The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture released guidelines (below) to help horse owners and farm managers avoid mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) and the uveitis (eye) and pericarditis (heart) problems that struck horses in many states this spring. The complete recommendations can be found at www.uky.edu/Agriculture/VetScience/mrls/mrls_oct2001.htm.

UK personnel urge horse farm owners and managers to implement these procedures to reduce the risk of MRLS in 2002. UK also will monitor specific pasture and weather parameters in the state next spring. This environmental monitoring will be used to alert Kentucky’s horse owners and managers to any potential risks during the next breeding season, while furthering researchers’ understanding of the causes of MRLS.

UK notes that the decision to implement any or all of these preventive measures should be based on the recognition that the risk factors for MRLS are multifaceted, and that the onset in 2001 was associated with abnormal weather conditions and the presence of unusually large numbers of Eastern tent caterpillars. Elimination of all risk factors might not be feasible on many farms and should be evaluated in light of individual farm conditions and information from researchers as it becomes available