Latest News – The Horse
SmartPak Equine Receives Award for Innovation
SmartPak Equine announced May 23 that it has received a 2005 Innovation Award from the Smaller Business Association of New England. SmartPak, best known for offering custom-packed nutritional supplements in its patented SmartPak packaging, is th
Umbilical Cord Length and Foal Health
A long umbilical cord increases the risks for abortions and stillbirths in horses. Complications include strangulation of the foal and excessive cord twisting, writes Karin Bosh in a recent edition of Equine Disease Quarterly, a newsletter
Training Resumes at Churchill
Horses stabled in a second Churchill Downs barn placed under quarantine by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture because of confirmed cases of equine herpes virus at the track will be allowed to return to limited training on May
Churchill EHV-1 Update
Equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) has been confirmed as affecting horses at Churchill Downs.
Three barns (6, 38, and 39) are currently quarantined on the backside of Churchill Downs.
To date, a total of five
Noble Causeway to Undergo Surgery for Entrapped Epiglottis
Nick Zito’s run of bad luck in this year’s Triple Crown continued Monday when it was discovered My Meadowview Farm’s Noble Causeway had entrapped his epiglottis in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and will undergo a myectomy to correct the
Update on Maryland EHV-1 Situation
As of May 20, there were no new equine herpesvirus (EVH-1) cases at the Columbia, Md. horse facility that has been handling a number of cases of the neurologic form of the virus since late March. Private veterinarians, Maryland state animal
Champion Sprinter Housebuster Dead
Housebuster, the last two-time Eclipse Award-winning sprinter, died May 15.
Donna Hayes, syndicate manager for
Ulcer Research in Racehorses: Omeprazole Helps
Two articles on the use of omeprazole paste (GastroGard from Merial) in racehorses were published in the May 15 edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA). The first study looked at using omeprazole
Intranasal Vaccine Tolerance
A study by Elkanah H. Grogan, BS, and Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Equine Behavior Laboratory, looked at how difficult it was to give intranasal vaccines using two different
Mothers to Be
While the socialization process of transforming fillies and mares from racetrack careers into broodmares might be easier than it is for stallions, biologically it is significantly more complex for distaffers to begin their reproductive
Benefits of Joint Supplements Reaffirmed
Cosequin has previously been shown to improve lameness grade in horses with radiographic evidence of joint cartilage damage, and studies have explored possible mechanisms of action for FCHG49 glucosamine hydrochloride and TRH122 low molecular weight
Trail Riding: Position in a Group
Does your horse walk along quietly with at least a horse length between him and the horse in front, or does he want to tailgate the lead horse without watching where he places his feet?
Preakness Runners Not Affected by Churchill EHV Quarantine
Churchill Downs and Kentucky veterinary officials are segregating horses because of a possible outbreak of an equine respiratory virus in three barns, but no horses entered in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (gr. I) are affected.
Rusty Ford of
Update on Churchill Downs Horses
Necropsies from the two horses affected by neurologic signs at Churchill Downs showed the horses had lesions consistent with equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (damage to the brain and/or spinal cord). Three other horses are currently showin
New Zealand FMD Update
A second letter has been received, via media, stating that the original letter sent last week claiming release of “a vial of FMD virus on an off-shore island” was a hoax and that no FMD virus was released in New Zealand. A police assessment
Federal Bill Introduced to Expand Veterinary Workforce
In response to an increased threat with the use of biological agents for terrorism purposes, The Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act of 2005 (S. 914 and HR 2206) has been introduced to the House and Senate. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), a retired
