It’s the sleepless nights Sharon Banford remembers most clearly.
One of the first Thoroughbreds she bred, a chestnut filly foaled on April 15, 2022, was on the verge of having to be humanely euthanized. Veterinarians had few options to offer Banford as the filly, Annunaki, or “Anu” for short, was suffering from recurrent aneurysmal bone cysts on the left side of her lower jaw.
The filly’s left mandible was significantly enlarged, and she’d already undergone surgery to remove the bony growths as a weanling. A year later, the cysts had returned and were beginning to interfere with the filly’s ability to eat…