In the spring of 2001, hundreds of mares in Central Kentucky lost their pregnancies in peculiar abortions attributed to mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). Since then, horse farm managers have gone back to square one in reviewing their pasture management practices.

One certain result is they have developed a greater awareness of what’s lurking in the grass. These farm managers hav

Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith reminded farmers and
farm businesses to take extra care to prevent thefts of anhydrous ammonia
during the planting season.

Anhydrous ammonia is a common nitrogen fertilizer for crops. It also is a
target for thieves who use it to produce the street drug methamphetamine or
sell it on the black market. The number of

Now is the time for horse owners in Kentucky to consult with
their veterinarians about vaccinating their animals for West Nile virus (WNV),
Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith said.

“West Nile virus was diagnosed in 513 equine and 75 humans in Kentucky last
year,” Smith said. “Kentuckians can take steps now to reduce
the risk of West Nile later in the year

On April 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it had published a new regulation that improves the requirements for reporting adverse events associated with approved animal drugs. The reforms reduce certain reporting burdens while assuring collection of the information required to maintain high standards for protecting the health of animals as well as the public health, accordin

The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation issued an advisory concerning control methods for Eastern tent caterpillars, which have been linked to mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) in 2001 and 2002.

Dr. Dan Potter, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky whose research has been funded in part by Grayson-Jockey Club, said on April 3 that “the window for caterpillar management has jus

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture will release the quarantine placed on Barn 15 at Turfway Park as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday (April 5). The 80-horse barn was placed in quarantine after three horses tested positive for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) on March 18. All restrictions regarding movement and segregated training hours will be lifted as part of the quarantine

Steve Albin, who operates NetPets.org, had a good idea that has nearly taken over his life. Albin was told that during Desert Storm, many military personnel were forced to give up their pets because they had no place to leave them when they were shipped out for duty. So, he started a small program to help military personnel find free foster homes to care for animals. The program, NetPets

“Usually you shoe horses that are against you, right?” asked world-renowned clinician Pat Parelli at the 16th annual Bluegrass Laminitis symposium Jan. 16-18 in Louisville, Ky. “You’re on opposite teams. And when push comes to shove, the horse wins when it comes to shove.

“I’m kind of ashamed of the horse industry compared to other professional industries,” he went on. “It’s still ful

Uniformity in medication and drug testing could be years away, a member of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium said April 1 during a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)Medication Committee meeting.

Dr. Rick Arthur, a vice president and director of the Oak Tree Racing Association and a member of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, said a standardized medication and

California has taken the first step to ban the backstretch use of snake venom, which officials believe can be used as a nerve- or joint-numbing agent in sore or injured horses.

If approved by California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), the action by its medication committee April 1 would add snake and snail venom to the list of prohibited substances banned at any facility under the CHRB’s

Nathaniel White, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, has been named Interim Director of the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Va. White, who assumed leadership responsibilities for the equine clinical and research center on April 1, succeeds G. Frederick Fregin, DVM, the center’s founding director.

White joined the center as Assistant Director in 1985 and was appointed the

Ten cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and one case of West Nile virus (WNV) have been confirmed by serological testing as of April 3 in eight Florida counties, according to Leroy Coffman, DVM, Florida’s state veterinarian and director of the Division of Animal Industry. This is the first reported case of WNV in Florida this year, and possibly the first in the United States this

Keeneland, which opens for its spring meet April 4, is requiring all horses that enter the grounds to have a health certificate written within 72 hours of arrival.

River Downs in Ohio implemented a similar policy in the wake of the detection of equineherpes virus at Turfway Park in mid-March. The virus was contained through quarantine procedures, and horses in the affected barn are

An outbreak of African horse sickness detected last week in South Africa has killed 300 horses, according to a Pro-Med report. African horse sickness is a lethal virus spread by the Culicoides bolitinos midge, a species of small fly. Although African horse sickness is endemic to all parts of Africa, except the Western Cape, rain in the region has increased the midge population.

Veterinarians and researchers trying to pinpoint the cause of mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) have joined together to create an MRLS “think tank,” the progress and goals of which were discussed April 1 at a joint meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers’ Club and the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners (KAEP) in Lexington.

The veterinarians returned ofte

The researchers developed a molecular test to detect the cream gene in DNA found in the blood or hair. Guerin says the test will help owners identify heterozygous carriers of the gene (those able to pass on the cremello gene to offspring).