Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has announced $850,888 in funding for 20 projects in 2004. The funding will be distributed to principal investigating scientists at a dozen universities and brings the foundation’s total funding since 1983 to $11,047,105 to underwrite 189 projects at 31 universities.

The research funded in 2004 includes the launch of 11 new projects and the

Only three days after their barn was completely destroyed by fire, taking with it the lives of 25 horses, Bob and Debby LaPorta of Summerwind Farm in Damascus, Md., are in the process of rebuilding their barn and their business.
 
The barn, which housed 22 horses that belonged to clients and three that belonged to the LaPortas, caught fire on Sunday, Feb. 22 at approximately 6:15 a.m.

Whether it is in the Olympics, Major League Baseball, college football or horse racing, the use of multiple pain-relieving drugs to enhance performance is a major concern. Now, one University of Missouri-Columbia veterinarian is testing different combinations of non-steroidal, pain-killing drugs in horses to determine if their use actually enhances performance and to identify any side effects

More than 500 farriers, equine veterinarians and other hoof-care professionals filled the lecture halls and meeting rooms of the first annual International Hoof-Care Summit, held Feb. 4 through 7 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The success of the Summit marks a milestone in the equine hoof-care industry because of the event’s unusual format.

The Summit broke the traditional structure of hoof-car

The Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners (KAEP) held its annual membership meeting Feb. 18 in Lexington, Ky. The organization was established in 1979 as a constituency of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association. It has grown from a handful of equine veterinarians to over 160 members and has been active all aspects of equine health and welfare in the commonwealth.

Outgoing

Feb. 21-28, 2004 has been designated by the North Carolina Horse Council (NCHC) as “Horse Health Awareness Week.” Equine veterinary practitioners and horse organizations across the state were encouraged to hold special clinics and other events this week to call attention to horse health.

The NCHC recommended that veterinarians emphasize four especially important diseases and made

Pat Parelli’s all new “Love – Language – Leadership” seminar launched Feb. 7-8 in Kissimmee, Fla. The tour includes approximately 24 stops in 2004. Each seminar includes two jam-packed days of natural horsemanship, savvy secrets, and practical training tips that hold the keys to a more powerful and rewarding partnership with horses than you ever thought possible. Pat and Linda Parelli and the

Gordon Woods, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACT, the University of Idaho scientist who led the research team that successfully produced the first clone in the horse family, will be a featured speaker at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) annual meeting currently underway in Seattle, Wash.
          
Idaho Gem, the

Ellen Tinsley Hoots, DVM, MS, of Hoof Beats Veterinary Practice in Willow Spring, N.C., has been selected as the January honoree of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) My Vet Matters Contest. Hoots was nominated for the award by horse owner Denise Bricker of Clayton, N.C. Over 140 veterinarians were nominated during January.

In her nomination of Hoots, Bricker

More than 3,000 veterinary specialists and veterinary health care professionals will convene in Minneapolis, Minn., June 9-12, to discuss and share the most recent advances in veterinary medicine. The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s (ACVIM) annual forum has become a premiere resource of information on the latest advances in veterinary research and care. The topics of the

The 5th Annual Auction of the North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) Incentive registered yearlings will be at the Round House, Cook College, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. This year, five adult Belgian and Belgian cross PMU mares will also be sold. Horses can be viewed by appointment during Ag Field Day on April 24 and/or starting at 11 a.m. on April 25,

Tetanus, or lockjaw, is an often fatal disease caused by the anaerobic (grows in low oxygen conditions)bacterium, Clostridium tetani. The spores of C. tetani are commonly present in the soil and can contaminate puncture wounds, crushing wounds, open lacerations, surgical incisions, and the umbilici of foals. Upon gaining entrance to the body, they produce a powerful

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) reiterated its position on euthanasia and horse slaughter in the wake of an accusatory Blue Horse Charities letter that was disseminated to the racing industry in early November (see article #4801 online). In part, the AQHA position statement read:

“AQHA does not support (national

Phoenix-based Farnam Horse Products has released ComboCare, a new over-the-counter dewormer that kills ascarids, tapeworms, small strongyles (including the encysted stages), and bots.

“This is so timely now because recent surveys show a significantly high proportion of tapeworms in horses in the U.S. These tapeworms have been associated with colic in a number of cases,” said Tom

Effective Feb. 1, 2004, the USDA will institute a new blood test for determining the equine piroplasmosis status of horses upon entry into the United States.

The competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA) is more sensitive than the Complement Fixation test (CFT), which is currently used to test for piroplasmosis. The CELISA has a greater chance of identifying chronically