Operation Brain

An Interview with Veterinary Surgeon Ben Brain

‘I won't ask you what is the best horse you've given a wind op,’ I say to Ben Brain, thinking I’d have to coax him to doing an interview.

Not missing a beat, Ben answers, ‘That’s easy, Sprinter Sacre!’

With that out the way, Ben chats candidly about his profession as a veterinary surgeon, where he is based at his own practice shared with his amazing wife Vicky. ‘not only is she a brilliant vet and, thankfully, has more business sense than me,’ says Ben. She was the driving force behind starting up Dikler Farm in 2009, where they specialise in 'wind' operations.

Ben, 53, grew up in Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire and has moved half a mile from his childhood haunts to his clinic near Bourton-on-the-Water.

Whilst at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Ben met Vicky. ‘There was a wonderful Dean, Professor Alan Rowlands, who loved the sports; he would wear his kilt when, every year, he joined us on rugby tour,’ explains Ben. ‘I probably wouldn't have got into Edinburgh without Professor Rowlands, because the sporty side of my CV may have appealed to him. Every other vet school was predominantly female, even back then; in interviews, young ladies would win hands-down over backwards, bookish lads. Yet, at Edinburgh, it was curiously still 50-50. Did Professor Rowlands put a handbrake on the girls and gave the lads an easy pass? When he retired, it changed from this 50-50 intake straight to 90% women. This is why I've managed to get such a good-looking wife because she had a poor choice to pick from, that 10% of male veterinary students.’

Ben and Vicky have three kids George (17), Maggie (16) and Sam (11). In the field is their 40-year-old ex-children's pony called Pretty, who was once ex-jockey Robbie Power’s and their friend Lucy Latta’s pony. ‘We inherited her from my Irish connections,’ says Ben. Plus, they own two cats Olive and Squid and friendly lurchers called Turnip and Dennis.

Did you have a horsey childhood? Yes, a very horsey childhood. I had lots of naughty ponies – I was in the Heythrop and Cotswold Pony Clubs. Then, from the age of nine, polo took over. I had an amazing pony Howie, who I got because he bucked off everyone else. I had him for years and years. He was awesome, my horse of a lifetime.

What is your family connection to veterinary? My dad Jeffrey would have been 102 now, but he died two months short of his centenary. He was a fighter pilot in the Second World War, flying Hurricanes and Mosquitoes in Burma. After meeting his first wife in a field in Indonesia, he came home after the war and went to vet school. He loved a bet; his dad was the same and owned numerous racing greyhounds, which my dad spent walking instead of attending school.

Dad would never have got into vet school if he hadn't been an officer in the RAF – he was lucky. His ambition to become a vet stemmed from his interest in greyhounds and horseracing. At the time, there were few horse vets because horses were in the past – tractors had replaced the working horse on the farms by then. Yet, fortunately for my father, horses had gone from being a necessity to a hobby. Back in the 1960s, he was quoted in a national newspaper as saying, ‘Every factory girl in Birmingham wants to ride at the weekend these days.’  

After graduating, Dad did a short spell around West Bromwich, treating small animals and pigs, which were living in Anderson shelters – food rationing was still around and people kept pigs to fatten in their old air raid shelters. My dad hated it.

A job was going in Gloucestershire for Colonel ‘Mouse’ Townsend, who had been a senior officer in Palestine and, latterly, on the Homefront during the war. He was a well-known equine specialist.

Colonel Townsend was the surgeon and, whilst he would do the operating, Dad was his assistant. With very primitive anaesthesia, horses were hobbled for their own safety, not to mention the people’s safety around them. After six months, poor Colonel Townsend dropped dead but not before Dad had accompanied him to Wexford, Ireland on a combined work and hunting trip. During which, they Hobdayed a hunter for Roy Latta, a County Wexford farmer.

During that stay, a bond formed because, shortly after Colonel Townsend died and Dad had taken over the practice, Mrs Latta rang up asking for my father to come over, striking up an enduring friendship between our two families. Today, the Latta family help run the surgery list for our wind ops in Ireland. I return to the same farm buildings that my dad used from the early 1950s and was where I learnt under my dad's tutelage. That's the absolute crux of my working life.

Ben’s Potted History of Wind Operations: In the war, Colonel Townsend helped to Hobday a huge number of mules for the British Army at Doncaster Racecourse. The Army’s aim was to mute these mules, which were used as pack animals during clandestine operations.

A crazy Colonel called Orde Wingate led an expeditionary force behind enemy lines and, after getting into big trouble, they needed to get re-supplied. In an attempt to help the troops who were trapped, these poor mules were led into the jungle or, after being strapped to pallets, parachuted out the back of transport planes to where Wingate was having an awful time. Having performed all the wind surgeries on these mules before they were shipped out to Burma, Colonel Townsend had had a lot of practice in Hobdays.

In 1950-1, Colonel Townsend’s interests in hunting and showing horses led to him perform many Hobdays to improve horses cosmetically. Show horses didn't do well if they’re making a noise.

