStreetstable.Wasteishauledtoaprivatedumpsterashortdistancefromthe
warehouse.
Thehorseswerevisuallyexaminedintheirstalls.Allappearedtobeingoodfleshwithabody
conditionscore56outof9.Allhorsesthatareworkingareshodandafarriertrimsandreplaces
shoesevery8weeks.OnePercheron,Ben,hadcollargalls(sores)presentonbothsidesofthe
withers.Crustswerefoundtobecoveringulceratedskinapproximately2inchesindiameteroneither
side.Numerousfliesweregatheredintheseareas.TravisindicatedthatBenworkedthepreviousday
(SaturdayJuly,11)andthathewasscheduledtoworkthedayoftheassessmentaswell.Iinquired
howtheyareabletotreatthesoreswiththeanimalworkingTravisexplainedthattheyaddadditional
paddingtothecollarorswitchtheanimalintoabreastpullharness.Allhorsesarebatheddailyat
minimumandtackiswipeddown/cleaneddaily.
AdarkbayPercheronidentifiedasMoosewashalteredandremovedfromhisstall.Hisresting
vitalsignswereHeartRate:40Temperature:100.5andRespiratoryRate:76.AtrestMoosewas
rhythmicallybreathingwithnostrilflareandsubtleabdominalcomponent.Bronchovesicularlungsounds
weredetectedinalllungfields(noharshwheezingwasdetected).Travisremarkedthatthistypeof
breathingwastypicalforMoose.HealsosaidthatMoosewasnotcurrentlyundertreatmentforany
conditiondiagnosedbyaveterinarian.
Iexaminedtheemployeeschedulekeptonadryeraseboard.Travisexplainedthatthehorses
aretypicallyworked5daysperweekfor8weeks,thentraileredbacktoBrookdaleFarminEureka,
MOforavacationofvariablelength.Travisdescribedhoursasfollows:Duringweekdaystheshiftsare
approximately4pmuntil10pm.Duringweekendsshiftscanbeginasearlyas11amandcontinuefor
anadditional810hoursdependingonhowbusytheyare.TheemployeesofBrookdaleFarmsthatwe
spoketowerenotawareofanyrulesgoverningdurationofshiftorstartingtimebasedontemperature.
Theywerealsounawareofanyrulesprohibitingoperationduringtrafficrushhour(46pmon
weekdays).BrookdaleFarmsdoeshaveawinteroffseasonatthedowntownstables(whereall
horsesaretransportedtotheEurekafarm)butthestartingandendingdatesofthisseasonvary.The
employeeswespoketocouldtellusthenamesofthefarrierandveterinarianthatBrookdaleuses,but
nocontactinformation.Nomedicalrecordsforanyofthehorseswereavailableonsiteforreview.

