Cases of West Nile virus (WNV)in Kentucky equine declined dramatically in 2003 compared with the previous year, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture reported.

The KDA said 102 Kentucky equids were confirmed with WNV  this year, an 80 percent drop from 2002, when 513 cases were reported. A series of cold snaps in late November and early December eliminated mosquitoes that

Mats Troedsson, DVM, Dipl. ACT, University of Florida (with co-author Walter Zent, DVM, of Lexington, Ky.), discussed clinical ultrasound in evaluation of the equine placenta to identify and treat mares with placentitis. He said placentitis is a common cause of abortion in the United States. Most cases are believed to be the result of an ascending infection (starting at the cervix) during lat

A barn fire at a training center in Henderson, Ky. early Friday morning left 22 horses, mostly Thoroughbreds, dead, according to an Associated Press story in The Gleaner. Fire officials estimated a $500,000 loss, but that number was expected to rise.

The fire swept through a barn at Cross International, a boarding and training facility on the backside of what used to be the

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium continued its march toward a national model policy on medication and drug testing Dec. 10 when regulators responded favorably to the proposal. But wholesale changes in race-day medication rules around the country aren’t expected to take place any time soon.

Regulators from 24 United States jurisdictions, as well as Canada and Jamaica, met

Britain’s Horserace Betting Levy Board has extensively changed its codes of practice regarding the infectious diseases contagious equine metritis (CEM), equine herpesvirus (EHV), and equine viral arteritis (EVA), which can severely disrupt horse breeding.

John Parker, chairman of the committee responsible for drawing up the codes, revealed on Dec. 10: “Changes to horse breeding,

The American Association of Equine Practitioners will be sponsoring a series of health seminars at the U.S. Equestrian Meeting and Sports Summit, which will be held Jan. 14–18, 2004, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. 

The seminars will kick off with Mark Martinelli, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, a surgeon specializing in orthopedic problems of the race and sport

If you’re horse shopping, you just might find your next best equine friend at a shelter near you. Many of these rescued horses can go on to new careers, according to the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) at Nevins Farm, whose Equine Center is home to a wide variety of horses looking for good homes.

“Many people know us for our work rescuing and

First, thanks for all the e-mails of support for this Diary and for the boys. Second, I love my vet! She’s not just a professional, but she cares about the today, and the tomorrow. If I were eligible, I’d nominate her for the AAEP’s My Vet Matters contest that starts in January. Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, horse owners may submit an entry that explains why their veterinarian is exceptional in his

Champion filly Our Mims was euthanized at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. on Dec. 9. The 1977 champion, who was 29 years old, died after suffering a bout of colic and was buried at Calumet Farm near Lexington, Ky.

A daughter of Herbager and Sweet Tooth, Our Mims was a half-sister to Alydar. She was foaled at Calumet Farm and raced under the stable’s distinctive red

You might have seen it on television—those daring rescues where a horse is lifted from a ravine by helicopter, pulled out of a raging river, or returned to safe ground after being bogged down in mud. These rescues might awe television audiences, but how do emergency personnel know what to do?

In three separate seminars sponsored by Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary clinic on Oct. 22,

Abby L. Fowden, University of Cambridge, UK, discussed nutritive and endocrine functions of the equine placenta at the first Equine Placenta Workshop held at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky on Dec. 5-6. She said the functions of the placenta are as a barrier, for transport of nutrients and waste, nutrient production, and hormone production.

Placental

Six horseshoers who have helped shape the modern farrier industry have been elected to the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame. They were chosen from a field of 66 nominees in voting by current members of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame and the International Equine Veterinarians Hall Of Fame. The inductees are:

Charles Brown, Scottsdale, Ariz. – A

A two-day exclusive gathering of leading reproductive researchers and practitioners from around the world convened at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 5-6, to discuss the equine placenta. From the evolutionary development of the placental layers to mare reproductive loss syndrome, no topic was left untouched if it dealt with the fine, and sometimes little

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), which has hundreds of thousands of members, has 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).

The letter, signed by Ward