Latest News – The Horse
Beerbaum Files Appeal in Case that Could Affect Olympic Show Jumping Team Medal Standings
As announced by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) earlier this week, German Olympian Ludger Beerbaum filed an appeal on Feb. 3 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision taken by the FEI Judicial Committee. The FEI Judicial Committee disqualified Beerbaum and his horse, Goldfever 3, from the Athens Olympic Games Show Jumping competitions–competitions in
Bleeding from the Rectum
Blood coming from the rectum can represent an extremely serious veterinary medical emergency.
Reburial Plans for Wild Eyed and Wicked Detailed
The Kentucky Horse Park released the following information this afternoon (Feb. 9):
Joe and Sally Jackson and the Kentucky Horse Park announced arrangements for the reburial of the world champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed And Wicked near the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Wicked was one of five Saddlebred
The Exhumation Process Explained
Elizabeth A. Murray, PhD, Dipl. ABFA, professor of biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a forensic anthropologist, headed the team that performed the three-day exhumation of champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed and Wicked that took place Feb. 2-4 In an exclusive interview with The Horse, Murray explained the grueling and painstaking process.
Wicked and
U.K. Passport Regulations Enforced Beginning in March
Less than a month remains before horse passport regulations go into full effect in England. Nearly a half-million passports had been issued by Jan. 31, according to the U.K.’s Department of Environment, Food, and Agriculture (Defra).
The total number of horses and ponies is estimated at between 600,000 and just under a million in Great Britain as a whole, which indicates that
Officials Call Off Delhi Polo Season Due to EIA
The Delhi, India, polo season has been cancelled after two ponies were diagnosed as carrying equine infectious anemia (EIA), according to a Feb. 7 report from New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV.com).
The NDTV story reads, “To prevent the disease from spreading, the infected area has to be quarantined for 90 days and the infected horses
Downloadable Vaccination Series
Download the full contents of The Horse’s 2005 series of articles on equine vaccinations.
Report: Kentucky Tracks Might Test for Milkshakes
Kentucky racetracks could begin testing for “milkshakes” this spring under their own guidelines, officials said.
A milkshake is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and a liquid given to a horse before it competes. Milkshakes are believed to enhance performance. The old Kentucky Racing Commission in 2001 adopted a policy that banned the practice, but it never went through the legislative
No Fine, Suspension in New York Positives
Two horses who ran at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., last summer were disqualified from their finishing positions because of positive drug tests, but Mark Shuman, who trained both horses for owner Michael Gill, will not be disciplined in the incident.
Clay’s Rocket, winner of the second race at Saratoga Aug. 8, 2004, and Kalookan Lady, who finished fourth in
Kentucky Panel: Adopt Model Medication Rules
The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council set in motion major changes in the state’s medication and drug-testing policies when it voted Feb. 4 to recommend adoption of the model rules devised by the national Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.
The drug council voted 7-1 in favor of the model rules. The lone dissenter was Susan Bunning, president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s
AAEP 2004:Infectious Diseases Forum
Veterinarians swapped ideas on hot topics in the realm of equine infectious disease in the Infectious Disease Forum at the 2004 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 3-8 in Denver, Colo. Steve Conboy, DVM, a private practitioner in Lexington, Ky., and Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of large animal veterinary medicine at the University of
Evaluating Saddle Fit
The initial saddle fit examination begins with evaluation of the horse’s back, including a fingertip exploration of the entire area under the saddle to identify any bumps caused by friction or areas of localized pain or swelling, he said. Also, the horse should extend and flex his back willingly, and his vertebrae should be palpated.
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act Reintroduced to Congress
The Horse Slaughter Prevention Act has been reintroduced to Congress as bill H.R. 503. Congressman John Sweeney of New York is the lead sponsor of H.R. 503 and introduced the bill on Feb. 1 as “A bill to amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for
Facts About Blood
Blood is an essential component of the mechanism whereby oxygen is transferred from the lungs to all of the body’s organs and tissues. So just how much blood does a horse have anyway?
Saddlebred Exhumation Under Way
The much anticipated court-ordered exhumation of the body of champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed and Wicked began this morning under gray skies and amidst chilling temperatures at Double D Ranch near Versailles, Ky. Wicked was one of five top American Saddlebreds that were injected with an unknown necrotizing (tissue-killing) substance the weekend of June 28-29, 2003. Wicked and one of the other
Plight of the Unwanted Horse
“Unwanted horses” within the domestic equine population have been determined by someone to be no longer needed or useful, or their owners are no longer interested in or capable of providing care for them physically or financially. Many unwanted horses will be sent to slaughter, euthanatized, or simply abandoned and left to die. Fortunate ones find new homes or jobs when their physical



