Randlab is proud to support the Sophie's Legacy charity by sponsoring their new "We're Only Human" poster campaign for the equine veterinary community — a powerful initiative shining a light on the very real emotional and physical challenges faced every day by equine vets, vet nurses and veterinary support staff.

We have become aware that a counterfeit version of GoldBute Oral Paste is being marketed in the UAE using Randlab's logo and branding.

A counterfeit version of GoldBute Oral Paste is being marketed in the UAE and bears the Randlab logo and branding.

All records were smashed at the 2022 Nutrien Classic Performance Horse Sale & Campdraft held at Australian Livestock & Equestrian Centre (Tamworth) in early February with an aggregate of over $17M and 92% clearance rate. The average sale price was $27K with the sales topper being the three-year-old filly Bad In Black (Stevie Rey Von x Spinies Bad Girl) who set a record of $550K when purchased by the patron of all things equestrian, Willinga Park's owner Terry Snow . It was the first time that vendor Holly Clayden of Loomberah Lodge Performance Horses had sold at the Classic. The sale also saw records set for a four-year-old mare ( Hazelwood Country Blues $300K) and for a two-year-old filly, with a daughter of Metallic Cat selling for $260K. The unusually marked red roan sire, Metallic Cat is currently valued at over US$49M and is soon to make a cameo appearance on Yellowstone. One of the highlights of the sale was the Standardbred Campdraft Challenge. A great initiative whereby rehomed standardbreds compete for great prizes. Some of them looked like they had been drafting all their life. The sale also set a new record for Cowboys getting CoVID.

Triple Vodka winning the US$400K TQHA Sale Futurity, champion stallion and showing off his new prosthetic off foreleg with vet Dr Ted Vlahos who performed the life-saving surgery. Meanwhile, back at the ranch….. Yellowstone Equine Hospital (Wyoming, USA) principal Dr Ted Vlahos DVM is a world pioneer in equine limb amputation and prosthetics in horses. The technique recently came into spotlight with the below fetlock amputation/prosthesis of well-known US Quarter Horse stallion Triple Vodka. The stallion had the surgery in February 2021 after he failed to respond to treatment for an infected coffin joint. “It was either euthanasia or amputation. Euthanasia was never really a choice. The horse loves life and makes sure to show us!”, Triple Vodka’s owners Zerlotti Genetics (Texas) said. The stallion was back living a relatively normal life and serving by October. “He has everyday turn out and his regular semen collection routine.” You can read more about Triple Vodka’s journey on his Facebook page. The stallion now has over 7.6K followers which has risen from 3.5K since his surgery. Vlados performs the amputations on both front and hind legs. Most equine amputations are performed at the fetlock level or below, but some have been performed at mid-cannon bone, and rarely at the mid-radius. “It's been a slow process to get it accepted, but the horses really do so well,” Vlahos is quoted as saying in a recent interview with the Paulick Report. “I'm pleased that other vets across the world are starting to recognize it as a viable option. When I'm helping other surgeons with the procedure, I routinely hear, 'Why haven't we been doing this before today?'”

Bob Dylan is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time but was also a keen horseman. There is not much information about Dylan’s equestrian pursuits, but there are plenty of photos of him engaging in equestrian activities both on and off the screen (Dylan played a number of western/cowboy characters in his punctuated film career). Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career spanning nearly 60 years. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when songs such as " Blowin' in the Wind " (1963) and " The Times They Are a-Changin '" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and anti-war movements. His lyrics during this period incorporated a range of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the restless counterculture. One of his most controversial songs was called " All the Tired Horses " which was the lead song on his 1970 double album Self Portrait . A requiem. It is most notable for its absence of Dylan's singing. It consists of a small choir of female voices repeating the same two lines to the same melody for 3 minutes and 14 seconds, with varying instrumental accompaniment. All the tired horses in the sun How'm I s'posed to get any ridin' done? Hmm. You can listen to the song here : It is worth a listen for its sheer unusualness. For one of the greatest lyrists of the decade, the song has been described by some popular culture gurus as a "cop out" and Rolling Stones Magazine reviewed the whole album with the headline “What is this s—t?”. The song was used in the 2001 film Blow. The lyrics hint at meaning but defy interpretation. Perhaps “riding” is a metaphor for a wearied Dylan’s “writing”. Repetition gives the two lines a strange power and the song has a hypnotic gospel-type feel. All The Tired Horses has been described by one critic as “enough to lure sailors to their deaths” and it frequently appears on lists as one of the ten worst songs of all time. Presumably, because it is benchmarked against Dylan’s other works. Popular culture magazine Mojo described Dylan’s most recent album Rough And Rowdy Ways, released in February last year and Dylan's first in eight years, as a “vaccine against culture’s shrinking expectations”. Dylan is now 81years old.

Big Jake, the world’s tallest horse, died in late June aged 20 years old. The Belgian Draft stood 20.2hh (210.19cm). The life expectancy for a Belgian Draft horse is normally about 18 years. The chestnut lived at Smokey Hollow Farm in Wisconsin, USA, where he was a major tourist attraction. The world record for the tallest horse ever measured was 21.25hh (220cm) and is held by a horse named Sampson, a Shire born in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England. He weighed 1524kg! At 1.5% of bodyweight, that is a bale of hay per day!

The girl on the grey pony is none other than Australian 2020(-1) Olympic hero Ariarne Titmus. Ariarne won gold medals in both the 200m and 400m freestyle at her first attempt at the Olympics last month. But Ariarne is no fish out of water when it comes to horses. She grew up riding ponies on her family farm near Launceston in Tasmania and competed at dressage and show jumping from the age of seven. Titmus recently declared that “horse riding was her first love” and that horse riding taught her to be “calm and focused” and that she “loves the connection that you can make with a horse”. Ariarne also mentioned in one radio interview that she hoped she may one day compete at the Olympics as an equestrian after her swimming career has finished. Not out of the question, given that she is only 21yo and Australia’s two oldest Olympians in Tokyo were equestrians Mary Hanna (66yo- dressage) and Andrew Hoy (62yo – eventing). Tokyo teammate, backstroker Emily Seebohm (bronze) is also a keen equestrian and suffered an injury in the lead up to the Olympics after falling off her horse. Ariarne was recently announced as the official ambassador for the 2021 Lexus Melbourne Cup Day.

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