We welcome the new year, and all the promise it holds. We also welcome some new names, but familiar friends, to the 1997 Editorial Advisory Board of The Horse, and we thank those who have served without fanfare for the past year. These busy professionals, whose only recognition has been and will be having their names listed in small type on the masthead on page 3 of each magazine, help guide this publication. They offer criticism, suggest sources for articles, and sometimes even become references themselves in their areas of expertise.

And it is a wide range of expertise we welcome!

In alphabetical order, our 1997 Editorial Advisory Board members are Roberta Dwyer, DVM, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine; Bill Moyer, DVM; Scott Palmer, VMD, Diplomate ACVS; Steve Reed, DVM, Diplomate ACVS; N. Edward Robinson, BVetMed, PhD, MRCVS; Peter Timoney, MVB, MS, PhD, FRCVS; Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM; and Dickson Varner, DVM, PhD. But this alphabet soup doesn’t begin to do justice to these top veterinarians and researchers.

Dwyer, who previously served on the board, not only teaches pre-vet classes at the University of Kentucky, she also is involved in epidemiologic research at the Gluck Equine Research Center. She was part of the team that worked to bring us the rotavirus vaccine last year (The Horse of March, page 27). Moyer is a foot and leg man. As head of the new large animal facility at Texas A&M University, Moyer oversees a wide variety of research and clinical work. His areas of personal interest, however, lie in lameness and foot problems.

Palmer owns the New Jersey Equine Clinic near Clarksburg. While holding to the ideals of traditional horsemanship, Palmer embraces new technology and makes it his own, such as laser surgery (The Horse of September, 1995, page 12). Palmer also knows more about computers than I do (and I use them for a living), and to top it off, he actually understands them. Reed of Ohio State University has many areas of interest, but has become known for his work with wobblers and current interest in equine protozoal myeloencephalitis.

Robinson of Michigan State has a long-standing interest in respiratory illnesses of horses, and has been in the forefront of research into many problems, including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), various manifestations of heaves, and bleeders. Timoney, head of the Gluck Equine Research Center in Kentucky, also is president of the World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA). His international connections are surpassed only by his knowledge of viral diseases, especially equine viral arteritis (EVA) and contagious equine metritis (CEM).

Traub-Dargatz of Colorado State not only is certified in internal medicine, she also teaches the next generation of veterinarians. She currently is working with the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), which will conduct the first federal study into the health needs of equines across the United States. The study is scheduled to take place in 1998. Her group currently is looking for input from horse owners and equine professionals on what should be included in that study, and they will accept that input via an 800 number or the Internet (see news item on page 8). Varner of Texas A&M, who also served on the 1996 board, specializes in equine reproduction.

We also welcome a new member to the AAEP Editorial Advisory Board. Lowell R. Smalley, DVM, is from Omaha, Neb. Other members of the AAEP Editorial Advisory Board are Atwood C. Asbury, DVM, general manager and executive vice president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association; Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS, of the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington; Eleanor M. Green, DVM, head of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida; Peter F. Haynes, DVM, of Louisiana State University; Khristina D. Kirkland, DVM; Fred B. McCashin, VMD, MSc, a private practitioner in North Carolina; Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACVS, Director of Eqine Sciences at Colorado State University; James A. Rose, DVM, retired practitioner and head of the Piedra Foundation in California; and W. David Wilson, MRCVS, of the University of California, Davis.

Speaking of the AAEP, there was some fabulous and practical information that came out of that group’s annual convention in December. It was so interesting that we held a section of the magazine for a late press run in order to bring you the hottest stuff on topics such as EPM (see page 35).

The Horse Source

While on the topic of things that are new, practical, and innovative, I’d like to introduce something you as a subscriber will receive as part of your subscription–a 13th issue, if you will–The Horse Source. This is a directory of goods and services from across the country, and sometimes around the world, gathered in one place for your convenience.

This was not an easy undertaking, and because of that, it is the first of its kind–an all-breed, all-discipline directory of what you as a horse owner, trainer, breeder, and professional want and use with your horses. The Horse Source also will be available for purchase in CD ROM format.

To be as fair and comprehensive as possible, we are offering free listings to businesses and organizations which should be included under the more than 100 categories of The Horse Source. There are already more than 4,000 unique entities in our system categorized into more than 6,000 entries. You can see the various categories on the listing on the facing page and on page 7.

If you have a business or organization that fits into one of these categories, make sure to be included in The Horse Source by completing the accompanying information questionnaire.

The Horse Source will be mailed to all regular subscribers with the April 1997 issue. Get in touch with us now if you want to be included, and keep your eyes on the mail this spring for the first, best, and most comprehensive directory for goods and services in the industry.