Piroplasmosis is an infectious, tick-borne disease caused by one of two parasites, Babesia equi or Babesia caballi, which attack and destroy red blood cells in horses. The mortality rate can be as high as 20% among susceptible animals. Recovered horses become chronic carriers without clinical signs. The only treatment (a type of chemotherapy) is not always succesful, and it can

The exhumation of the body of champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed and Wicked from its resting place on Double D Ranch in Woodford County, Kentucky, is set to commence on Feb. 2.

Wicked was one of five horses injected with a necrotizing (tissue-killing) substance in their left forelegs in late June of 2003. He and two other horses were euthanatized when the brutal attacks left them too lame

A recent study at Colorado State University (CSU) found that your horse might have the ability to fight off West Nile virus (WNV) less than a month after receiving a single-dose vaccination against the disease. The challenge study tested Merial’s RECOMBITEK equine WNV vaccine 26 days after immunization and found that the treated horses resisted infection.

The results are particularly

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has promoted a longtime staff veterinarian to fill key positions responsible for protecting the health of the state’s livestock.

Mark Ernst, DVM, of Washington, Ill., has been named state veterinarian and bureau chief of Animal Health. The appointments are effective immediately.

Ernst worked in private practice for five years after earnin

A recent study conducted at the University of Berne Equine Clinic in Switzerland demonstrated that the prokinetic (promoting movement) drug tegaserod stimulated gut motility and accelerated gastrointestinal transit in healthy horses. The study findings, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, are consistent with those observed in large clinical trials involving human patients and

Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Dan Wyant announced the confirmation of a third case of equine herpes virus type-1 (EHV-1) at Northville Downs in Northville, Mich., on Jan. 20. One barn at Northville Downs has been placed under quarantine while the source of infection and extent of spread is investigated by regulators.

On Jan. 14, 2005, animal health surveillance

Probably the best-attended session at the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention, the Kester News Hour features brief reports of new research that was too new or brief for inclusion in the scientific program. The information is presented in a fun, rapid-fire format by two of the country’s top equine veterinary specialists–internal medicine guru John Madigan, DVM, MS,

As breeding stallions age, their reproductive abilities can wane, leaving their breeding managers with a problem–too many mares to breed, and not enough sperm. J. Scott Weems, DVM, of Weems & Stephens Equine Hospital in Aubrey, Texas, has successfully incorporated low-dose hysteroscopic insemination (LDHI)–direct placement of sperm at the site of the oviductal papilla (an ideal site for

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium has set a deadline for adoption of recommended uniform medication violations and testing protocol for “milkshakes,” which are mixtures of bicarbonate of soda and a liquid given to a racehorse before it competes.

The consortium met Jan. 24 for about eight hours in Southern California. It set a deadline of March 1 for adoption of the rules an

SmartPak Equine has teamed up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to offer Kensington’s line of durable and functional horse products in a striking pink plaid design, dubbed SmartPink, available exclusively through SmartPak. SmartPak will donate 20% of the net profit from the sales of the SmartPink line to NBCF, which works to increase breast cancer survival rates through

Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia introduced a bill (H.R. 297) to the House of Representatives on Jan. 25 that would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.

In a speech to the 109th Congress, Rahall said, “My legislation is necessary because of 36 lines that were hidden away in the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act

The Illinois Department of Agriculture’s animal disease lab in Galesburg has confirmed that a cow owned by an eastern Bureau County resident tested positive for rabies on Jan. 13, the second domestic animal to be euthanized due to this disease in Illinois since December. The state departments of Public Health, Agriculture and Natural Resources have reminded Illinois citizens to stay away from

Kentucky state veterinarian Robert Stout, DVM, lifted an embargo last week on the importation of livestock, wild animals, and exotic animals into Kentucky from Colorado. This embargo had been enacted because of vesicular stomatitis (VS), and it was the last of the VS-related restrictions that began with an outbreak in Texas last May.

“These embargos have ended because there are no mor

The theriogenology program at Louisiana State University’s (LSU) School of Veterinary Medicine manages reproduction in its clinical practice and reproductive research regarding horses, dogs, and other animals. According to Dr. Dale Paccamonti, professor and service chief of theriogenology, and Dr. Sara Lyle, an instructor in theriogenology, approximately 65% of the program’s patients are

Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, recently evaluated extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in treating 32 horses with navicular syndrome diagnoses.