Latest News – The Horse
Open-Access Veterinary Journal Launched
Afleet Alex, dramatic winner of the Preakness and runaway winner of the Belmont Stakes, underwent surgery July 27 at the New Jersey Equine Clinic (NJEC) in Clarksburg, N.J. after suffering a condylar fracture.
“It’s a relatively common type
Veterinarian Alexander Harthill Dead at 80
Alexander Harthill, DVM, a renowned Central Kentucky racehorse veterinarian known as “Derby Doc” to his colleagues, died July 16 at 80 years old.
Harthill died at Hospice and Palliative Care in Louisville, Ky., after complications from a
Breaking News: Kentucky Officials Extend VS Embargo
According to a July 26 memo from Kentucky State Veterinarian Robert Stout, DVM, officials have extended Kentucky’s vesicular stomatitis (VS) embargo to include livestock (including horses), wild animals, and exotic animals from La Plata and Mesa
Breaking News: EEE Hammers Florida, Veterinarian Stresses Importance of Vaccinating
Florida is in the thick of a near-record Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) year. One veterinarian found that in 2003, owners spent ten times the cost of vaccination to treat unvaccinated EEE survivors (typically less than 10% of affected horses
EIA-Positive Horse Auctioned Off in Two States
Equine infectious anemia (EIA) was confirmed July 13 in a Pennsylvania horse, said Bruce Schmucker, VMD, of the state’s Department of Agriculture. The horse hasn’t shown any clinical signs of EIA and passed through an auction in Meadville, Pa.,
WNV Patients Have a Long Road Ahead
Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of large animal veterinary medicine at the the University of Florida, knows of at least four horses that appeared to make full recoveries from West Nile virus (WNV) before getting sick
EEE in Alabama Horses and Humans
Seven cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) were confirmed recently in southwestern Alabama. The disease has also infected two people, one of whom did not survive. The Alabama Department of Public Health has recommended the public reduce
West Nile Virus DNA Vaccine Approved for Horses
Commercial vaccines leapt toward state-of-the-art on July 8 when the USDA granted a license for the world’s first DNA vaccine for any species. This equine vaccine springs from more than four years of collaborative research between Fort Dodge Animal
Death and Destruction
West Nile virus (WNV) was first identified in October 1999 because of an alert zoo veterinarian in New York. The epicenter in 2005, as in 2004, is expected to be California. In six short years, a disease that had never been seen before in North
At What Age to Shoe?
Questions involving the ifs and whens to shoe horses have been debated for years. There are those who will argue that a horse’s foot should not have metal attached via nails under any circumstances, while others will opt for shoeing certain horses
Dialysis to Treat Kidney Failure
Sometimes horses in renal (kidney) failure don’t respond to conventional treatment–fluids, diuretics, etc. Toxins in the blood irritate the stomach, making the horse anorexic and depressed. At that point, dialysis might be the only option. The
Supplementing for Semen Quality
Cooling and freezing equine semen damages cell membranes, which results in loss of motility and general viability known as “cold shock.” Most domestic species have high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the semen, but the
Getting an Equine Nutritionist Consultation
Sure, it makes sense that the owners of high-end performance horses and blue-blooded broodmares find the services offered by equine nutritionists useful. Anything that can give these horses an edge or help them reach their maximum potential is
Quick Barn Fixes
You can create a functional, safe barn in an existing structure on your property with some practical,
Transportation Trio: Loading Trick
I found an amateur video clip in our tack room and nobody knows where it came from. It shows an amazing demonstration of loading two horses on a trailer. The horses, without a lead or halter, went right into the trailer, one after the other, whe
Transportation Trio: Runny Nose and Cough
What suggestions do you have for keeping a horse calm during transport without hay, or reducing the dust in the trailer?