Who was your biggest influence? Dad was big into racing. He realised that wind ops didn't just help to take the noise away but made racehorses breathe more easily. Early on, he got involved with some very heavy weight Irish trainers, like Vincent O'Brien, Tom Dreaper and Dan Moore. He performed successful wind surgery on the likes of Fortria and L’Escargot, which really put him on the map within the racing world. He also built up many good relationships at home in the UK – he was Arthur Stephenson’s go-to man and would visit to his yard in Bishop Auckland every other week.

Annually, Dad got a new Ford Cortina, which was only fit for the scrap heap after he’d finished with it. Someone else would have grown wind ops into what they are today but Dad definitely made it his ‘thing’. Then, the repertoire grew when the scope was introduced.

How did you decide to study veterinary science? I thought I was going to be a polo player, which I did semi-professionally for a few years. My dad was horrified, saying it was a rich playboy’s game. His actual words were, ‘I’m not supporting that, you’re a bloody idiot.’ My younger brother Fergus was very bright, hardworking and was going to be a vet. In the end, he didn’t go down that line and is an accountant in Australia now.

After a few years of polo and whilst studying for a biology degree, I actually woke up and achieved a very good grade. I had been ‘working’ for a year playing polo in South Africa. Dad asked me when I was going to do something useful with my life, and I said I’d try to get into veterinary school. My boss was a wealthy, influential industrialist and talked of wrangling a place for me in a South African vet school, so I could end up working for him. My dad replied, ‘Don’t do that. Come back, study in Britain and I’ll fund you.’

Then started the world’s most creative university application where my very meagre achievements got completely blown out of proportion. I had an interview over the phone for Edinburgh and they gave me a place.

Other than racehorses, what types of horses do you perform wind ops on? Everything. Showjumpers are very keen to sort their horses’ wind out – it makes a big difference when jumping the height at the high end and it's the same with dressage. For the number of people who compete in eventing, however, eventers are poorly represented compared to many other disciplines.

Do you treat any animals other than horses? My wife won't let me. I try to treat our dogs but she loves them and doesn't want me anywhere near them – they then get taken to a real vet.

Is there another area of veterinary expertise you might have specialised in? I used to do lameness work in racing yards but it got so boring. It was just relentless. I love doing wind – it's clear cut.

What’s the best aspect about wind operations? This is something to which we can make a difference – it is not just saying your horse is lame. It's a solution, not just a diagnosis.

How have wind operations evolved from horses being tubed? Tubing horses was a bit brutal and hasn’t been done for years. Having been tubed, very few horses ran well. Today’s wind surgeries give many more horses a future.

How can you see wind ops evolving in the future? This is a real hot topic. Within the veterinary profession, there’s the few who don't like racing and they don't like so-called performance enhancing surgery. It is NOT performance enhancing surgery – we are treating an illness; it's a disease of the airways. There's some hypocrisy within all of this but we always put horse welfare first. There are people within racing, the general public and the veterinary profession that say we shouldn't be putting horses through it, especially just for racing. I put emphasis on that we are treating a disease – wind surgery will not improve a healthy horse, or change a horse that fundamentally doesn't want to race.

We are forever analysing our data and the techniques for diagnosis, such as overground scopes as well as heart monitoring at exercise allows us a far more comprehensive examination of our patients. We continue to analyse our surgical success rates and evolve our techniques.

Did it make any difference when the British Horseracing Authority started declaring wind ops? I don't think it's helped any punters out there, who realise it’s more complicated than just the horse has had a wind op or not.

In my opinion, the owner should be privileged to certain information about their own horse, not the bookies and punters. Racing is, after all, supported and the load is borne by the owner. The vast majority of horses have wonderful lives in this industry, which is thanks to the owners – they put in everything for very little return.

The punters will always ask for more so no, it doesn't make a huge difference. It's a bit of a conspiracy theory that punters thought they were being kept in the dark and they now know they're not. It’s the owner’s horse and they should be allowed to look after their horse how they see fit, without declaring everything to the public.

Do racehorses have more wind issues nowadays or are they just treated more effectively? They definitely do have more wind issues. Years ago, Dad’s wind op list would be predominantly sired by Buckskin, Strong Gale and Supreme Leader, which were all massive chasing types and had varying levels of laryngeal paralysis so they had Hobdays. Nowadays, we still see that problem but we see more Flat horses needing wind ops. We've gone away from the old-fashioned National Hunt-types, which were like hunters. Flat horses have more soft palate problems.

The variables are the breeding and how the horses are trained. Today, we are in much more of a hurry with National Hunt horses; they used to be given a lot of time and were older, and maturity definitely plays a part in palate stability. Trainers have to get results so the way horses are trained is very different. Interval training really helps horses, is a far better way of training and you can produce more winners with fewer problems, but we have inherited more issues with their soft palate.

Training is now more intense over short periods – the palate is a muscle that is likely to benefit from the traditional style of training with longer, slower durations of exercise. That balance of training has shifted to help horses with their orthopaedic issues – less orthopaedic problems but more palate problems because they're not doing as many miles on the clock. This generation of horses runs to the best of their ability but sometimes there's a chink and often it's their soft palate.

