Latest News – The Horse

A new study completed at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and funded by The Home of Rest For Horses has revealed that grass sickness is strongly associated with low antibody levels to the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The findings might lead to routine vaccination against the bacterium in U.K. horses.

Grass sickness was first identified around 100 years

Darley stallion In the Wings, who won the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I) and was a champion in France, was diagnosed with laminitis the past weekend and has been relieved temporarily from stallion duty. The 18-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells covered 15 mares at Kildangan Stud in County Kildare, Ireland, prior to the diagnosis.

“In the Wings is a terrific patient and appears to be

Thoroughbred Grade I winner Booklet, who entered stud this year at the Greathouse family’s Glencrest Farm near Midway, Ky., was euthanized the morning of March 4 because of complications from colic at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates veterinary clinic near Lexington.

“We discovered it this morning, and immediately sent him to Hagyard,” said Allen Greathouse. “During the surgery, the

Six horses in the Western Cape, Africa, succumbed to an outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) during the week of Feb. 23, according to several news reports. The affected horses were from the Stellenbosch area, reported www.sabcnews.com.

The first cases occurred at the Elsenburg Agricultural College, and another case was discovered 16 km from

Spaying a mare (ovariectomy) means removing her ovaries so she no longer comes into heat and has a more mellow attitude, like a gelding. An ovariectomy can be done standing (under sedation and local anesthesia) through a flank approach or a vaginal approach.

An infrequent complication associated with the old method of spaying (using a very old surgical instrument, a chain escraseur) is

Assessing neurologic conditions might seem difficult, but with practice and attention to the subtle differences between different conditions’ deficits, the process can become easier. Additionally, practitioners discussed vaccination and treatment options for the different diseases.

Several researchers have been working the past few years to determine if any U.S.-registered equine vaccine had advantages over others. It turns out that the serologic responses to–and protection given by–these vaccines varies significantly.

Severe injury of a racehorse is one of the most visible and critical situations race track practitioners must handle. Mary Scollay, DVM, senior association veterinarian for Gulfstream Park and Calder Racecourse, and Celeste Kunz, VMD, chief examining veterinarian of the New York Racing Association, moderated a Sunrise Session on triage of acute racing injuries.

Research has shown that boars can be fed a specific diet to increase fertility, and the same might be true of stallions. Steven Brinsko, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, from Texas A&M University, discussed the potential of feeding a nutraceutical to stallions to enhance their fertility.

Morgan stressed that good management practices can reduce the risk factors that contribute to neurologic disease incidence. Keep feed sources clean and free of opossums and protect your hay from rodent infestation.

A study to determine the clinical signs of gastrointestinal rupture during colic was done by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and results were presented by Diana Hassel, DVM, of UC Davis.