Beginning with the 2011 ride year the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) will allow in competition all hoof boots designed for sole protection.

The University of Louisville, Ky., College of Business has recently undertaken a $3.38 million expansion project that will benefit the school’s equine business education program. The university is in the process of constructing an addition to its current business college that will house the Equine Industry Program.

Whether they work in an exclusively equine practice or a mixed-practice setting, veterinarians attending the 2011 North American Veterinary Conference will encounter a program devoted to their specific interests, note the organizers of the event, which will take place Jan. 15-19 in Orlando, Fla. The five-day equine program includes a variety of world-class speakers and topics, with most days …

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s (UHC) Operation Gelding program continues to enjoy success as participation has spread across the United States. The program is designed to offer funding assistance to organizations, associations, and events that wish to conduct a public gelding clinic under the name and guidelines of Operation Gelding.

At the United States Pony Club (USPC) Board of Governors meeting November 6-7, 2010, the Pony Club Riding Center Program was approved by a unanimous vote to become a permanent program. This approval comes after a five-year ‘beta’ period during which the program was tested at over 50 Pony Club Riding Centers serving more than 700 members around the United States.

USPC offer

In the back of the mind of every horse, stable, or ranch owner lies the fear of a barn fire, buffered by the hope that he or she is prepared to deal with such a crisis. The San Antonio Saddle Horse Association recently offered a fire prevention and safety seminar to help educate horse owners on the best ways to keep their barns safe from fire and how to deal with a fire should one occur.

The 2011 American Horse Publications (AHP) Student Award will award up to three $750 travel awards to attend the AHP “Hoofprints in the Sand” Seminar in San Diego, Calif., on June 16-18, 2011. Travel Award winners have an opportunity to meet leading equine publishing professionals and discuss career possibilities during the three days of educational sessions and related activities.

On December 4, the Kentucky Horse Park, along with the Kentucky Horse Council and the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, will offer free gelding surgeries for horse owners who cannot afford to have the surgery performed on their stallions. In addition to rendering a stallion unable to reproduce, gelding surgery often helps horses become easier to manage, train, and if the need arises, adopt or rehome.

Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) is a national nonprofit working to advance the conservation of land for horse-related activity. In the past three years ELCR has aided in the conservation plans for 44,237 acres and 985 miles of trail throughout the United States.

University of Maine (UM) animal and veterinary science researchers are receiving nearly $500,000 to establish a unique research, testing, and education center that promises to substantially advance the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of particularly problematic animal diseases including equine strangles.

Do you have an idea on how animals can receive the best care possible from veterinarians and other members of the veterinary healthcare team? Early next year, you will have an opportunity to offer input that could help make your ideas a reality.

Extension specialists from the University of Illinois (UI) will be on hand to discuss the topic of manure management at the Chicagoland Equestrian Lifestyle Expo & Holiday Market on November 20 and 21 at the Lake County Fairgrounds’ Expo Center in Grayslake, Illinois.

A new equine surgery and sports medicine center is set to open its doors in Lexington, Ky. Lexington Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine is a group veterinary referral practice focusing on outpatient medicine and elective surgery. Established by Bill Bernard, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, the surgery center is expected to fill a need for additional surgical facilities in Central Kentucky.

Veterinary specialists at Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Va., have been awarded several research grants to support their efforts to improve horse health–not only for their own patients, but for all horses.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) announced today the unanimous election of Patricia Hogan, VMD, Dipl. ACVS to its board of directors. Hogan is known for treating 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones as a 2-year-old after the colt suffered a fracture to his left eye socket, and being instrumental in the design and construction of the new Ruffian Medical Center at Belmont Park.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has awarded this year’s Henry Bergh award to Kathleen Schwartz-Howe and Days End Farm Horse Rescue Inc. In 1989, after witnessing horse neglect at a local stable, Schwartz-Howe and her family made the commitment to help save equines in her community and founded Days End Farm Horse Rescue Inc. in Woodbine, Md.