On Friday, April 15th, Winbak Farm hosted a tour for professionals from Equi-Stem. The group toured the foaling, racing and yearling divisions at Winbak Farm.
“We are pleased to be one of the farms participating with Equi-Stem. We were visited by their staff of PhDs, MDs and Vets and were enlightened by the research being done with stem cells,” said Joe Thomson, Winbak Farm Owner.
The Equi-Stem representatives included Mark Wasserman (company owner), Tara Long (Business Development Specialist), Dr. Todd Flower (lab and research director), Dr. David Matzilevich (runs lab with Dr. Todd Flower) and Dr. Keith Merritt (full time consulting sports medicine veterinarian).
Accompanying the tour was Cecil Whig report, Cheryl Mattix.
After the tour, the group had a luncheon and open discussion about the future goals of research at Equi-Stem. Winbak Farm representatives attending the discussion learned of the company’s goals both short-term and long-term to benefit all horses but especially those used for racing and breeding.
Attending the luncheon as special guests were veterinarians, Dr. Michael Ross and Dr. Martin Allen.
Winbak Farm’s representatives included both of the farm’s full-time veterinarians, Dr. Allison Deugwillo and Dr. Sarah Mackie. Also, in attendance from Winbak Farm were: Joe and JoAnn Thomson (Farm Owners), Kimberly Thomson (daughter of Joe and JoAnn), Garrett Bell (General Manager), Jerry Crump (Foaling Manager), Raymond Fernandez (Breeding Manager), Jeff Fout (Racehorse Trainer), James Ladwig (Yearling Manager), Jack Burke (Staking and Yearling Assistant), Melissa Diamond (Veterinary Assistant), Ashley Dowd (Veterinary Assistant), Meghan Fitzpatrick (Veterinary Intern), Laura Trzonkowski (Executive Assistant), Donna Muller (Accounting), Chris Fout (Racehorse Administrator) and Elizabeth Cheesman (Public Relations and Marketing). Also in attendance was Jane Ann Bell (sister of Joe Thomson).
Winbak Farm and Equi-Stem partnered in 2015 to start preserving Winbak Farm foals’ umbilical cords. In 2015, they focused on a select group of foals and had successful results with the preservation. In 2016, almost every foal born at Winbak Farm will have its umbilical cord preserved.
The purpose of preserving the umbilical cord is to enable the stem cells to be available for future treatment of injuries. The stem cells are used to treat potential career-ending injuries of tendons, bones, ligaments, etc. This treatment has been researched to promote healing of the injury without inflicting scar tissue on the horse.
“We at Winbak feel fortunate to partner with Equi-Stem and look forward to our horses being the beneficiaries of this important medical advancement,” said Thomson.
For more information on Equi-Stem, visit www.equistem.com.