The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has released its second annual “Humane State Ranking,” a comprehensive report rating all 50 states on a wide range of animal protection laws dealing with horses, pets, animal cruelty and fighting, farm animals, wildlife, and animals in research.

The Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) has made strategic moves to strengthen the organization and its leadership team through the addition of two individuals to the board of directors, Ken Haddad of Florida and Susan Harding of Maryland, and one addition to the advisory council, Kentucky’s first lady Jane K. Beshear.

With many horse owners still struggling to make ends meet in the current economic downturn, the horse industry continues to look for a ways to help with the ongoing unwanted horse problem. With the support of the Unwanted Horse Coalition’s Operation Gelding, the Tacoma Equine Hospital in Tacoma, Wash., is providing a low-cost castration clinic to struggling horse owners in the Puget Sound area.

As of Jan. 1, 2011, clenbuterol (Ventipulmin) will no longer be a permitted medication in Equine Canada sanctioned competitions. As a result, horses competing in Equine Canada sanctioned competitions with a positive test result for clenbuterol will be sanctioned as per the Equine Canada penalty tables and drug classification system as a Class III offence. A withdrawal time of at least 72 hours is

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is proud to announce that two 2010-11 Congressional Fellows–Terry Ryan Kane, DVM, MS, and Kathryn Simmons, DVM–have taken prestigious posts on Capitol Hill. Kane is working in the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Simmons took a position in the office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

The University of Maine’s (UM) equine program received a donation from the Maine Farriers Association on Dec. 10.

Nine-time World’s Champion CH Gypsy Supreme, a 23-year-old American Saddlebred show horse who had lived in the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions since 2001, was humanely euthanized on the morning of Dec. 22 after a long battle with laminitis as a result of equine Cushing’s disease. He had taken a sudden downturn the day before.

Leading retailers that sell animal health supplements are partnering with National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) to reduce incidences of regulatory action and to provide consumers with guidance on purchasing reputable products for animals.

The 2011 Charles Heumphreus Memorial Lecture will take place on Jan. 29, 2011, at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Michael Ross, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and Patrick Reilly, farrier, both from the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, have been invited as featured speakers to discuss “Hoof Management in Sport Horses.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has offered input to help smooth implementation of proposed new federal guidelines on a useful and effective induction agent, propofol. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has proposed making propofol a Schedule IV drug (drugs that have a safe and accepted medical use in the United States, including those certain narcotic and non-narcotic drugs,

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and the American Humane Society recently seized 117 horses from a farm in Viola, Ark.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) executive board has elected Barbara A. Schmidt, DVM, of Union, Ky., as the association’s next treasurer. Schmidt, an equine practitioner, will officially begin serving as AVMA treasurer in July. The treasurer is a nonvoting member of the executive board.

The NARHA Equine Specialist Certification Subcommittee and the NARHA staff announced the Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning Certification. Equine-Facilitated Learning and Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy are rapidly growing fields, and this certification is meant to improve the experience for all involved. A lot of hard work has been done by the Equine Specialist Certification S

Authorities in Smith County, Texas, have removed 43 horses from a Lindale property. An investigator with the Smith County District Attorney’s office served a seizure warrant to the horses’ owner Dec. 14, allowing the horses to be removed the next day and placed them at a temporary holding facility. Many of the horses on site were severely emaciated and showed signs of neglect.

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has added a Masters of Science in Horse Science (MSHS) program to its curriculum. With this addition, MTSU is positioning itself to be one of the Southeast’s premier undergraduate and postgraduate educational facilities in the horse industry.

University of California, Davis, doctoral candidate Carrie J. Finno, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, has received the 2010 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation Past Presidents’ Research Fellow for her contributions to advancing equine research.