A horse in Harnett County, N.C., is recovering after allegedly being beaten with a shovel, according to news stories on the Dunn’s online edition of The Daily Record. Local horse trainer Michael Joseph Nugent, 26, of Anderson Creek, is accused of abusing the horse, and felony charges are pending.

Nugent was found guilty of misdemeanor cruelty to animals in Lillington District

The West Yorkshire Police in the United Kingdom have made a public appeal for new horses for the unit, according to a report in the online edition of Horse and Hound. This is the third time the force has requested “gift” horses, and this request follows budget cuts and a number of retirements of police mounts.

West Yorkshire Police horses are used for high-visibility patrols,

Seventeen horses have been found slashed in the throat on a guest ranch in Tucson, Ariz., since early July. The latest attack happened between midnight and 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, on the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, according to Pima County Sheriff’s Detective John Mawhinney. All of the horses have been slashed in the same location on the throat, resulting in jagged wounds from one inch to

A 3-year-old pony named Socks is recovering from a seven-inch long knife wound to his chest, according to a report by the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette’s online edition. Surgery was performed on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 16th, after Mark Devonport found his stepson’s pony untied and injured in the field on the South Bank estate in the United Kingdom.

“I was shocked by

The title of “Tallest Living Horse in the World” went to an 11-year-old Percheron horse named Goliath on July 24. He stands 19.1 hands high, or 6″5′ at the withers, weighs in at around 2,500 pounds, and is based in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to get a mare pregnant, especially if she has fertility problems. There are several reasons that a mare might be infertile, many of which can be treated. Two reproductive specialists from Lexington, Ky., shared their extensive knowledge of several of the problems that mares can face with attendees of the Thoroughbred International Exposition and Conference

Preventing infectious diseases and parasites from attacking our horses are primary concerns for every horse owner. James D. Smith, DVM, a practitioner at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates, PLLC, in Lexington, Ky., and Craig Reinemeyer, DVM, PhD, president of East Tennessee Clinical Research in Knoxville, Tenn., provided invaluable insight into how to keep the risks of infectious diseases and

A horse is almost bound to experience a hoof problem during his lifetime. How serious it is and how it is handled could make the difference in his return to full soundness. During an early-morning presentation at the Thoroughbred International Exposition and Conference (TIEC) held in Lexington, Ky., June 20-22, Robert Hunt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, a surgeon at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee and

Attended by delegates from more than 60 countries, Alltech’s International Feed Industry Symposium provided an abundance of information for those involved with horses, poultry, pigs, dairy and beef cattle, agronomy, aquaculture, and companion animals. Each year, the meeting, held in Lexington, Ky., provides a forum for researchers and international industry leaders to gather, exchange ideas,

Nutritional strategies for raising and competing sounder Thoroughbreds, many of which can be applied to horses of all breeds, was presented by Laurie Lawrence, PhD, at the Thoroughbred International Exposition and Conference (TIEC). Lawrence, who has done extensive research on equine nutrition at the University of Kentucky, covered nutrition of foals, weanlings, and

Researchers have discovered that supplementing enzymes could help digestion of starch in the equine small intestine. “With dietary enzyme supplementation and enhanced small intestinal starch digestion, the feeding of cereal grains to horses will become a more efficient and safer practice than it has been in the past,” said Nerida Richards, PhD, of the School of Rural Science and Agriculture a

There can be a number of reasons why a horse might have performance problems. A diagnosis can be frustrating, but one reason that might be overlooked is mycotoxicosis. It wasn’t until recently that the significance of mycotoxins was realized, said Thomas Buckley, MS, head of microbiology at the Irish Equine Centre. Buckley presented “Coping With Mycotoxin Contamination: Protecting Equine

Attendees of the Thoroughbred International Exposition and Conference (TIEC) in Lexington, Ky., June 20-22, learned about the past and future of equine research. Edward Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, spoke about past and current research of the Grayson-Jockey Club and other foundations raising funds for equine research.

The Grayson-Jockey Club

Attended by delegates from more than 60 countries, Alltech’s International Feed Industry Symposium provided an abundance of information for those involved with horses, poultry, pigs, dairy and beef cattle, agronomy, aquaculture, and companion animals. Each year, the meeting provides a forum for researchers and international industry leaders to gather, exchange ideas, and discuss the future of

Stallion owners must determine if their stallions have what it takes physically to make a good breeding prospect, including good semen quality, before the start of the breeding season. In his presentation at the sixth annual Equine School at the Alltech Symposium, Peter Sheerin, DVM, Dipl. ACT, a theriogenologist at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., asked the audience: “What