Susan Holm-Johansen watched closely as her standardbred racehorse, SB Kara Mia, informally known as Lena, competed in her very first harness race last summer. Up against several horses with more experience, Holm-Johansen didn’t have huge expectations for her 2-year-old mare. But what happened next was crushing. 

“She came out of the first turn, and she went off stride,” says Holm-Johansen about the race at Running Aces Casino, Hotel and Racetrack in Columbus, Minn. “She started running instead of pacing like she was supposed to do. I knew something was wrong right away.”

Holm-Johansen and her husband, Ulf, who is also Lena’s trainer, were devastated. After returning to the barn, the on-site veterinarian examined Lena and determined she had a fracture in the pastern bone of her right hind limb. A clean break, the couple was told. They were referred to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center’s Large Animal Surgery Service for care. 

“She was able to put some weight on her leg, but was lame at a walk,” says Jenna Young, an assistant professor and board-certified large animal surgeon, who led the team that worked on Lena. “We did a standing CT scan to precisely determine the margins and location of the fracture, as well as how the fracture extended through the bone.”

Young recommended surgery with the placement of three leg screws to repair the fracture. Young said she’s seen multiple standardbred horses for a variety of reasons, but this was the first fracture from the standardbred track she’d worked on. Lena was discharged a few days later and sent home for a few months of stall rest while the bone healed. 

The Holm-Johansens were relieved by Lena’s full recovery and started racing her again this spring. Things were tense at first. 

“Every time she went on the track, I was just holding my breath,” Holm-Johansen says. 

Once again, Lena was going up against more experienced racehorses. This time, though, Lena held her own and then some. Her owners were thrilled watching Lena earn second and third-place honors throughout the season, along with a couple of first-place wins.

“She’s the sweetest horse,” Holm-Johansen says. “She's not big, so sometimes when she's out there racing, you can't see her behind everybody else. But she’s really fast and has a big heart.” 

Young agrees. She was out at Running Aces this summer and had a chance to visit with Susan, Ulf, and Lena. While Young missed seeing Lena run live, she keeps up with her progress by watching the races online. 

“There are a lot of tough cases that we deal with, and when you get wins or successes like this one, it helps make it all worth it,” Young says. “Helping owners and getting a horse back to doing what it likes to do is a great feeling.” 

Recently, Lena didn’t want to put weight on her right hind leg again, leading to a return visit to VMC. After a series of tests, Young determined that Lena had an abscess in her right hind hoof. It was cleaned out, and Lena is back with her fellow horses, doing just fine. She’ll race again next year, Holm-Johansen says.

“They are fantastic,” she adds about Young and the VMC staff. “You can tell that they really care about what they’re doing with these animals. As an owner and trainer, I find that reassuring. We’re not just a number.”