Latest News – The Horse

Central Kentucky equine abortion accessions so far in 2005 do not indicate mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). The University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) is posting the number of abortion accessions of all breeds weekly along with comparisons to totals from 2004. MRLS struck horses in several states (including Kentucky) and Canada in 2001 and 2002. The problem

“Ask the Expert,” a new feature of the Rutgers Equine Science Center web site, www.esc.rutgers.edu, invites horse owners and enthusiasts to seek science-based answers to their questions about horse health and management.

The Equine Science Center, located at Rutgers-Cook College, taps the expertise of some 30 faculty, researchers

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently announced the launch of a new web site to inform stakeholders about the national animal identification system (NAIS). The web site, www.usda.gov/nais, is designed to be a one-stop resource for information about NAIS.

“We hope our stakeholders will visit the site

As one might expect in a gathering of equine veterinarians discussing colic, much of the Sunrise Session dedicated to the topic covered evaluation of the colicky horse to determine severity and decide on medical vs. surgical management.

Officials from Michigan’s Office of Racing Commissioner (ORC) are requiring all horses entering any of seven licensed pari-mutuel facilities in the state be vaccinated for equine herpesvirus (EHV), in an effort to keep the virus confined to Northville Downs, where it has been detected in four horses. Three of those horses had to be euthanatized because the neurologic form of EHV type-1 caused

A New York state authority that supports Standardbred purses and breeding has lax internal financial controls, according to an audit released Tuesday by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

The New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund helps support the state’s harness industry, but gets part of its funding from the state’s four Thoroughbred tracks and off-track betting

Much of the discussion involved sharing professional information, such as specific instruments involved, but they also addressed such matters as preparation of the recipient mare and the most optimum state of embryo maturation for transfer.

This forum revolved around the on going issue of drug compounding. The take-home message for veterinarians was: If there is an FDA-approved product out there, it should be used even though it might be more costly.

Robert Holland, DVM, PhD, of Lexington, Ky., discussed West Nile virus and appropriate vaccination protocol. He said the disease is now considered endemic to the United

Discussion in the session primarily revolved around personal experiences with courses in acupuncture and chiropractic, incorporation of what they’ve learned in these courses, payment for these services, and the reminder that Western medicine should never be forgotten when treating patients.

Following the release of human clinical trial data demonstrating the link between pain-relieving medications known as COX-2 inhibitors and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a public health advisory recommending limited use of the drugs. The advisory, which also covers various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

While it might seem like any method of treating a horse would be termed a therapeutic option, equine veterinarians use this term to describe treatments that are generally considered alternative options to more heavily studied Western modalities. As such, the Therapeutic Options forum held during the Denver American Association of Equine Practitioners convention on Dec. 4-8, 2004, focused

“I used to think I knew how to evaluate a horse’s movement for lameness, until I started to look more carefully. Two different highly experienced practitioners can evaluate a lame horse, and come up with different [lame] legs,” said Kevin Keegan, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri, in his presentation on lameness

The hock, or tarsus, is a complex collection of joints in the horse. Identifying lameness in one or more of those joints, and treating the problem, can be challenging. However, Alberto Serena, DMV, MRCVS, of Auburn University, and colleagues have found that injecting medication into one joint can treat an adjacent joint as well.

“We had heard several anecdotal reports of intra-articular administration of liquid silicone being used as a lubricant in equine joints (to treat osteoarthritis),” began Daniel Burba, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, professor of equine surgery at Louisiana State University, at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo., Dec. 4-8, 2004. “It sounded kind of