Desire to compete: Amulet Farm Equine Rehab caring for some of the regions finest athletes
Katherine Mansfield
Just Fly Beyond rehabs on a vibrating flat surface, which is therapeutic for their legs and backs. Horses enjoy chewing on chains while they rehab.
Katherine Mansfield
This horse is about to undergo some rehab.
Katherine Mansfield
Holly spends time in one of Amulet’s gorgeous fields.
Katherine Mansfield
Full Surge enjoys time in the cold spa.
Katherine Mansfield
Bronson works out in the exercise ring.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Josh Wickerham takes the racehorse, Frankie, out for practice at Amulet’s racetrack in this 2021 photo.
Katherine Mansfield
Owner Tom Svrcek and Janet Collins pose in front of the rehab barn.
Katherine Mansfield
The racehorse Full Surge rehabs in the Aqua Pacer.
Katherine Mansfield
The racehorse Full Surge prepares to enter the Aqua Pacer.
By John Sacco
A passion for racehorses led Tom Svrcek and Janet Collins to help injured Standardbreds through their unique Amulet Farm Equine Rehab and Conditioning business in Belle Vernon.
At Amulet Rehab and Conditioning Center, the top priorities are to provide highest-quality patient care along with the best customer service, according to both Svrcek and Collins.
“Horses are athletes who are so strong, yet delicate at the same time,” Svrcek said. “Injuries occur during training and racing. They can be little or big problems. There always seems to be something going on or potentially going on.”
Svrcek has owned horses for more than 40 years. For the past 35, he has bred, owned, trained and raced Standardbreds at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Meadow Lands.
He said his passion for harness racing is a “curiosity and a need to figure out how we could better the lives of horses in our care.”
“It’s the passion of everyone at Amulet Equine,” he added.
In addition to Standardbred racehorses, Amulet is taking on more barrel racing horses – which is a racehorse that runs a clover leaf pattern in an area of a rodeo event versus running straight on a track.
“We too are horse owners and competitors, and we understand (the) desire to keep equine athletes in excellent shape, so he or she may perform at the highest level possible,” Svrcek said. “We also know the value of providing a horse with a stress free, comfortable and safe environment in which it may experience the rest and relaxation that it needs to allow healing and conditioning to take place.
“We offer state of the art, well proven methods to help a horse be restored and to reach his fullest potential. We consult with (an owner) and/or a veterinarian to develop a custom treatment plan to best meet your equine athlete’s needs and your budget.”
Once a plan is established, the owner is contacted daily with a progress report and is encouraged to stop and visit, Svrcek said.
“We want an owner or trainer to witness the transformation in their horse’s condition and demeanor,” he said.
“In addition to daily treatments, our staff reviews and evaluates the horses daily, monitoring vital signs such as temperature and breathing, palpating all limbs, observing his gait and providing quality nutrition.”
Collins and the staff works daily with a veterinarian, or specifically with Dr. Keith Brown, to supply medical care, supplements and so forth.
Svrcek said he continues to draw upon his decades of experience in searching for “the right people and the right equipment to build the foundation for Amulet Equine.”
“I wanted us to offer top care from top to bottom, including quality veterinarian care,” he added. “I wanted a staff that is both knowledgeable and friendly and have top-level horsemanship skills.”
He’s smart and educated enough to know success means to surround himself with the right people from different disciplines. He has constructed a staff with experience in harness and barrel racing and riding.
“The one thing we have in common is that we have a passion for horses and their performance,” he said.
Collins, who operates the facility, and Brown are the lynchpins of the facility and others credit them for their work.
• Their services include:
• Automated Walker;
• Aquapacer Treadmill;
• ECB Leg Spa;
• Massage Therapy;
• Salt Therapy Chamber;
• Shock Wave Therapy;
• Solarium Therapy;
• Theraplate Vibration Therapy;
• Training Track;
• Turn Out.
The training track is a half-mile track with a crushed stone surface.
“Janet is unbelievable in the job she does there,” said Ron Burke, one of the top harness racing trainers in the world and the head of Burke Stable out of Fredericktown. “Dr. Brown is the best vet by far. It’s just really been great for me and our stable. They have good services and the horses come back from there in good shape.”
Burke has used Amulet for rehabilitation purposes as he has his own turnout facilities.
Trainer and owner, Carl Cocciolone of Monessen, has used Amulet for turnout purposes – rest and relaxation – for some of his Standardbreds.
“I’ve used it to turnout some of my horses to gain some rest,” Cocciolone said. “I had them use the salt room for breathing. The horses breathe that salt, and it opens their nasal passages, and it helps their lungs.
“We also used the aqua therapy where the horses’ legs are emerged in ice water. The people there do a great job. Dr. Brown is the best and my horses come back rested, fit and in good shape.”
Collins said what is unique about the facilities is that there is none other in this area and only a few around the country, including one in New York, and some in Texas.
“We take great pride in what we do here, and our purpose is to get the horses healthy and fit,” she said. “We have all the equipment and people to do just that.”
Added Burke: “They have everything, every gadget and every machine. It’s a great set up, just really a great service. The horses come out of there in great shape.”