According to a report from Horse and Hound, the Russian donkey Anapka–who was once the center of an international welfare controversy after she was attached to a parasail and flown over a beach as part of an advertising stunt–has died of suspected heart failure. Veterinarians believe the stress of parasailing might have led to the donkey’s eventual death, according to the report.
It isn’t every day that a new disease or ailment is discovered, as many of the most common equine health problems have been around for several decades, if not centuries. But within the past decade a new disease has emerged that appears most frequently in weanlings. The disease is equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE), a gastrointestinal disease that causes excessive weight loss and stunted growth
According to a report from the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), there recently has been a rise in the number of equine rabies cases diagnosed in the Corrientes province of Argentina. Officials believe the horses were infected with the disease via vampire bats. The extent of the outbreak remains unclear, but officials have announced they will begin vaccinating horses within a
More than 100 million horses, donkeys, and mules around the world spend their days working for a living: not necessarily working on their sliding stops, tempi changes, or jumping technique, but working to provide their human families with a means of transportation and a source of livelihood. These equids represent not only the family horse but also an animal that is a major player in the global
When it comes to designing diets, knowing the basics of how horses digest food is half the battle. It’s important to consider each horse’s energy requirements before developing a feeding schedule.
More than 100 items, including horses and stallion seasons, have been donated to an auction benefiting equestrians that were affected by the recent flooding in Australia, according to a report from Horsetalk.co.nz. Organized by the Arabian Horse Society of Australia, the auction runs through Feb. 15, and all of the proceeds will go directly to affected horse owners, the report says. The items up
Most horse owners are diligent about deworming their horses on a regular schedule. But there might be a more efficient deworming program that both horses and their owners can benefit from. According to Claudia K. True, DVM, a practitioner with Woodside Equine Clinic in Ashland, Va., basing a deworming program on fecal egg counts allows each horse an individualized deworming schedule and reduces
Lynn Boggs recently turned to Facebook to find homes for 52 Ohio Thoroughbreds in need. The message she posted on Facebook gained international attention within hours, and all of the horses were placed in new homes within five days.
A vaccine for Rhodococcus equi, the common bacteria that affects foals, often causing severe infections, pneumonia, and sometimes death, is in the final stages of development. Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health (ISPAH) said on Jan. 27 that a candidate vaccine for R. equi would be tested in a field trial in Germany in the near future.
At the 2010 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 4-8 in Baltimore, Md., Marjorie W. Miller, DVM, discussed medication rules from several equestrian governing bodies as well as the role of veterinarians in equestrian sport.
The University of Kentucky’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) has noted an increase in the number of abortions reported in Kentucky’s 2011 foal crop, especially those caused by nocardioform placentitis. The VDL, which reported 19 cases from July to Dec. 2010, saw 34 cases of abortion caused by nocardioform placentitis from Jan. 1 to Jan. 24.
There’s an old adage that says, “Horses are scared of two things: things that move, and things that don’t.” While some horses are slightly less
While a mare with twins by her side is rare and sometimes celebrated, twinning in horses is actually dangerous for the mare, especially during delivery. More often than not, one of the twins, generally the smaller and weaker of the two, will die before birth. In fact, the chances of a mare carrying twins to term and delivering them successfully are about one in 10,000. The manual reduction of one
The horse industry in the United States is not the only one dealing with an equine welfare problem. Some European countries are also facing challenges in assuring all horses have a good quality of life, according to Joe Collins, MVB, PhD, MRCVS, CertEP, CertVR, who recently conducted his PhD study at University College Dublin’s Veterinary Sciences Center. Collins discussed equine welfare in Europe
The joke around the office when I started working here was that I would get my baptism by fire. Less than a month after my
For years foal owners have struggled with controlling the bacterium Rhodococcus equi and the infections it causes—some farms manage cases annually, despite following strict farm management strategies to reduce risk of infection.
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