Latest News – The Horse

The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) have come and gone, but the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture hopes to reap the benefits of a worldwide exposure for years to come. From prospective students to new partnerships to general awareness about equine programs at UK, much was gained by the university’s involvement in the Games. Some of the key highlights of

Law enforcement authorities in St. Martin’s Parish, La., are seeking those responsible for the shooting death of a horse earlier this year. Sgt. Terrell Bergeron, animal control coordinator for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Department, said that on Aug. 8, the horse’s owner contacted the Sheriff’s Department after finding the Appaloosa mare and a pregnant cow both wounded in their pasture.

Roundups are necessary for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control population growth among wild horse herds, according to a report by the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). In the report issued on Dec. 13 the auditors also called on the BLM to be more aggressive in researching and testing approved science for population control methods to minimize the need

Horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) are at a higher risk for laminitis than the average horse, but veterinarians are learning more about diagnosing EMS early and minimizing its effects, including laminitis. At the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif., Thomas J. Divers, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, professor and Chief of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University,

The concept of a balanced foot can be subjective, but farriers are now using technological advances to take some of the guesswork out of the process. Patrick T. Reilly, chief of farrier services at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, discussed evaluating hoof balance with in-shoe force measurements.

The 56th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held Dec. 4 – 8 in Baltimore, Md., attracted a crowd of 5,504 veterinary professionals, guests, and exhibitors, making it again the largest equine veterinary continuing education event in the world. The convention returned to the Mid-Atlantic region for the first time since 1998.

Equine welfare and the growing population of horses needing homes are quickly becoming some of the major challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis, according to Tom Lenz, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, who delivered the keynote speech, entitled “Horse Welfare Wars: When Emotion and Fact Collide,” at the 2010 Annual American Association of Equine

A plan to develop the country’s first state-owned wild horse sanctuary was stalled yesterday when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced that revenue set aside to develop the sanctuary would instead be used to offset cuts in state services and prevent further furloughs and layoffs among state employees.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear joined community leaders and executives of HFL Sport Science on Dec. 14 to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s new laboratory in Lexington, Ky. The facility will provide drug surveillance, doping control, and research to equine and other sports industries. The lab, which represents a more than $4 million investment, will create 48 new jobs.

The American Horse Council (AHC) is continuing its effort to collect information on access issues equestrians are experiencing on federal lands. The centerpiece of this effort is an online form equestrians can use to report their personal experiences regarding trails that have been closed to them or other access issues on federal land. This online form is located on the AHC website.