Does it feel different to operate on a champion racehorse than a handicapper? It shouldn't, should it? We do the same job on all.

How satisfying is it to improve a horse’s form? The most satisfying part of the job is when you've operated on a horse and the trainer rings up saying he's much happier and is enjoying his work; that he wants to go, is settled and relaxed. It's great to hear that a horse has improved and is even better if they win.

Any advice you live by to do with wind ops: To have good communication with everyone, especially trainers and owners. We always try to get the whole picture from everyone, including the jockey. I think it's so important not just to look at the diagnosis on that day but to get all the information.

How do you describe the team around you? My team are the best thing about the job. I look forward to seeing them every day. I couldn't do it without them. They're all characters and not very PC, and I love working with them.

Were you a jockey? Whilst riding out, I rode in three point-to-points. I was 35 and thought I'd better do it.

We’d just had George and set up on our own, so why I thought it was a good time to smash myself up, I don't know. My horse was called John Kelly and Fergal O'Brien had him when he still trained ‘pointers. I occasionally rode out at Nigel Twiston-Davies’ so knew Fergal well. He said, ‘I've got this horse, he's back from injury and he's never fallen. He’s won races in Ireland, is lightly raced and is an older horse – ideal for you.’

At Maisemore point-to-point, I remember Ferg said two things to me, ‘When the starter tells the jockeys to take a turn, don't. And if you fall off, don't come back!’ Of course, we hit the deck. It was all very confusing – I was pretty sure the horse had fallen but it happened all too quickly. By the time I had opened my eyes, the horse was no longer there so I sheepishly got a lift back with the course vet, the late Brendan Patterson but he hadn't been watching so couldn't help me with whether the horse had fallen or not. With relief, I saw a massive clod of turf stuck under John Kelly's browband. Ferg said, ‘Yeah yeah, don't worry, he fell. How unbelievable – you managed to wrestle the whole horse to the ground.’ We had a few more runs but sadly John Kelly got an injury and was retired.

Favourite racehorse: I liked Razor Royale at Nigel Twiston-Davies’. He was so beautiful and talented.

Favourite racecourse: Very boringly, it has to be Cheltenham.

Do you ever go racing for a day out? I used to go racing to have a drink – a few pints – but nowadays, having learnt, we go, have a nice time and leave just before the last.

Do you ever go to the sales? I’m a member of the Tattersalls’ racing panel for the Horses In Training sale at Cheltenham Racecourse and used to do the store sales in Ireland. I don't do any other sales work now – we're just too busy.

Does racing have a positive future in regard to animal rights? Everyone is doom and gloom about it but I think it's not an animal rights issue. Racing will not be stopped by people saying it is wrong. Too many people love racing and those involved with the horses know how well they are looked after and know they wouldn't be there otherwise. There will always be a noisy minority who campaign against things; those who live in a cancel culture.

I see the bigger problem lies in the shift of the workforce. There just doesn't seem to be the people who want to work in racing anymore – those needed to sustain the number of horses in training. People's work life balance has changed – the old way that involved huge dedication and loyalty is diminishing. Fewer are there to ride difficult horses and get them going. The people still left in racing then have to bear twice the load because there's not as many people who want to do it. More than anything, racing is in a precarious place from a workforce point of view.

Best racing celebration you’ve attended: After Imperial Commander won the Cheltenham Gold Cup for Nigel Twiston-Davies and after Don't Push It won the Aintree Grand National for Jonjo O’Neill.

Advice you live by: Doors will open – you’ve got to grab the opportunity. Just be bold and go for it. I'm a very positive person and you've got to stay positive because positivity breeds good luck.

Goodwood Revival 2021, and Ben and Vicky windsurfing

Favourite meal: Curry.

Favourite drink: A pint of Guinness.

Favourite snack: Cake.

Favourite holiday destination: I quite like staying at home but I do like Pembrokeshire.

Other hobbies/interests: I do very amateur motor racing in a 1960s Alfa Romeo. I love classic car racing. All my friends, who live in their oily overalls, help me because I don't have a clue. We go all over the country; I love it, it's great fun and I’m obsessed.

Vicky and I both windsurf quite well – we have done it for years. We love windsurfing together. It's very bonding to go out in crazy wild weather in high winds.

Favourite film: It's a kids’ cartoon film called The Book Of Life. I have watched it so many times with all my children, it is just full of happy memories.

Favourite music: Girls Aloud, they’re gorgeous. And I’ve got terrible taste in music!

Favourite books: I'm a bookworm with a very diverse range. It's Hyperion - a sci-fi series of novels by Dan Simmons and they’re bloody amazing. Or the naval diary novels about Jack Aubrey by Patrick O’Brien.

If you weren’t a vet, what job would you be doing? An RAF pilot.

Would you ever be tempted to pen your memoirs like you dad Jeffery Brain did in his autobiography Clearing The Airways? Not whilst I could be struck off!

Who are your ideal dinner guests? My brother Fergus and my wife Vicky, and if they couldn’t make it then anyone from Girls Aloud.