A Florida man accused of poaching two horses then butchering them for their meat pleaded guilty to the charges against him during an appearance in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Nov. 17.

A proposed plan to close one of two state-owned racetracks in New Jersey would end harness racing in that state and could put Standardbred racehorses at risk, according to Tom Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey.

Law enforcement authorities in Louisiana are seeking those responsible for shooting a horse found wandering and wounded in Caddo Parish this past weekend. Sgt. Doyle Smith of the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department said workers at the Kansas City Southern railroad yard discovered the 13-year-old Appaloosa mare wandering around the railway property on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Law enforcement authorities in Georgia are hoping the offer of a cash reward will lead to information revealing how a horse sustained severe lacerations while residing in its pasture last month. Taylor County Sheriff Jeff Watson said the wounded 13-year-old Quarter Horse mare was residing in a remote pasture in early October when the owner discovered his horse had sustained a 12-inch cut …

Texas District Court Judge Orlinda Naranjo sided with nonveterinarian equine dentists in that state on Nov. 9 when she ruled that the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners violated state law when it changed its rules to allow only licensed veterinarians to perform dental procedures, including teeth floating, on horses.

Two Canadian horse trainers and a horse owner are facing multiple charges for allegedly administering non-therapeutic, performance-enhancing substances to Standardbred harness racing horses in Ontario. Officials seized drugs, medications, documents, business vehicles, and horse trailers from a Windsor residence and a Tecumseh horse stable.

A Texas horse dealer accused of misrepresenting the health and nature of horses she offered for sale online will pay more than $65,000 in restitution to clients who were misled about the animals they purchased, under a civil judgment agreement finalized last week.

A juvenile faces criminal mischief charges in connection with the alleged vandalism of a horse barn in Lexington, Ky., this past weekend. Police were called to a farm on Jacks Creek Pike, where the farm operator reported discovering that the manes and tails of horses residing in the barn had been cut and that horse feed had been destroyed.

Law enforcement authorities in Montana are seeking the public’s help in identifying whoever is responsible for shooting two horses in Gallatin County in September.

Two Nevada men will each serve six months in federal prison and one year of probation in connection with the November 2009 shooting deaths of five Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs. The shootings occurred at the Buckhorn Horse Management Area of Northern Washoe County, Nev.

Animal welfare authorities in Utah are seeking those responsible for killing a horse, then apparently butchering it for its meat. Sgt. Zach Todd of Salt Lake County Animal Services said the 6-year-old registered American Saddlebred gelding was discovered dead in its pasture on Nov. 3. The horse had sustained a single small-caliber gunshot wound to its face and had been mutilated and dismembered.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Army and wild horse advocates will meet in Nevada to discuss ways to manage 104 mustangs residing south of Walker Lake on the Hawthorne Army Depot.

The current system for examining animals for signs of soring at Tennessee Walking Horse shows would be dismantled if recommendations contained in the results from a new USDA audit are adopted. The audit, results of which were released last week, examined the efficiency of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) enforcement of the Horse Protection Act of 1970.

Rescue operators in Arizona whose organizations meet specific corporate and care standards can now register with the state Department of Agriculture for inclusion in an online listing of sanctioned equine rescues in that state Arizona lawmakers created the Equine Rescue Registry last year when they passed SB1115. The registry officially opened in July 2010. Under the measure, inc

A Texas man faces multiple animal cruelty charges in connection with the alleged maltreatment of animals on his Grayson County ranch. On Oct. 24, county law enforcement authorities and Texas SPCA personnel removed 32 allegedly malnourished horses from property owned by Rodney Lynn Decker after the Grayson County Sheriff’s Department received several complaints about their cond

Since its development, veterinarians, nutritionists, and horse owners have used Henneke’s system to regulate feed intake and exercise to address equine obesity, a condition that puts horses at risk for myriad physical ailments ranging from laminitis and founder to metabolic conditions including diabetes.