St.LouisCarriageCompany
Assessment
7/13/14

Dr.SarahFrei
Veterinarian,CityofStLouis
2801ClarkAve
St.Louis,MO63103

On7/13/14ACORonFischerandIperformedaninformalassessmentoftheSt.Louis
CarriageCompanystablelocatedonCerreStreetneardowntownSt.Louis.Thestableisastandard
gablebarnwithdoublebreezewaysandcenteraislestalls.Industrialdrumfansattheopenentryofthe
breezewayswereinusewhenwearrivedandairflowresultedinnodiscernibleammoniaodor.
Rectangularwoodstallswerepresentinthreeaisleswiththetwoouteraisleshavingexteriorwindows
thatwereallopen.Chestlevelfeedingbinscontainedmixedgrasshayandgrain.Waterwasprovided
outof5gallonbucketsandappearedpotableandgenerallyfreeofexcessdebris.Woodshavingswere
thesubstrateonstallfloorsatadepthofapproximatelysixinches.Shavingsweredryanddidnothold
theirshapewhenballedinafist.Norubbermatsweredetected.Stallswereoutfittedwiththeirown
individualboxfans.Grainwaskeptinasilowithinthecenteraisleandhaywasstoredoverhead.There
wasadirtpaddocklocatedashortdistancefromthebarn.Therewasaccesstowaterhowevershade
wasminimal.Aleantoorsimilarshelterwasnotpresentinthepaddock.Wastewasdepositedina
privatedumpsterabout20feetfromthebarn.Noanimalwasremovedfromitsstallduringthe
assessment.HorseswerevisuallyinspectedandfoundtobeingoodfleshwithBCS56/9.Twobarn
catsweresaidtoliveatthestable,foodandwaterbowlswereobservedbutthecatsremainedunseen.
Theemployeeschedulewaskeptonadryeraseboard.Anemployee,Madison,
explainedthatthehorseswork5daysperweek.Shiftsbeginasearlyas12:45pmandgenerallylast8
hours.Sheexplainedthatthereisnofirmruleabouttemperatureandshiftstartingtime,ratheritisup
tomanagersdiscretiontodelayshiftdeparturesduetoheat.Shealsoremarkedthateachhorseis
differentbuttypicallytheywillworktwoweekson,oneweekoff.Iaskedforfarrier/veterinarian
contactinformationandthisemployeewasunabletoprovideit.Iwasunabletoclarifyifmedical
recordswerekeptonsiteoratanoffsitelocation,thereforeIwasunabletoreviewthem.

SummaryandRecommendations
7/14/14

ThevideorecordingofMoosefromtheeveningof7/12/14revealananimalclearlyin
respiratorydistress.BecauseaveterinarianwasunabletoexamineMooseatthetimethevideowas
recorded,wewilllikelyneverknowexactlywhatfactorsormedicalconditionscontributedtohisstate
thatevening.Thesefactorshoweverarealmostcertainlymultipleinnature(e.g.ambienttemperature,
humidity,durationofshift,knownorunknownmedicalconditions).
Horsesworkinginurbanenvironmentsrequirespecialconsiderationsfortheirhealthand
welfare.Thereisnodoubtthattheseanimalsareatgreaterriskofillnessandinjuryforavarietyof
reasons(e.g.airpollution,motorizedtraffic,concussivesurfaces,extremeweatherconditions,andthe
unpredictablenatureofhorsesthemselves).Baseduponmyassessment,investigation,andprofessional
judgement,Irecommendthefollowingactionsbetakenataminimum:

Ensurethatcarriagehorsestablesoperatingwithinthecityareheldtothecurrentstandardsand
bestpracticesofequinehusbandryincludingbutnotlimitedto:
Adequatefreshairandventilation(i.e.individualandindustrialfansingoodrepair
combinedwithwindows,doors,grates,ventsandeaves).
Fastidiouscleaningpracticestominimizehorseexposuretodust,debrisandodor.
Ideally,storageoffoodandbeddingmaterialsinanareaseparatefromthehorsebarn.
Workwithcarriagehorsestablestoimproverecordkeepingandaccesstorecordssuchas:
medicalrecords(includingmostrecentCogginstest)farrierrecordsworkschedulesand
numberofweekson/offduty.
DevelopasystemofwelfarechecksenactedbyHealthDepartmentAnimalControlOfficers
andCityVeterinarian.Thiswouldincludeinspectionofstablesaswellashorsesworkinginthe
fieldatvarioustimesofday/night.
Developaconsistenthotweatherpolicyforworkingcarriagehorsesandensurethatitis
adheredto.
Requiringthattheindividualhorse,Moose,undergoacompleterespiratorydiagnosticworkup
andisfoundtobehealthyandunremarkablepriortohisreturntothecityforuseasacarriage
horse.Primarily,heshouldhaveBronchoalveolarLavageperformedtoruleinorruleout
InflammatoryAirwayDisease(IAD)andquantifytheseverityoftheconditionifpresent,asa
varietyofmanagementtechniquesandtherapiesmaybeindicatedatthattime.Thisworkup
shouldbeperformedincollaborationwiththeCityVeterinarian.

Includedinthisdocumentfindonlytheearnestobservations,opinions,andrecommendationsofthe
veterinarianservingtheCityofSt.Louis.

Dr.SarahFrei
Veterinarian,CityofStLouis
2801ClarkAve
St.Louis,MO63103